Advice: What's the best way to get guys to rent ice?

[Ace0813]

I am thinking about renting an ice sheet for the summer but I don't know how to get a bunch of people to commit. Any communities/places I should go to to post info to try to get the word out? Anyone from seacoast NH area looking to skate?

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[MattGTI]

The guy that runs a pickup skate that I go to now and again built up his following by word of mouth, email, email, email, and now uses an evite every monday morning(for a friday skate) inwhich everyone rsvp's to. As well as using Facebook to keep everyone in tune and in touch.

Your best bet is to get your core guys that you already know, the people they know, then go from there. Use message boards, social media, whatever to get the word out.

You don't pay, you don't play. None of these- "I'll get you next week", that just causes a trickle down effect of other people doing it.. See if you can get guys to commit by paying for the first skate, and maybe a one time fee of paying for a week or two out, if they enjoyed it, that way you are covered on a week you may be short guys/money.

First anf formost though, get a solid group of guys, that are for the most part commited to playing each week. As I said, word of mouth, and social media will take you pretty far.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Yeah, I would ask everyone I know that I would want to come first and if you still need spots filled ask them to to find people. Shouldnt be to hard to fill 20(?) spots if you give a week+ notice

 

[kamosko]

When I started renting ice times and needed bodies to pay and play I just told a few of the hockey players I knew at school and told them to tell a bunch of others.

Hard to turn down some ice time even if it's a stranger hosting.

 

[Jarick]

E-mail, Facebook, those are the biggest. To get them to actually PAY for it...that's hard.

My team was notorious for no-shows when we rented summer ice, and the captain got hit in the wallet. So he just told everyone to give him $100 if they wanted to be on the team next year, and that would go towards ice and some coached practices. That worked out really well.

 

[sanityplease]

I've done this a few times in the off-season. Don't think that I've ever been more frustrated with 'grown-ups' in my life. Been burnt a few times on cost. Make 50 phone calls/emails & get 40 'maybe's' or 'probably', 6 guys show up, then those 6 expect to pay $10 for the hour, I'm out $100 or more....... I'll never do it again.

Have run some organised ice times during hockey season though & never had a problem.

 

[izzy]

I harass people nonstop with Facebook messages and hope enough show up.

Small town life.


You could try having the rink advertise it if they do that kind of thing (my rink posts shinnys and stuff like that for some people with the big sign out front/tvs inside.)

 

[Missionhockey]

Somehow get the ice cheap. I tried to do this once for a team where all of us were just thrown together and the ice was over $400.

 

[CunniJA]

I harass people nonstop with Facebook messages and hope enough show up.

Small town life.


You could try having the rink advertise it if they do that kind of thing (my rink posts shinnys and stuff like that for some people with the big sign out front/tvs inside.)

Yeah. In my experience, Facebook harassment is what you need to do to actually get people to show up to things. That and using multiple modes of communication. A Facebook event invite, an e-mail, and texts to all of the people you want to get is a good idea, especially when starting things up. The best form of communicating amongst those three wildly varies from person to person I've found, so just do them all as a catch all.

I spend quite a bit of time organizing loads of different event and really understand the "frustration with 'grown-ups'" perfectly. I'm actually a teacher, and I find high school students are usually more reliable than alleged adults. When I was an intramural frisbee captain in college, even those stoners were more reliable than adults. The moral of the story is: treat your invitees like 5 year-olds. Tell them 2 weeks in advance, again 1 week in advance, and send a reminder the day of at the very least. Hold their hand the whole way through and they MIGHT make it (or at least give you a definitive response).

Definitely set up a group for your pick-up on Facebook. I also like to cast a really wide net when setting up hockey, Magic tournaments, etc. Depending on the event, I expect to get as low as 20% of the people I invite on Facebook to actually show up.

On Facebook, "no" means no (but, perhaps ask me next week because I actually care enough to give a definitive response). "Maybe" means no about 90% of the time. I would also say "maybe" is far and away the most annoying response to get. People think they're actually being polite by not saying "no" flat out, but it's actually far worse than just saying "no." Most of these people are either trying to figure out something better to do that night; are just plain non-committal, flaky men-children; or people that don't actually like you and want to shut you up the easy way.

 

[greyraven8]

Get a core of people that are willing to pay for how every many weeks you want upfront. I'd post a notice on the bulletin board at the arena you are planning to play at. Facebook, craigslist or kijiji, friends who play hockey, friends of friends or family, coworkers, school friends, etc. If there are hockey or goalie schools going on at the rink maybe some of those players would want to play when the school is over. Maybe a community centre bulletin board or sport complex where people are playing other sports that might also be hockey players willing to play in the summer.

If you can't get a fair amount willing to pay upfront, I'd advise forgetting the whole idea unless you are willing to lose some money at least at the start and very probably all together.

If you can get a fair number of players and a fair list of spares (those that can only make it sporadically - those that can't make games mainly because of shift work are likely a better bet than those that give you some wishy-washy answer) you can give a better deal for those that want to be regulars and pay up front.

Other than getting the numbers (and money) you need you next biggest problem is going to be getting reliable regular goalies. What is a minor challenge in the winter can be a major pain in the summer (can't play because of vacations, out camping, other family commitments, and for the love of god even preferring to play golf) . If you are lucky enough to find 2 regulars, you will likely want a couple spare goalies just in case or at the very least someone that plays out and has goalie equipment that wouldn't mind playing the odd game in goal.

Good luck

 

[Blueland89]

Yeah, I would ask everyone I know that I would want to come first and if you still need spots filled ask them to to find people. Shouldnt be to hard to fill 20(?) spots if you give a week+ notice

It is when you live in the Georgia

 

[Cousin Eddie]

If it's anything like here just tell one person and you will have more than enough. There is no ice time available in the St. John's area so if somebody has a skate with room there are probably 100 people willing to jump in, even if it's with complete strangers.

 

[cowboy82nd]

It is when you live in the Georgia

You mean to tell me that there are rinks in Georgia? Where??

 

[jorbjorb]

move to winnipeg

 

[Jets]

move to winnipeg

This.

 

[Blueland89]

You mean to tell me that there are rinks in Georgia? Where??

Gwinnett, kennesaw, and marietta.

 

[Blueland89]

move to winnipeg

Yeah cause that's helped the jets so much

 

[jorbjorb]

Yeah cause that's helped the jets so much

This is about getting guys to rent ice LOL
the jets stink

 

[Blueland89]

This is about getting guys to rent ice LOL
the jets stink

sorry just normal to get defensive when someone says something about moving to Winnipeg (old thrashers fan)