Skate Kingdom

Should I buy a cool looking low top boot or a more conservative high top style? Sure!  How’s that for an answer?

The correct response  to that question depends on your answer to two other questions. First, how strong are my ankles?  Weak ankles really need the high top boot for support and to help prevent sprains. You get the added bonus of better edge control for well defined turns.

 A good rule of thumb is high boot for figure skating or dance skating, low boot for speed skating and roller derby.

The average outdoor skater and the recreational skater can choose the style that feels most comfortable to them. The most important decision for the outdoor skater is the wheel. We’ll take that subject up another day.

When people think of high risk activities, they don’t normally think of roller skating. But that doesn’t mean that you can completely disregard any safety products while performing this activity. Even doing something as seemingly innocuous as rolling skating can result in injuries. And this is why you should always ensure that your kid is outfitted with the proper safety gear before they take to the concrete in their roller skates.

With that in mind, there is only one product that’s absolutely necessary, and that’s a helmet. Skate helmets can protect your kid’s head from incurring serious damage if they should fall and hit something like concrete, a rock, or anything else dangerous. Secondary safety equipment includes products such as knee pads and elbow pads. These will protect your kid from minor bumps and scrapes they might get from roller skating.

Now that we know what size to order for our new skates ( refer to yesterday’s blog ), what kind of skate should we buy?

For today let’s just look at quad skates versus inline skates. Just so we all start on the same page let’s define some terms. A quad skate is the “traditional” four wheel roller skate with two wheels side by side in front and two wheels side by side on the heel of the skate.  An inline skate is similar to an ice skate with 3 to 5 wheels arranged in a line.

Which is best for you? Converted ice skaters will probably be most comfortable in an inline skate while many of the rest of us  may want to go with the stability provided by quad skates.  Quad skates are having a resurgence in popularity for rink and artistic skating and inline skates tend towards outdoor skating, fitness skating and the more aggressive skating activities.

Quad skates are offered in both high top and low top boots. We’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Roller skating is not only fun and super exercise but it’s a great way to socialize, meet people and develop lifelong relationships. While it is a relatively inexpensive sport you don’t wan’t to throw money away foolishly when you are just beginning. Shopping the web is for sure a good way to go but sometimes the dicisions you have to make can be a little scary when you’re new. We’ll be talking about that over the next few days on this blog and hopefully we can make it easier.

One good way to get your feet wet, metaphorically speaking, is to go to the rink and rent some skates so you can try different sizes on your feet. The only problem with that approach is that rental skates tend to get a lot of use and sometimes the fit is pretty sloppy.

In my opinion, you should measure your feet before you even turn on your computer.  This gives you a starting point for size decisions and you are well on your way to being a smart shopper.

Stand with your bare foot on a blank piece of paper. trace around your foot and then measure the distance from the back of your heel to the end of the big toe. Do this for both feet just to make sure they don’t differ significantly.

Some websites have charts that will convert this measurement to size but I would just call or e-mail the store that you have chosen and discuss roller skate sizing with them. If they don’t have time for you then you need to find a store that does. After all you’re the consumer here.

There seems to be growing momentum in getting roller sports into the Olympics. This will do a lot to bring our sport to the attention of the world. When you think about it, if ice skating can have an Olympic venue, why shouldn’t roller skating?  The possibilities are huge. I can’t wait for the day when we can get as excited about our roller sport stars as we are about ice skaters.

According to the American Obesity Association, obesity among children and teens is developing into a crises in the United States of epidemic proportions. Did you know that about 30% of children and teens are overwight and 15% are obese? That is almost 1 in 2 individuals that are at risk. 

 Modern man loves to express himself in numbers and this subject is no different. Those who track the subject use the Body Mass Index to define the difference between overweight and obese. BMI charts are easily obtainable on the web and I won’t get into that today but if you are concerened about this issue one source is www.cdc.gov/needphp/dnpa/obesity.

The bottom line is that we all need exercise and activity is particulary important for children as they are setting the tone for the rest of their lives. Rollerskating, either inline or quad, is one activity that is sure to appeal to children and teens with lots of energy.  Not only that, but it is amazingly effective. Roller skating burns 315 calries per 30 minutes of skateng while bicycling burns 150, basketball 258 and skiing 252 calories per 30 minutes of doing.  Aerobic execise only burns 178 calories per 30 minutes of boring sweat.

If roller skating weren’t so much fun it could almost be considered medicine.

For anyone unfamiliar with the practice, roller skating is the act of gliding along on special shoes known as roller skates. These are a basic shoe or boot with four wheels attached to the bottom with ball bearings. Around for several hundred years, the very first patented roller skate came in 1760. The inventor was John Joseph Merlin, a Belgian who invented the device for his grandson. The design, however, was not a big hit with the general public.

By 1863, the American James Plimpton decided to improve on the existing model by creating the “rocking” skate. The design allowed for easier turning around corners, and roller skates were finally popular with the masses. Since this improvement and the initial wave of interest, roller skating has never left the public. It even evolved into roller hockey, a competitive sport that debuted in the Olympics in 1992. Other sports variations derived from roller skating are roller derby, figure skating, and speed skating.

Aggressive inline skating is an extreme sport, performed on specially designed inline skates with a focus on tricks and stunts. The sport mainly consists of a wide variety of grinds, aerial tricks, slides and other advanced skating maneuvers. Participants often refer to the activity as rollerblading, blading or rolling. The sport is divided into vert, park, and street skating, referring to the environment that is being skated in. Different environments lend themselves to different tricks, thus the distinction.

Tricks in aggressive skating can be performed on street obstacles or on ramps. Street skaters perform more grinds and slides, whereas ramp skaters have more air-time and therefore can perform other tricks. Many of the aggressive tricks are similar to those done in skateboarding. Skaters can perform grinds by using the the frames and plastic plates on the bottom of the aggressive skates. Grinds are usually done on rails and ledges although they can be performed on any obstacle which slides.

Keeping your wheels and bearings clean won’t help you go faster – only your legs can help with that – but it can give you a smoother, more comfortable ride and can help with your “grip.”  Above all else, however, constant care of your roller skates will ensure its longevity.

Things You’ll Need:
• A bearing cleaning solution – I prefer brake parts cleaner
• household oil (graphite)
• wheel cleaning solution
• a towel
• a tool to remove the bolts from your wheels

Let’s start with your bearings. Bearings are usually protected with at least one cover (plastic/rubber lining). Remove this before cleaning to expose the bearings and allow the cleaner to make direct contact.

Hold the bearing on an axle or bolt or anything that will allow the bearing to spin while you clean it and give the bearing a few sprays with your cleaner of choice. Give your bearings a spin and watch for splatter! You can use a towel to dry them, but air drying is preferable.

Finally, lubricate your bearings with a household oil. Oil keeps dust at bay and means less frequent cleanings.

To clean your wheels simply spray them with a liquid cleaner. Carefully wipe between the grooves until all the dirt is removed.

Rollerblading is a sport popular among the youth. It is actually another term for inline skating. In inline skating, the wheels, usually from three to five, are arranged in one line. The wheels are made of polyurethane. Aside from recreational rollerblading, inline skates are used for hockey and artistic inline skating.

When speed matters and it is a battle of who goes the fastest, inline speed skates are worn. This is a specialized form of inline skates. The diameters of the wheels are larger and the boots are more close-fitting. Inline racing is a difficult sport that needs strength, endurance, and a lot of practice. Mastering the different maneuvers requires discipline as well as skill.