Bruno Mars echoes through the halls leading to the Varsity Gym, which is dark except for UV lights and fluorescent roller skates. The home of wrestlers and basketball players is transported back in time to what many remember as their tween era of silly bands, Vine compilations, and school-day trips to the roller rink.
Appalachian Popular Programming Society held its 17th annual App Skate event on March 20, giving students and community members the opportunity to have a night at the rink at no cost. With skates provided and lights turned low, the event served as a cost-friendly choice for anyone wanting to relive their tween years on the neon hardwood.
“It makes you feel so nostalgic,” said sophomore environmental science major Lesley Morgan. “I grew up going to roller skating events, my sister always had her birthday parties, and so this music, it’s bringing it all back.”
App Skate, an event that began over a decade ago, started as a way for students to skate their hearts out during a time when Boone was clamped down by a townwide skating ban.
“We’ve put on App Skate every single year since the ban was lifted to be a celebration of skating in Boone,” said APPS co-advisor Katie Brooks. “We did it for some time in Legends and now have shifted over to Varsity Gym. We’ve made the rink bigger to fill the space and added the glow-in-the-dark element, which I think makes it super cool.”
The event draws skaters of all experience levels, from children and local newbies all the way to experienced skaters like those at Appalachian Roller Derby.
“I think it’s really nice to have skating activities around campus,” Freshman social work major and roller derby skater Jessica Cox said. “We only get the one skate rink in Boone, and so it’s nice to have stuff like this.”
Cox and her fellow skaters gave the attendees both a stunning array of tricks and high-speed skill, setting a strong example for the many who were rollerskating for their first time in years.
Inexperience, however scary, is the only way toward becoming a better skater. APPS embraces the new skating scene, supplying roller skates in every size and shape and encouraging skaters to keep coming back for more than just one of their 30-minute time slots. The rink, lined with stable metal railing, was perfectly set up for those new to the sport to get their bearings before taking chances on an unsupported middle ring where one can truly learn to roll.
“I would also say there’s something to be said about learning a new skill as an adult,” said sophomore history major and roller derby skater Clara Ponzi, nicknamed “Rainbow Crash.” “A lot of people find that really scary if you haven’t done the thing as a little kid and you’re starting off as an adult and you think you look bad, but you know, learning a new skill takes time for anybody, and doing that as an adult is a really cool thing.”
The event drew several hundred people over the course of the night, with many opting to skate in several time slots, burning the night away hour after hour in the fluorescent ambience.
App Skate captured a feeling that many rarely find in the college scene. Amidst the music and stumbling, new skills were learned, and the night went by with relatively low amounts of butt-busting and scraped knees. The nostalgia for years gone by that so many look for happened to be resting in Varsity Gym all along, waiting in the neon lights and flashy footwear.
