The Skating Club of Boston

The place is a bit snobbish and full of themselves. I signed my daughter up to take a USFSA skating test at this rink. I turned in the registration a month prior and they promptly cashed my check. 3 days before test, I get an email — no room in the testing session, we can test the following month. We agree. Again the next month, 3 days prior to the test session, once again told no room in the test session. At this point I ask for my money back. They would not refund the money. So no refund and no test.

Had I known after a year and a half you would make up a rule which had never been enforced in all the times I had skated before, I wouldn’t have wasted my time driving all the way to Boston. Awful. If you’re going to start injecting rules at a whim perhaps post it on your website.

Yeah. The building is pretty old. But it’s remarkably well kept, and important [to me anyway] it’s very clean. And not cold! Very cool to skate and look at the banners of past U.S. champions and stuff. We didn’t think it was expensive at all. Compared to what? A movie? A guest pass at a gym?
We asked about the history of the place when we were leaving, and the girl at the front desk was very nice. She told us the club is in the planning stages for a new 3-​rink facility a few blocks away. Can’t wait to skate there too. Just hope they have more public sessions.

Great instructors, Linda is very very experienced. The ice ring is run down but functional. Classes are very crowded held in small space. Crazy parents. My kids stuff got tossed to the ground and received very racial discriminative comments from other parents while changing.

It may be old, but it definitely has a lot of history.
I really do enjoy this place, even though it looks like it collapse on me as I’m skating. People are complaining how the prices here are a little steep for public hours, but if your thinking about ice skating once a year to say like… take someone on a date… it definitely is a great spot! You have soldiers field right next door to take a lovely stroll after or before. And with allston restaurants being so close, you can grab dinner before hand.
A skating rink is a skating rink in my eyes: for someone who ice skates maybe once a year. It is noting fancy, but it sure is in a great location with friendly staff.

I have never skated myself at this rink, but rather, have spectated many a Tuesday night men’s league hockey game.
We come in at about 10, catching the tail end of what seems to be a public skate. Not too crowded, a figure skating lesson or two going on, and a handful of graceful skaters doing their own thing. Also, there’s a guy playing an organ– an actual organ! How cute! Seems to me like it would make for a creative first date spot?
After we arrive, Boyfriend heads to the locker rooms (I’ve never used the facilities, therefore cannot comment) and I take to the seating area. I’ve been to many barns in my 26 years, and this is one of the more comfortable. I always come over-​prepared, toting with me an extra jacket and wearing warm shoes, but the ambient temperature is one that accommodates both the ice AND the spectators. How they manage this is beyond me, since I don’t see any of the overhead seating-​area heaters that some other places employ, but I’m not complaining! I’m usually fine in a t-​shirt and sweatpants (their ice time ends after midnight, no judgements!!)
There’s plenty of parking, and the limited staff I’ve come in contact with (the Zamboni guy) is very friendly and willing to give the boys an extra few minutes if Overtime is needed!

Good for kids, a little crowded.

If you’re a snobby Olympic hopeful, then you may like this place. If you want to have fun and skate with friends, go to any other rink in the area. It’s 8 bucks just to get in to use the wonderful ice that’s full of puddles in the summer. The music is a crappy organist who I’ve heard plays the same exact songs every time. I wouldn’t go here alone because after every song it’s either couples or triples only on the ice. Basically, plan on sitting down a lot if you didn’t bring some friends. My biggest gripe is the clientele. I didn’t see anyone having a good time like at other rinks. No smiles, just robotic looks of boredom. SCOB is for snobs.

I’m docking this place a star (seriously considering docking them two stars) for not offering skating lessons for adults during the summer. That makes exactly 0 places offering skating lessons for adults in Boston this summer. Even Upstate NY has more offerings than this! For shame!

Parking is plentiful, and they have an adult-​only session on Tuesday nights which I come for.
To my surprise the first time, because it was not mentioned in their skating schedule or online, Tuesday night is a «couples» skating session. That means that for some songs, you can only skate in pairs (if you bring friend that’s fine, so not necessarily romantic couples). And there are also some songs for triples – three people skating together, not triple jumps ;) – only.
They are pretty strict about this arrangement, so for those songs, which is probably a quarter of the session, singles sit out or strangers get together. Just something to be aware of.
Otherwise, I’m a fan – it’s a nice rink with decent ice when I’m allowed to skate on it! ;) Oh, and on weekends, there’s a good and inexpensive food bar with delicious soups!

Not the brightest folks running this place.
I finally cleared a Sunday afternoon so I could hit their public skating session. Called a couple times over the weekend to make sure I remembered the right time. I did… 2:30. Even called before heading over. It was pretty hot and humid and I know many rinks shut down in those conditions.
No — they were open according to the recording.
I get there and sure enough, a bunch of pissed off would-​be skaters are dumbfounded. The ice is clear and ready to be used… but no. They decided to cancel the public session for some kind of training. And here’s the kicker — whoever booked the ice wasn’t even using it. So common sense logic would make you think they wouldn’t want to waste the opportunity to get the $ 8 per person from the dozens of people who showed up for the public skate.
Nope.
The guy running the place said no and closed the rink.
Seems like a nice enough rink though — I’ll go back. I just wish they had the common sense to post on their web site or modify their voicemail when they are going to screw around with their schedule.
I will say though the kid who worked in the skate shop was nice. Thus the 2^nd star.

