WAR Skates: Friday Night Skate

Friday Night Beginner Skate
For other weekly skates see the Skates page.

When:
During Daylight Savings Time (Basically April through October) on Friday Night.
The skate leaves at 7:15 p.m. Arrive at 7:00 to socialize and hear pre-skate announcements.

Weather permitting: See the Skate Page for the Weather Policy.

Where:

The Skate meets on Pennsylvania Ave in front of The White House. Go to the WAR White House Meeting Spot for more information..

Led by:
Uniformed Volunteers from The National Skate Patrol
The National Skate patrol directs this skate and helps people enjoy themselves and have a safe skate. Please respect and follow directions from skate patrol. You may see them direct traffic, assist with first aid, offer skating advice, mark turns, announce obstacles, act as sweep, and provide entertainment.

What skill level is this skate?
It's a beginner level street skate of 6-10 miles, which finishes around 9 p.m. This skate keeps a leisurely pace on moderate hills and generally flat terrain through light traffic, but also includes a downhill from the Washington Monument down 15th St. to the Jefferson Memorial. Often skaters have food or drinks afterwards.

Not all beginners will be ready for this skate! If you have never skated, you will not be able to participate in this skate. You must be comfortable with the motion and balance of skating as well as stopping on a hill.

Street Skating requires more skill than trail or parking lot skating. While balance and steering techniques are essentially the same, skating in city streets and in potentially dangerous environments requires a higher competency. Like driving, you must be constantly searching for hazards and obstacles and be prepared to react by turning, stopping and avoiding. We encourage skaters who would like to work on these skills to attend our free clinic in Rock Creek Park.

The pace is social and leisurely. It varies depending on a variety of factors, but frequent regrouping and stops keep the group together and can accommodate most beginner skaters. If you have extra time, meet and make friends with the other skaters as they wait at the stops.

Hills! Because of Washington's moderately hilly terrain, you should have mastered at least two kinds of braking (e.g., heel braking, T-stopping, power slides, snowplowing, etc.) and be able to brake on an incline of at least 5-degrees before participating.

Fun is what you can expect from the Friday night skate. If you are a beginning street skater you can make friends and enjoy a supportive environment as you start to get comfortable with this enjoyable activity. To accommodate as many levels as possible, there are many regroup points so that slower skaters can keep up, and faster skaters have a long time to take breaks and talk.

See the Skates page for information applicable to all WAR Skates.

Please email the webmaster if you have pictures, modifications or material to contribute.