SKATEWORLD - SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS I'D LIKE TO SEE - Thursday, October 13, 2011 by Paul

Let's talk about Skateworld. As you probably know, Skateworld in Linda Vista is the last roller skating rink left in San Diego County. That is where I skate every Tuesday on Adult night. It has a nice wooden floor with a good surface that they recently refinished.

I enjoy skating there with my friends, but before I can recommend it to any other serious skaters and expect to keep their respect, Skateworld needs to make a few more improvements, in my opinion.

Here are six suggestions for improvements:

1. EXTEND THE FLOOR - The skating area is small. The small area results in a crowded rink when more than a handful of people show up. The length of the floor could be extended by probably 10 feet if they removed the seating on the North and South walls and replaced it with flooring. Not a huge improvement but it might make it feel bigger. Also they could put mirrored plexiglass on the North wall like the old rink in Santee used to have. The mirrors would make it look twice as big.

2. NEED BETTER ACOUSTICS - The building is shaped like a quonset hut. The echo from the round ceiling is overpowering and interferes with the music. They could put some baffles on the ceiling like in the Sports Arena. It wouldn't cost too much, and would make a big improvement in the overall sound quality.

3. UPGRADE THE SOUND SYSTEM - There are not enough speakers or they are too weak or positioned wrong. Or they are not mixed correctly. It is hard to even figure out what song is playing sometimes. All I can discerne is a muffled "Thump thump ugh... thump thump ugh." It really makes it hard for me to get into the songs. They need to invest in a professional sound system overhaul where the music is clearer and more enjoyable.

4. IMPROVE THE MUSIC SELECTION - They play some really strange music sometimes. I wouldn't even call some of it "skating" music. They definitely stay away from Hip-Hop which is okay by me but sort-of unusual for a skating rink. On the plus side, most of the retro "skate" classics, such as Parliament etc,. are played regularly. But hardly any new music is played which makes it boring sometimes. One of the DJ's will not even take requests. The R & B is kept to a minimum, which is my favorite kind of music to skate to. I know you can't please everyone, but what I would like to see is more R&B and less disco.

5. GET SOME AIR CONDITIONING - There is no air conditioning that I have ever felt. It is always about twenty-five degrees hotter inside than outside, which makes for a miserable, sweaty experience on a warm summer night. Skating couples is one of my favorite acivities, but when it is hot in the rink I get too embarassed from sweating all over my partner. They need to spend some money and invest in a workable air conditioning system.

6. PRACTICE AND ENFORCE "SKATING ETIQUETTE" - Skateworld does not enforce the rule about slower skaters keeping towards the inside and faster skaters on the outside. This has resulted in slower skaters getting shoved and pushed by the faster skaters on the outside. And slower skaters getting pushed and shoved by the skaters weaving in and out and sharply cutting the corners on the inside. Newer skaters often complain about the rude regulars pushing and shoving them. The real problem, in my opinion, is with the lack of skating etiquette. Skateworld thinks enforcing "etiquette" rules creates an unfriendly atmosphere. If the "slower to the inside" rule were announced by the DJ and enforced by the floorguards, there would be fewer collisions. So it would be safer, less confrontational and therefore more "friendly". Every other rink that I know of announces and enforces the "Slower to the inside" rule. It is just common sense and a lot safer for both beginners and regulars.

If Skateworld were to make these suggested improvements I would gladly and whole-heartedly recommend it to everyone.

"THRILLER DANCE" at the San Diego Fair - Friday, June 25, 2010 by Paul

On Friday, June 25, Debbi, Rachel, Claudia , Caroyln, Michael and I all took part in the San Diego County Fair festivities. We danced with a group of 400 zombies to Michael Jackson's Thriller right on the main promenade at 11 am. Then we did another performance in the Paddock area at 6:30 pm. We were front page news the next day! Click here to see the photos and read the article in the Union Tribune.

It was all due to one man, Chris Estrella. He is an awesome professional dancer / choreographer / instructor. It was so cool to get to work with him and be a part of his troupe.

When Debbi and I signed on, a few months prior to the event, there were only about six people total. The original plan was to do a Thriller flash mob on Michael Jackson's one-year anniversary at Balboa Park. It stayed that way for a couple of months. Then Chris approached the County Fair people with a proposal to do it there.

After they said ok, it took off like crazy. It was in the newspapers. KFMB News Channel 8 came out and reported on one of our practices. The next week Chris said there were over 100 dancers signed up. Then the next week he said over 200. Then the following week, over 300. I was really excited. The Thrill The World Thriller dance in San Diego the previous year was a record 209 zombies. We were set to beat that easily.

By the week of the performance, there were over 400 freaking zombie dancers!! I was feeling ecstatic!

The performance at the fair was awesome! Debbi and I got picked for the "A" group of dancers right on the front row for the first show. For the second show, Debbi was on the front row while I was on the main stage along with only six other hand-picked dancers. I was feeling ecstatic plus highly privileged.

Saturday, June 26, 2010 The following day, Saturday, June 26, we set out to do the flash mob at Balboa Park. However, The Union tribune had published the time and location so when we showed up, the mob flashed us! There were over 1,000 people waiting to see us dance. When we merely walked into the place the crowd went wild.

All in all it was a great weekend. We had spent a lot of time practicing the dance and perfecting our costumes. Here are some links to some YouTube videos of the performances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fVPkDn7nM0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYiwGrqAYGw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaZPUDKJWhk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yS0kzUCodg

There are lots more. Just do a search for "Thriller San Diego"

Sunday, July 4, 2010

July 4th was the 19th Annual Skate This Picnic and Skate Exhibition. Debbi, Claudia, Carolyn, Michael, James and I did Thriller again in full costume. The crowd loved it. Christopher from Las Vegas was there. His performances at Venice Beach were the inspiration that prompted Debbi and me into doing these shows. I had another great weekend.