Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 9, 1994 TAG: 9405100018
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
There is a legend that says that in the early 1700s, a Dutchman tried to make ice skates for the summer by nailing wooden spools to strips of wood and attaching them to the bottom of his shoes.
More than 150 years later, an American invented the first roller skates, with wheels arranged side by side. Just 14 years ago, two hockey-playing brothers from Minnesota found an in-line skate,which has the wheels in a straight line, in a sporting goods store and thought it would be good for off-season hockey training.
They started making these in-line skates in their parents' basement. They called them Rollerblades.
Rollerblades is the trade name for a particular brand of skate. In-line skating refers to the sport, but some people call it blading, short for Rollerblades, one of the first to manufacture in-line skates.
"It swept the West Coast," said Chris Connor of the Skate Center of Roanoke Valley. He says the sports is really beginning to catch on in Southwest Virginia.
More than 12 million people, of all ages, are blading-for off-season hockey, for athletic training, for fitness or just for fun.
``If you've roller skated or ice skated, in-line skating is really easy,'' said Jeff Conner, manager of Play It Again Sports in Roanoke. And it's a lot easier outdoors than quad skating (which has wheels side by side) because the wheels, made of rubber and urethane, are softer and more shock-absorbent on rough surfaces.
``In-lines have better stoppers and are easier to move in,'' said Paul Nevin, 9. ``It took me two days to learn to use them and go pretty fast.''
``It`s easier to pick up speed on blades than on quads,'' said Ashley Case, 12, who plays on an in-line skating team at the Skate Center of Roanoke Valley. ``I try not to skate really fast at home because my street's really hilly.''
Okay, so blading is faster, too.
Blading on the street is a little like driving a car -- you have to watch for what's ahead so you'll know when to slow down, curve and avoid obstacles such as gravel, cracks, bumps, holes, water, mud, dogs and drivers.
Going pretty fast sometimes means being able to stop pretty fast. ``The hardest thing about in-line skating is having to pick your foot up to brake on the back,'' Conner said.
Braking is like crushing a bug with your heel. But if you brake too hard, you may end up crushing the bug by sitting on it.
Some of the newest skates from Rollerblade, Inc. have a new braking system, called ABT -- Active Break Technology. When you move the braking skate forward and put weight on it, it automatically pushes the brake down, so you can brake while keeping all the wheels on the ground.
ABT gives you greater speed control and stopping power. The speed is important to you; the stopping is important to your parents.
Since we're talking about stopping, try this: Stand in the middle of a room and fall forward or backward. You put out your hands, didn't you? That's natural.
If you're falling onto a hard surface (a road, for instance), your wrists will break your fall -- but you might break your wrists at the same time.
A broken wrist is the most common serious injury in blading. Your mom would probably be happy to buy you wrist guards with hard plastic splints rather than take you to the emergency room.
And while you're thinking about making your mother happy by protecting your precious body parts, elbow and knee pads are a great idea -- not to mention a helmet.
In indoor leagues, protective gear is required, including a helmet with a face mask.
The most expensive pieces of equipment are your skates, of course. Hockey skates are one piece of molded plastic with larger wheels for speed and better movement.
Play it Again Sports has used in-line skates for sale, and kids are always ougrowing or looking to upgrade their skates so check with your friends if you don't have the money for new skates.
Younger children's skates have three wheels and are usually a lace and buckle combination. The laces give better support (so your mom's happy) but the buckles take less time (so you're happy).
Speed skates have five wheels, with a larger one in front. The larger the front wheels, the faster you go.
Cheaper skates have plastic wheels and less ankle support. Your feet and legs tire more quickly and the wheels won't last as long.
It's also important to check the nuts holding on the wheels. If the nuts are on the outside and stick out too far, you may not be able to use them at indoor rinks. The nuts might scrape the floor. Better skates have the nuts on the inside.
The inside surface of the wheels wear out first, so they should be rotated often. The front and back wheels also wear out more quickly, so they should be rotated with the others. Have an adult help you remove the wheels, turn the inside edge to the outside and switch the front and back wheels with those in the middle. This can be done in 15-20 minutes.
Wheels can be worn down a lot, almost to the center core, before they need to be replaced. The cost of new wheels for both skates can range from about $18 up to $50. Any wheel will fit any skate.
With more people, young and old, learning in-line skating every day, more and more teams, leagues and events will be forming. Richmond is hosting its first speed-skating competition and a few teams already exist here. Call Star City Roller Skating, the Skate Center of Roanoke Valley and sporting goods stores for information.
Don't forget to bring your helmet.
by CNB