did you ever skate at Skateland new lynn & have memories of skating in the 80's?..

These pages are a tribute to the Skateland New Lynn rink at which many of us started skating. Skateland had a huge impact on our lives and in the New Lynn community around it. The following pages are a few of the memories for a rink and a time that many of us will cherish.

Skateland Sports Centre was first opened in 1980 on Great North Road in New Lynn opposite LynnMall by Gary and Judy Parker. Gary and Judy had worked in the US for some years and had acquired a lot of knowledge and the enthusiasm to successfully run a commercial roller skating rink in New Zealand. No to mention the many years before the US where they competed Nationally and Internationally. 
Gary had been heard to say... "After all the money and effort we've put in, what if no-one turns up to skate??"
As it turned out there were queues on opening night as far as the eye could see and he needn't have worried.

HISTORY

There were three managers in the history of Skateland New Lynn. The first was Dave Graham, from 1980 till around 1983, then Ray Williams, from then until 1987, and the third (and final) was Steven Neville. All of whom had been competitive skaters.

During the early to mid 1980's it was a common sight to see 300-400 skaters at the rink on Friday and Saturday nights. Numbers started to drop in the mid to end of the 1980's, down to around 200, then following the stock market crash of 1987 numbers began to decline a little more every year. By the early to mid 1990's Friday and Saturday nights were down to as little as 20 or 30 skaters at times. 
There were Learn to Skate classes held on Monday nights followed by Junior Club. Senior Club was Tuesday night and the rink also ran Adult classes and began the Special Olympics sessions. 
With the death of the silent business partner in 1993 the rink had no choice but to close down. Mitre 10 bought the building and in April 1994 Skateland closed it's doors for the last time.

From an artistic club aspect Skateland created a bit of an uproar on the competitive scene. In New Zealand in the 1980's there was a line drawn between amateur and professionalism. This was a very limiting rule for skaters who wished also to coach, or in areas where there were less coaches and a greater pressure on skaters to being coaching. Gary and the new club members came under pressure in the early days because people did not see how amateur skaters could come out of a professional rink. How could the do it? Well luckily the problem was sorted out enough so the skaters could compete.
The Skateland club was one of the strongest in the country, both in numbers and in talent. It could boast many international representatives and started the skating careers of some Senior skaters still competing today. 
It can be said that the current City of Waitakere club owes it's roots to the Skateland rink and is part of the reason the Westies on Wheels site exists today. 

Skateland has skated some 1 million people through it's doors in the 14 years it was open. You can search on the Old Friends section of TradeMe for past members of the club and many people have fond memories of their times at the rink.  Check out the next pages for some of the snapshots.

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