Get a Job as a Skating Center Disc Jockey

If you have a lot of energy, a pleasant voice and love electronics and sound equipment, you might enjoy working as an arena announcer or rink disc jockey. This job is for anyone who loves music and likes to announce for competitions, emcee promotions and play the right mix of music and games to keep session skaters coming back.

Job responsibilities can include:

• Announcing lineups, event status information and results at competitive skating events.
• Acting as the host or emcee for session games and promotions.
• Playing music for public sessions, skating parties or other events.
• Interacting with athletes, spectators, fans or session customers of all ages.

Requirements may include:

• A consistently high level of energy and enthusiasm.
• A pleasant and clear speaking voice.
• Must be able to read well enough to follow prepared scripts.
• Should feel comfortable with improvisation as the situation allows.
• Experience with a variety of sound, music and multimedia systems is helpful, but many rinks and centers will train a smart applicant with a nice set of lungs.

The roller rink disc jockey has the added responsibility of creating a musical skating environment that suits the taste of the groups who will listen to or skate to the music. You will not be able to please everyone with every song, but must be willing make an effort to keep the energy level high enough to keep the crowd interested and skating. This means keeping up with popular tunes in various genres and knowing what's appropriate for listeners of many ages and from various lifestyles.

On the other hand, an arena announcer will need some technical knowledge about any assigned competitive or exhibition skating events in order to report status and results properly. This is where your skating history comes in handy for this specific emcee position.

Look for Announcer or Disc Jockey Opportunities

Check roller sports trade publications to see what's listed in their classified ads. Get in touch with sports centers, arenas and skating rinks in your area to find any disc jockey or announcing positions they may have. If you are at the top-of-mind when an opening arises, they may consider you instead of advertising for help. These jobs are often filled by word-of-mouth. And many facilities are even willing to train a former skater or entry level rink employee with a good voice and an interest in multimedia. If you are interested in using your voice and also performing in skating-related films or other more theatrical entertainment, you should consider becoming a show skater.

If your voice is really good, you may want to consider taking your skating and vocal skills out of the rink and into real live performances. Some production companies, like Beau Ideal Productions, are specialists in producing drama, comedy and other live performances using skaters and other unique entertainer/performers as actors.

Share Your Roller Sports Job Experience

Have you ever worked in an inline skating or roller sports related job? Share your skating employment story and tell us about the job you found, how you found it, what your job responsibilities were and whether you would recommend this type of employment to another skater.