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Students on campus, Nottingham University
University of Nottingham
Nottingham
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Transport around University

This information is slightly biased, but please bear with me! :biggrin:

As current University of Nottingham students know, and soon-to-be Freshers will come to realise, the main campus is quite large and takes some time to walk across. And if you have to walk from Raleigh Park or Lenton to campus, or from Broadgate halls to the Science Park, or between the main campus and Jubilee campus, it takes even longer.

You could wait and pack yourself into a crowded bus, yes. Or, you could cycle it, getting yourself some exercise and fresh air in the process! I’m sure many of you will be bringing your bikes with you this September. But bringing a bike to uni poses a few problems: they are a big and bulky item to transport between uni and home, (meaning you’ll need a cycle rack if driving), you can’t leave them locked near your room on campus, they take up lots of space if you’re in a house and when you leave them locked up around campus, they have a tendancy to go missing, thanks to thieving chavs.

I hereby propose an alternative. Why not skate? Inlines or quads, I’m not biased. You probably already have a pair somewhere. They are far easier to transport and store than bikes and you can even keep them with you in lectures, so they don’t go missing. But I can’t skate that well, I hear you cry! Well then, thank goodness for BladeSoc, the Uni of Nott’m skating society. Not only can you hire skates and pads for nothing, but you’ll also receive free tuition from qualified instructors! BladeSoc welcomes all levels of skater, from total novice to those at international competition level (and yes, we have a few of those). Come on and join in the fun, every Saturday afternoon on Cripps car park. The first session is on Saturday 29th September.

See the BladeSoc website for more details. Any questions, reply and I'll do my best to answer them.

Hope to see you rolling with us soon.

Scroll to see replies

mm sound good!!
Students on campus, Nottingham University
University of Nottingham
Nottingham
Visit website
Reply 2
Thanks, but no thanks! The last time I skated must have been like 10 years ago and even then I wasn't that good! A good old walk will do the trick for me!
Haha, you're relentless.
Reply 4
uuuuuuu i used to love skating... just loved it!! but that was about 10 years ago, i'm not sure i still know how to skate! but yes the idea is really appealing! one thing, i don't own a pair of skates anymore!

i used to have the quads, are the inlines difficult to learn on? do u suggest i rent a pair of quads until i remember the technique and then move on to inlines, or start off with inlines straight away?? mm yes i'm definitely interested, count me in!
Reply 5
sweetcherry
i used to have the quads, are the inlines difficult to learn on? do u suggest i rent a pair of quads until i remember the technique and then move on to inlines, or start off with inlines straight away?? mm yes i'm definitely interested, count me in!


I only skate inlines, but some of our regulars are biskateual. For starters, as I'm used to teaching inliners and BladeSoc only has inline skates to borrow, I suggest you stick with inlines. If you find you're enjoying skating and want to learn more (and everyone I have taught so far has) then is the time to look at different sorts of skates to buy for yourself. See you in September!
Reply 6
geoff_yin
Thanks, but no thanks! The last time I skated must have been like 10 years ago and even then I wasn't that good! A good old walk will do the trick for me!


But I imagine back then you didn't have lots of supportive skaters to help you develop your skills, yes?
Reply 7
My balance is so awful I can't even ride a bike, let alone skate. I will be busing and walking everywhere thanks!
Reply 8
Acidedge
But I imagine back then you didn't have lots of supportive skaters to help you develop your skills, yes?


No I didn't but I didn't really want to be really keen at skating - it was just a small hobby of mine at the time... Besides travelling into lectures with blades on is just hassle as it always takes me ages to take off/put on the skates and then you have to lug around your normal shoes/massive blades all around the campus!

I'm very comfortable with walking anyway - I have just got back from an hour walk home from a night out myself! Notice the time! *Collapses on bed*
Reply 9
Actually, this thread is convenient for me:

Is there a skate-shop in Nottingham that I've yet to find?
Lol. About a year ago I looked at some of the society websites and the Blade Soc did look pretty good lol. I used to have lessons, yearsssss ago but then last year I tried it and was soooooooo rubbish lol. Do you usually have lots of freshers come who can barely stand up? Cus then maybe I'll come lol!
Reply 11
Loki
Actually, this thread is convenient for me:

Is there a skate-shop in Nottingham that I've yet to find?


Probably not. There's the HockeyShop and the shop inside the Ice Arena, but they're only good if you're after hockey skates (ice or inline). You can get OK beginners skates from Decathlon, J26 M1.

If you have any particular type of skate or other item you're after, I can tell the best places to find them.
Reply 12
ange de la nuit
Lol. About a year ago I looked at some of the society websites and the Blade Soc did look pretty good lol. I used to have lessons, yearsssss ago but then last year I tried it and was soooooooo rubbish lol. Do you usually have lots of freshers come who can barely stand up? Cus then maybe I'll come lol!


Yes; you won't be alone!

If you can stand unaided, I can teach you to skate. Really. All my learners are rolling around having a great time after just their first lesson and come back for more.

The initial hurdle when learning to skate is working on your sense of balance. People who have a developed sense of balance through ice skating, skateboarding, skiing, surfing, etc., will pick up the techniques really quickly. But most new skaters don't have such a sense of balance. Don't despair though, it's something that can quickly be learnt with a little practice. We were all beginners once!
i might be up for it :smile:
you're persuading me. i'm pretty okish at ice skating (for someone who hasn't had lessons or anything). it's frustrating that i used to have lessons and now i can't do anything!
Reply 15
Oooh, tempting. My trusty Salomon ST10s are 2 sizes too small now, though, and I haven't skated in AGES :frown:.
Reply 16
Yeh looks really cool actually but I'm going to be on SB which kind of limits me a bit as it would be hard to get to many society meetings and activities easily :-(. Is anyone from SB a member of bladesoc?
Reply 17
00nay00
Yeh looks really cool actually but I'm going to be on SB which kind of limits me a bit as it would be hard to get to many society meetings and activities easily :-(. Is anyone from SB a member of bladesoc?


We've had a few SB residents join in on Saturdays. Finnstar was one member of this forum from SB that skated with us.
Reply 18
Mr. Fox
Oooh, tempting. My trusty Salomon ST10s are 2 sizes too small now, though, and I haven't skated in AGES :frown:.


Have you tried them on recently? Aggressive skates, such as the Salomon ST10s have loads of padding, so this may still fit with the padding squished down a bit. Also, people have an odd tendency to buy skates much bigger than their shoe sizes, so they may fit perfectly now. Bring them along anyway, you may be able to sell them to new budding aggressive skaters.

One thing to note about BladeSoc though, if you're an aggressive skater: we do not condone traditional aggressive skating on campus, i.e. no grinding ledges or rails. Instead, we promote freeride street skating, which is similiar and involves jumps, stair-rides and slides, amongst other things. BladeSoc occasionally has problems with campus security when they confuse us with local lads coming onto campus to grind the ledges by the lake or behind the new Portland Building extension. Having said all that, we certainly do welcome agressive skaters to the society. As mentioned above, you can learn to stair-ride, jump and slide at BladeSoc, or develop your skills. You can also join in the free lessons, tips 'n' tricks and street hockey on aggressive skates, and we can arrange to meet and show you the best skate spots and parks off-campus, of which there are several around Nottingham.
Reply 19
Acidedge
We've had a few SB residents join in on Saturdays. Finnstar was one member of this forum from SB that skated with us.


O right cool, i'll find out more at freshers fair i'm guessing and have a look at shuttle bus times etc. :smile:

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