Roller skating is a great summer activity! If you haven’t already, now is your chance to make 2022 your summer of skating. But why should you choose skating for your new summer activity?

Check out these 3 reasons why we think you should make 2022 your summer of skating:

Escape The Heat

Who wants to be underneath the hot sun in the summer? No one! Heat can make you feel sick and dehydrated, but you need to get a workout in even during the summertime. Beat the heat and sun, and get a good workout in the air conditioning.

Get Off The Couch

Don’t spend your entire summer vegging on the couch watching Netflix or playing video games! You don’t want to look back once summer is ending and regret all the time your family spent in front of the television. Going to the skating rink allows your family to get in some exercise, make new friends, and create new memories together!

Celebrate All Summer Long

Your local roller skating rink gives you the opportunity to celebrate all summer long! Not to mention again, but it’s out of the heat! Roller skating is a great opportunity to celebrate birthdays or team parties. You could even celebrate summer with your kid’s school friends or have a back to school party to reunite everyone before the kids start back to school or their sport starts back up.
We’d love to see you skating all summer long throughout summer 2022 at Rainbow Rink. Check out our new summer hours to skate along with us!

Within the past decade it has been more common for people to capture photos and videos on their phone rather than a traditional camera. With #SkateTok quickly gaining popularity over the past year, we’ve seen it for ourselves on the rink. If you’re looking to show off your skating moves on TikTok or just for yourself, we’ve come up with our 5 favorite techniques to capture them!

Panning Shot

Panning combines slow shutter speed and camera motion that is focused on your moving subject. You can keep the skater in focus while blurring the background. It is best in landscape mode. It is not an easy technique to master, but it is worth it once you do.

Invisible Motion

Invisible motion is a super cool technique. You photograph movement, but you don’t see the subject. An example of this is the light trials from cars, you can see the trial of lights but can’t see the cars on the road. For this to work best, you typically need a longer shutter speed. It will give your skater a ghostlike presence in the photo.

Blurred Images

Blurred images are some of the most popular. They can tell a great story as well and make the image look more like a painting. To accurately do this technique, you choose a longer shutter speed, focus on the subject, and then slighting move your phone from side to side.

Chronography

Chronography is when you capture movement by taking several images and combining them into one. It’s very popular in skating, skateboarding, and skiing to see the full range of motion in one image. You’ll want to have your phone on a tripod to prevent any camera shake and choose continuous shooting mode. From this, you’ll capture every range of motion and be able to put them all together using computer software like Adobe.

Timelapse

You can easily capture movement with a timelapse. Luckily enough, most smartphones now have a timelapse option. So it’s as easy as turning it into timelapse mode and recording!

Remember that with any of these techniques, practice makes perfect! With your new camera skills, you may have the next viral skating video on TikTok in no time. Remember while you’re practicing to come skate with us at Rainbow Rink!

When skating, sometimes there’s no way to avoid falling, bumping, scratching, or sliding, especially if you’re a new skater. So how can you protect your toes on the rink when you fall or slide? You need toe caps on your skates!

What are toe caps?

Toe caps, also known as toe guards, go on the nose of your skates. They not only protect your toes, but your skates as well. There are many variations of them. Most of them have a large hole for your toe stop and either one large hole or two smaller holes to run your laces through.

How do you put toe caps on your roller skates?

Because there is a space for laces and a space for the toe stops to go through the toe cap, you’ll need tools to help take the toe stop off and of course you’ll need your skates. Here’s how you add toe caps to your skates:

1. Remove the laces entirely and set them to the side.
2. Take the toe stop off, and set the bolt and washer to the side.
3. Once your laces and toe stop are off, you’re ready for toe covers.
4. Place toe covers on your skates and get everything lined up.
5. Then you’ll put the toe stop back on properly. The flow should be toe cover, bolt, washer, and then toe stop. That way you can hear the washer rattling if your toe stop becomes loose.
6. Get your toe stop to the height you prefer and tighten the bolt.
7. Then simply just lace back up your skate. There are many ways to lace your skates back up, you can choose which way looks and feels best to you.
8. Once you’ve got the skate laced back up, your toe cap should be secure on the skate.
9. Then repeat the process with your other skate!

We hope these tips help you preserve your toes and skates! Make sure your toes are protected next time you’re skating with us at Rainbow Rink!

