Our Program ● Our Long Term Plans
Weekly on Saturday afternoons in Park View, Columbia Heights, Petworth.
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We offer a weekly skating program for kids representing a fun blend of games, practice and learning.Both inline and roller skaters are welcome. We have loaner skates and protective gear available. Just let us know what you need.
We operate our program at the Salvation Army gym, located at 3335 Sherman Ave NW, Washington DC.
We are offering our program on a BYOM (Bring Your own Mom) basis where an adult relative needs to be present during program sessions.(We're looking into easing this requirement moving forward so mom can step out for errands but this has proven to be a slow process.)
Children should be at least 8 years old. We invite younger children to join in who have the motor skills to skate and the ability to learn in a group setting. Our skate shoe sizes go down to size 1 with a smaller inventory of kids size 11s and 12s available too.
either inline skates, with a heel brake
...or roller skates, with toe stops
a helmet -- a bike helmet will do
wrist guards
elbow pads
knee pads
Inline and roller skaters are welcome.Protective gear is required. This includes a helmet (a bike helmet will do), wristguards, elbow pads and knee pads.We have loaner protective gear and skates to help get you started.
Interested families who find affordability an issue are encouraged to contact us to make special arrangements to participate in our program.
Some of our plans are ready to go and some of our plans require a little preparation.
When the weather turns beautiful, we can go outdoors and run sessions in Rock Creek Park. We have offered skating lessons to adults and children in Rock Creek Park since the 90s.

In past years we have turned the Salvation Army outdoor parking lot into a roller rink, complete with DJed music, food and drink.We originally offered this as an adult event and it was a lot of fun. This would be an exceptionally good fit for families and kids.
Once we have built the necessary safety policies and personnel, we can offer a weekday after school program for kids.
We have received encouragement from the local community and by the district to foster a family skating program.This would be similar to the family biking programs that have emerged in different wards, where families meet monthly to be outdoors.We would be absolutely delighted to help to get a community driven outdoor family on skates program going! And we can propose several great car free and car protected routes and locations to start.Here are some links for inspiration:

Wait 6 (Capitol) Hill Family Biking
Most importantly, we would like to thank the Salvation Army for their ongoing encouragement and support of our skate teaching activities.We would also like to thank the National Park Service in Rock Creek Park for their ongoing support of outdoor safety and skating as well.
We're big fans of helping people build the skills they need to be able to take care of themselves.
