Jayanagar Skating rink - part 3

So far: Our first time at the Jayanagar Skating rink, and the second time.

So, my son had been going skating for a month or so. I was glad I put him there.. given the time he was taking to learn. I definitely wouldn't have had the patience or understanding to break down the process of skating to teach him that correctly. I was happy to walk around the stadium talking on the phone with friends while he was busy getting up.

Then one day we go to the rink, and I happen to notice that same board I'd mentioned the previous time. There was something different. I paid closer attention.

The line 'Skating permitted for club skaters only' was painted over. You could still see the lettering under the white paint-over. But it definitely was gone.

The 3rd line had something about BBMP (Bangalore City authority) - who I'd deduced the first time to be the people in charge when I'd had the altercation with the woman running the club.

Looks like the club guys had taken upon themselves to put up the board and paint in their lie about 'Only club skaters allowed' - probably to deal with pesky people like me. Looks like somebody smarter than me (or maybe even the BBMP folks) had seen their lie and called them on it.

The good thing about it was that I'd seen this after a month or so into the class. So, I'd realized that putting my son into the class was the smart thing to do overall. So, I took a deep breath, took a picture of this ( to publish here).

And I continued with my routine of walking about the stadium calling my friends, eating tomato puri at the cart there, and eating roasted maize from another cart.

At the end of the summer, my son was going around the rink comfortably. Not fast - and he still didn't have the 'glide' that comes when you're skating comfortably. Thats the end of it however. I eventually got bored of driving him up to the rink. I stuck with just tennis lessons for him.

Jayanagar Skating rink - part 2

After that unpleasant experience at the skating rink, I thought some more and realized that lady must have been bluffing. At the same time, I didn't want my son to be tottering amongst the rest of the class with children of various skill levels moving around.

So, I took him an hour earlier one day at 3:30 in the afternoon.

So, we put on the skates and are about to walk into the rink and I see a new board there.

The board basically announced the rink, and the 2nd/3rd lines had

"Only club skaters allowed "

"By order"

Seeing stuff in writing, I thought .."Ok.. maybe she was right, then. Let me just take him in for today, now that he's here and ready".

We walk in, and he starts stepping about and the male coach who was teaching the kids last time.. walks in. He starts laying cones about.. and we started talking. He didn't say anything about us being there 'unauthorized'. But since I'd seen that board, I asked him about joining the class and he told me what I needed to get - the regular roller skates, shoes ..etc.

After 15 min, we went and got the equipment, and my son was enrolled.

I was thankful I did that. What I'd imagined as an exercise lasting a day or two.. continued for more than 3 months. I guess small kids(or some kids) take longer to learn the balance/coordination required for skating.

I remember how I'd taught myself skating back in the 7th grade. It was almost an entire day of falling on my backside.

But by evening, I had achieved two things:

1. I could skate around my terrace fine, make turns, etc. without falling.
2. My butt was so sore that I could only lie on the floor if I wanted to be in a non-standing position.

Anyhow, my son was now taking skating lessons. So, does that end the skating story? Not quite...