roller derby/tile floor

Question
I was wondering if any tile floor was suitable to skate on. We are a roller derby league looking for a practice site and this seems to be all that's available. I know it's not ceramic..it's probably the industrial/commercial type at stores, but not sure. I know derby websites sell a product that you can put on a floor that helps you grip...would this change things? I just don't want to hurt the skaters or the floor...but I have no idea.

Answer
Hi Katie,
  I would say it's best to stay away from tile floors unless they're made of a semi soft rubber.  Your ideal floor would be either wood coated with polyurethane or a cement floor coated with polyurethane.  

  I'm guessing that the product you're talking about that helps you grip is some kind of a traction floor cleaner which would most likely not help on a hard tile floor.

  I think the only way to tell for sure is to ask if you can go in and skate on it yourself.   You never know because you skate with a softer wheel so it may grip fine but then again it may not.  Not knowing exactly what type of tile it is makes it pretty hard to guess if it's good for skating or not.   And remember if the floor is very dirty it will not grip as well either.

  So see if they'll let you try it out.....you'll be able to tell within a couple minutes if it's workable or not.

Good Luck

Pat