Skaters

A night at the roller skating rink means more to Paul and Karin Sevener than just wholesome family fun.

Roller skating was the first sport the Grafton couple learned as young children and it’s how they met.

Now, Paul is trying to turn more people on to his passion as manager of Ozaukee Skateland in the Town of Cedarburg.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, as many as 300 people, mostly elementary and middle school-aged children, packed the rink on weekend nights, he said.

Paul remembers going to the roller rink, arcades and youth centers when he was young, but he said there are fewer places for children to hang out today.

“It’s a social place for the kids,” he said of Skateland. “This is a place for smiles.”

Parents, he said, are comfortable dropping off their children and picking them up three hours later knowing they had fun and didn’t get into trouble. Staff members make sure children behave.

“We’ve got a naughty chair, and nobody wants to be in the naughty chair,” Paul said.

While inline skating has mostly replaced the classic quad skates, (with two pairs of wheels), the rink also draws adults to jam nights.

“I think people miss that hardwood floor and feel,” Paul said.

Paul and Karin grew up learning to jam skate, a combination of roller skating and dancing, and still enjoy it today.

“She and I are old school,” Paul said.

Paul and his older brothers also got into speed skating and competed in national championships.

Paul’s father Mike owned Skate Country in West Bend from 1985 to 1995, and Paul worked there. A tool-and-die maker by trade, he noticed the skates weren’t holding up well so he made his own plates and started the Black Diamond Co.

Once Mike sold Skate Country, Paul, who graduated from Grafton High School in 1995, entered the restaurant business. He worked his way up at Applebee’s and ended up moving to Atlanta to the corporate headquarters, where he helped open new stores.

He attended culinary school and later helped open Zaffiro’s in Mequon and other restaurants in the area. But he always wanted to be connected to roller skating. He later began working for family friend Chuck Laufer, who owns Ozaukee Skateland.

Paul is a passionate ambassador of the sport, Laufer said. “He’s got a lot of excitement to him. I always tell him he’s dazzling.”

Karin, whose parents are from Germany and whose father was a semi-pro soccer player, grew up with sports, and skating was an early interest. She went to Butler Skateland when she lived in

Germantown and, after her family moved to Port Washington in 1990, switched her hangout to Skate Country in West Bend.

Ozaukee Skateland was built in 1992, and Karin began working there a year later. She graduated from Port High in 1996 and then, along with her identical twin sister, went to Mississippi State on full scholarships for track and field and cross country.

Paul and Karin met at Skate Country and became friends. He was a freshman and she was in eighth grade. They attended each other’s plays in high school before losing touch.

Years later, the couple reconnected at the Ducati motorcycle shop and deli in Saukville.

Their zeal for skating hasn’t faded.

Karin is the recreation program supervisor and senior coordinator for the Village of Grafton and holds programs at the rink. She also plays and coaches hockey there.

Paul has started an education program at the rink. He teaches nine science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) lessons on subjects such as force, friction, pull, vibration, light, sound and physics, and explains how they relate to skating.

After an hour of class, students put on skates experience what they learned.

Students from schools in Ozaukee County and as far away as Green Bay, Sheboygan and Milwaukee take part in the program..

The rink’s busy season is usually during the school year, but this summer attendance has picked up since reopening after closing during the early stages of the pandemic. With most pools and other summer activities canceled, Ozaukee Skate Land has become more popular.

Paul and Karin’s three children, ages 15, 10 and 8, could all skate by the time they were 2 and can all handle quad skates, inline skates and ice skates. Once someone can do one type of skating, learning another isn’t difficult, Paul said. Skating builds up the ankle muscles.

Starting skating early makes it easier to learn, he said. As soon as children can run, Paul said, parents should have them try sports such as gymnastics, skiing and roller skating. It’s harder to pick up for teens who have never done it, he said.

For young skaters, Skate Mates, essentially walkers, are offered as training wheels.

“The roller skating rink is for any ability,” Paul said.

Paul said people in their 30s and 40s will hold private parties, and one couple even got married at the rink.

A roller derby track is painted in the center for people wanting to try that. Karin has competed before, and elite roller derby skater Lynn Klas used to work at the rink.

Those who skate well feel the wind in their hair.

“These guys are going 30 mph easy,” Paul said as his children rolled by. “Some go faster.”

On one end of the rink, Ozaukee Skateland has a screen on which skaters can see themselves. It also features unique lighting and offers a popular Nerf wars game that is like laser tag on skates.

Laufer, whose family has owned roller rinks across the state since 1955, said the sport has been making a comeback the last couple of years.

“We were having our best year ever until we got shut down (by the coronavirus),” he said.

The rink’s family friendly atmosphere is one of the big draws for the Seveners and others. Paul said parents who stay to watch their children sometimes help with tasks such as taking out the trash.

For Paul, Ozaukee Skateland has helped him reconnect with his family.

“This place has done more for me than a paycheck,” he said.