SK8S Roller Disco at Deans Sport & Leisure
Not all our events are run the same way at each of our venues - the information below sets out how things run at the Deans Sport & Leisure which is part of Lincoln College.
Deans – Local Knowledge
If you’ve not visited us at Deans before you may have some questions. Hopefully we can address at least some of those here 😀 If you are bringing children there is some extra advice and guidance here
Deans Sport & Leisure is part of Lincoln College and amongst its excellent facilities, there is a sports hall that SK8S uses for its roller discos. Free parking for Deans is available across the road from the college (shown in green below) and there is additional parking available at other nearby car parks if needed.
The hall is almost double size – so whereas a typical sports hall has space for 4 badminton courts, the hall at Deans adds another 3 courts next to those which makes it a lovely big space to skate in. The added bonus is the L-shape creates a natural space for our beginners area.
Seats are arranged around the edge of the hall and we ask that everyone is careful to keep their belongs tucked away to avoid creating trip hazards.
There are also tiered seating stalls or bleachers for spectators – those wearing skates should not sit any higher than the floor level tier please – we don’t want anyone taking a tumble and hurting themselves. Also please do not leave the rink space without removing your skates please.Â
The other thing to know about Deans is that food and drinks – other than water – should not be consumed in the hall please. Water only – thankyou 😀
Tickets and Entry
Tickets can be purchased in advance from the Events & Tickets section of our site up until 3pm on the day of our events. After that if we have capacity, tickets will be available on the door.
Generally we encourage people to book online to ensure your space is reserved. We set a maximum capacity for the rink space to try and ensure people have enough space to skate comfortably and safely. If the rink reaches that maximum capacity and you have not booked a ticket in advance, you will not be able to skate.
The hall is on the 2nd floor so if you have pre booked and you have your own skates you can come straight up and start skating.
If you haven’t booked in advance or if you need to collect hire skates, you’ll need to drop into the cafe first (left of the reception) to pay and/or collect hire skates (we have about 180 pairs of hire skates and we haven’t yet found a way yet to get the large heavy skate lockers co-located with rink space).
Top tip: if you haven’t been before and are hiring skates make sure you check the fit before going up to the 2nd floor and perhaps worth bringing a spare pair of (thick) socks that you can use to help get a better fit.
Basic Rink Etiquette
Pretty much all skating rinks follow the same standard etiquette: everyone skates the same way and that direction of skating is anti-clockwise (when seen from above). Don’t ask us why – that’s just the way things have settled although right leg, arm dominance probably has something to do with it.
At most rinks it is generally the case that faster and/or more confident skaters will gravitate towards the outer parts of the skating area. If you or the people/children in your care are relatively inexperienced skaters, we would recommend skating closer to the middle than the outside. Similarly if you are not skating with your children, you should encourage them to stay closer to the middle – you might also want to explain that its rarely a good idea to cut directly across from inside to outside. best to gradually move across to help avoid colliding with other skaters 😀 .
Everyone skates in the same direction otherwise its the skating equivalent of driving the wrong way down a one-way street! Certainly the direction of skating might change for different games and activities but follow the signs for skate direction and watch the Marshals who will always wave their arms and point in the direction of skating after a change in direction.
If anyone is stationary on the main rink for any period of time you will probably find a Marshall will skate up to stand between you and any oncoming skaters. If you have lost your balance or fallen then please take the time you need to recover but if you have stopped to chat with friends or if you are tired you will typically be asked to move on, this is because its quite likely someone will skate into you if you stay still where you are.
Sometimes, particularly when it gets busy you will find the marshals might ask people standing at the sides to move on aswell for similar reasons.
If you have fallen and you ask a Marshall for help to get up, please don’t be offended if the Marshal says they can’t. Helping someone up or pulling someone up, who is not stable on their skates is a very effective way to pull two people down on top of each other and cause an accident. The best way to get up is to maneuver onto your knees then bring one foot forward ready to take your weight and use your toe-stop to get up while not losing balance. There’s a good video describing how here.
Rink Layout
Deans has a large sportshall which is a bit like a double sportshall with a chunk taken out of the corner. That works out pretty well as it gives us a nice space for a beginners area which we generally leave in place for all events at this venue.
The beginners area is intended to be a less ‘busy’ space than the main rink. This is to allow people to practice and to gain confidence; if you are skating quickly in this space then you are skating in the wrong place – please move to the main rink.
When we play stuck in the mud we sometimes split the main rink in two creating a mini rink and a game space. If you are not a confident skater you might not enjoy playing stuck in the mud – it can get quite fast paced.