You probably know that there are many different types of roller skating, but did you know there are even more types of skate wheels? There are certainly generic wheels for skates, but there are also wheels that were created for certain types of skating. When you’re looking at getting new wheels for your skates, it’s important to choose the right wheels for the type of skating you enjoy. Here are the 3 main categories of wheel differences you should look into before purchasing a new set of wheels:

Hardness

Wheel hardness can also be referred to as the grip level. You can find it as a number with an A behind it. The higher the number is, the harder the wheel and the less grip it has. For example, a high hardness with no grip would be 103A. When outdoor skating, a softer wheel is needed. Softer wheels will absorb more shock as you roll over cracks and any other small debris outside. A good wheel hardness to look at for outdoor skates would be 78A.

Size

Sometimes there are differences in the outer width and height of the wheels. The other measurements of the wheel are height and width and they are measured in millimeters (mm). If you tend to skate a certain style, it would be good to check with other skaters that skate that style to see what they prefer. Wheels also come in several heights. Large wheels make it easier to maintain speed, but smaller wheels are better for quick movement. It may take a bit of experimenting to decide which height is best for you and your skating style.

Hubs

There are 2 main styles of hubs, nylon and aluminum. Nylon is lighter and most common in skate wheels. Aluminum is sturdier and has less give to it. If you find yourself needing to change your wheels frequently, it may be time to invest in aluminum hubs.

We hope these tips help you choose the best roller skating wheels! We can’t wait to see your wheels hitting the rink at Rainbow Rink!

Summertime brings the warm, beautiful weather, long days, and fun activities! It’s time for you to start making your family’s 2022 summer bucket list. There are so many things you can do around Tonawanda, New York. It will be hard to fit everything in over just the few months of summer. Because of this, we put together a list of 5 things that need to be on your bucket list for summer 2022!

Saturday Morning Shopping

Get some fresh produce and other goods for your family at the North Tonawanda Farmers Market! Discover new fruits and veggies from local farmers, or pick up gifts and goodies from makers in the community. The farmer’s market is a great place to spend the day learning about nutrition, cooking, farming, and more with the whole family!

Practice Your Aim

Adventure Landing Buffalo is a great place to brush up on your mini golf skills. For a little extra competition, form teams and compete to see who’s the ruler of the course. Losing team buys the post-game ice cream!

Spend A Day On The Water

Get out on the water with Erie Canal Boat Company. Rent a few kayaks and enjoy beautiful weather, fresh air, and exercise while you explore all the beauty of the area from a new point of view.

Skate Your Worries Away

We couldn’t leave out a trip to see us at Rainbow Rink. Your family can skate along and have fun with us all day long.

Make sure to let us know that you’re doing our summer bucket list suggestions while you’re here!

Are you getting started roller skating for the first time? Maybe you’ve caught on to the skating trends on TikTok or YouTube and thought to yourself that you’d like to give it a go! Maybe you’re coming back to roller skating again after decades away from a rink, or helping your child learn how to skate and want to skate along with them. You could just want to get some extra exercise while avoiding the gym!

Reasons to Start Skating

No matter what category you fall into, you’re going to need a good pair of skates to get started roller skating. Yet, how do you know where to start? There’s so much information on the web, but how do you decipher all of it? At Rainbow Rink, we’re on a mission to get more people out on the rink! This blog post will help you find the best roller skates for beginners.

Beginner Skate Basics

A good beginner skate is comfortable, doesn’t leave you dealing with blisters, and has plenty of ankle support to keep you stable while you learn the basics. Look for a boot with plenty of padding and laces that go to the top of the boot for extra ankle stability. And don’t go for the most complicated, high-maintenance skates on the market for your first pair. Starting simple and choosing a skate that is ready-to-roll will help you stay motivated to keep practicing and not give up when the going gets tough!

Another major consideration when choosing your first pair of skates is location, location, location! Indoor rinks require different wheel hardness than outdoor surfaces like pavement or asphalt. Think about where you’re going to be doing most of your skating, and remember that most rinks won’t allow outdoor skates to be used on their indoor rink in order to avoid bringing in rocks and debris on the wheels that can damage the floor.

Your skate size is usually the same as your shoe size – snug but not pinching, and not so big that you’re tripping over your own feet. Balancing on skates can be a challenge at the beginning, so don’t complicate the process with the wrong size boot!

We hope this helps you get started on your roller skating journey! We can’t wait to see you out skating at Rainbow Rink!