The Boston Skating Club has had its hey-​day, I fear. The interior is worn out, the bathrooms are gross, it is overpriced, snobby, and the ice quality in summer is poor (soft ice in summer = melting ice).
First, the public skate is a joke: weekends are crowded with kids & much of the small ice surface blocked off for club coaches who teach their youngest students during this time; second, you are paying $ 8 for this and you are not allowed to listen to an ipod on the ice. I’m not sure skating backwards is permitted either. Rules like these are rigorously enforced by the guards.
Tuesday night public skating is for adults only but is thoroughly tedious. The ‘live’ organist is a recording, actually. No ipod means you have to listen to the same dull organ pieces again and again. Anyone who comes alone will spend 50% of their time off ice for ‘couple skate’ and ‘triples skate’. A number of club coaches give adult lessons during this time.
Lessons: biggest joke of all. You can do quality Learn to Skate at any public rink with Bay State Skating School or Bay State Blades, who have _​good instructors_​. At the Skating Club, you’ll get either a skating snob who hasn’t skated in years, or a teenager who might be quite expert on ice but who can’t explain a cross-​over and who has the patience of a 15-​year-​old. This is a BIG waste of $$$. They charge about $ 200, and their idea of ‘practice ice’ is a strip of about 20 ft filled with 2 – 10 year olds.
Much better, more fun and more lively skating at the public rinks, year round, at a fraction of the cost.

Although I understand that it is a private club and that its main purpose is to train competitive skaters, when walking in there, I had expectations which I felt weren’t met.
The place charges $ 8 per entry, without rental. Are you kidding me? What kind of places charges that much? Fine. Whatever, its 9pm, I want to skate.
The second I got my skates on and made my way to the ice which had about 10 people on it, a skateguard approched me and told me that it was couples skating for the next 3 songs… Ok… My girlfriend isn’t here. I proceeded to the benches and waited… and waited… and waited…
The songs were played live by an organist and were long. Finally once I got on the ice I had a good time but every now and then they kicked everyone out for more couples and triples skating which I thought was unnecessary…
Overall the place is nice, the ice quality is decent but it is overpriced and these rules of there a a little strict… Seems like they take themselves a little too seriously and I’m not fond of that.
There is plenty of parking though and it is a convenient location which is way it received so many stars.

Partiality disclaimer: This organization may be keeping hummus on Rune’s table. As a Boston fixture since 1911 and at its Soldiers Field Road location since the ‘30s, The Skating Club of Boston is long overdue for a Unilocalin’.
Though its primary function is, jointly, the training of competitive skaters at all levels (the Club boasts a legacy of numerous Olympic and World champions) and catering to its more recreation-​inclined membership, The Skating Club of Boston serves the public at-​large with twice-​weekly public skating sessions and several Learn-​to-​Skate programs.
The Saturday afternoon public skate (2:50 — 4:20 p.m.; $ 7 reg. admission, $ 4 for children under 13, $ 4 for skate rentals) — which moves to Sundays in the summer — is a pretty standard affair and not unlike what you’d find at most public rinks (with the exceptions of ‘softer’ ice, a consistently warmer temperature, extraordinary natural light and a café). The Tuesday evening time (8:30 — 10:45 p.m.), reserved for adults, is an entirely different story. There’s a decidedly nostalgic feeling, owed largely to the live organ playing and the ‘called’ restrictions to doubles or triples, where skaters need to either join up with one or two others or make their way to the dasher.
For all of you fellers looking for a one-​of-​a-​kind date to impress your special someone, the Tuesday night public skate has been helping the magic happen for decades. A number of now-​elderly couples (contributors to the ‘regular crowd’ and always willing to share a story) have remarked on meeting each other at or going on their first date to the Club’s public skate.
There are Learn-​to-​Skate programs on Saturday afternoons (12:40 — 2:40 p.m., September through June) and Monday evenings (6:30 — 8:30 p.m., year-​round) where beginners of all ages can learn the basics from the Club’s world-​class coaching staff. At $ 20 per week (for a half-​hour lesson and up to 1 ½ hours of optional practice ice), it’s an absolute bargain.
The rest of the Club’s schedule (the arena operates from 5:00 a.m. to midnight, every day of the week) is filled with times reserved for competitive skaters and its members. There is a boutique (unaffiliated with the Club beyond the rental arrangement) that offers skate sharpening and repair and sells blades, boots, tights, dresses and assorted skating-​related paraphernalia.
Lastly — big selling point — plenty of parking.
Check it out, y’all.