http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWMZLYg1CdA

I've never seen competitive roller skating at all, and found this link on another board, so thought some of you would be interested to watch. It's freakily like figure skating (except the floor isn't white! )

Note especially the camel at about 4m10s - on only the back wheels!

Hope you enjoy it...if our rink dies one day, maybe rollers are the way to go.

oh gee..... that guy...he sure has GUTS! Amazing really.

You got a point there. After watching that clip, nobody would ever 'diss' rollers ever again.

Very neat. I have an online friend who roller skates. I think she mostly does figures and dance. It's weird that "figure skating" is actually roller skating, since they've all but died out of ice skating, and according to her are still prominent in the roller world.

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-Jessi
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That is interesting, he'd be a good ice skater, also was that on a basketball court, the rink looked really small, and I noticed some loops painted on the floor as well. The spinning was very cool, it just seems like the friction of 4 wheels would slow you down so much when you spun.

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http://www.youtube.com/bouldersk8r

There are certain types of wheels used for FS and different between inside and outside for jumps and spins. LA-I asked a mutual friend of ours about his competitive roller career once and especially about spins because I was intrigued. I can't describe it all, but it was very interesting!

At my rink, during the summer, they melt one fo the two arenas. A bunch of roller skaters usually come in and skate there. Two of the Canadian National champions skated there almost every day one summer. I tried roller skating about a month ago jsut for fun (one of the roller skaters let me use their skates). It's really hard because you have to push as hard as you can to get on an "edge". You have to put like your entire leg and knee and all of you weight over the ankle. I know more about roller skating, but I'm not going to write everyhting I know out, so if any of you have some questions, I'll be glad to answer what I can.

I did roller dance and figures as a kid, and just the beginnings of FS. I'm not sure what you mean by "different between inside and outside for jumps and spins". Do you mean different wheels on the inside and outside? I've never heard of that. The jumps and spins are all the same as ice re edges, although entrances can be different and of course, weight distribution is different. There are different wheels preferred for FS vs dance, and also dancers & figure skaters don't use FS toe stops, they either use dance plugs or very small toe stops. If you're used to using FS stops and switch, you can really bash up your knees when you try to stop backwards!

Figures and freestyle have always been separate test and competition entities in roller skating. Watch the video again and take a look at the floor during the second camel. You'll see the loop circles painted on. There are circles elsewhere for school figures. You've got to to keep your wheels on either side of the line! Something else interesting in this video, IMO, is that he does two travelling camels, that is, the entrance is a sequence of threes in camel position. We don't see that very often on ice. He also does inverted camels, which are not popular on ice either, although they seem to be making something of a showing in the past several years.

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The roller skaters that I have met use completely different boots and wheels for figures and freeskate. Also, I was told that they use different wheels depending on the surface they are skating on (sealed maple, unsealed maple, concrete, etc.) Also, the dresses which the girls wear have a different style of skirt than ice skating. They have triangle skirts (hard to explain). I'm not sure why this is. Also, I went to roller skating nationals last year to watch. Roller skating is a very unpopular sport in Canada, and there were only one or two kids competing at both the senior and junior level. It was sad to see.

This is what my roommate used to do when she was younger...I've seen various clips before but IMHO, stuff just looks kludgy when done on quad skates, though certainly a lot is possible. The technique and feel is significantly different than on rockered inlines or ice skates though - a good skater on one will have a rough time with the other...

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Anybody know if that guy in the video does ice skating too? I reckon that even if he didn't do much ice skating, a guy with his ability should be able to adapt quite easily. He's already got what it takes obviously.

I just don't get how they do that , mind you I'm still grasping the way to do it on ice skates. A 3 turn on roller skates seems impossible to me, almost like you'd need to jump off the ground a little to allow them to turn...

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Anyone who has converted that I know (I know of 4) has said that it is harder to convert your spins and stroking onto ice from quad skates because the method of doing those things is slightly different rather than jumps - jumps were easier to convert.

my husband's great aunt and uncle were competitive roller skaters and well-respected coaches. We always talk about the parallels between rolling and ice. I love getting advice about landing the stupid axel.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

Hi all! I have been strangely absent - sorry about that!

Dbny is right about them being seperate, but I seem to remember at worlds they have an option for a combined champion, but the competition about who we send to worlds, is individual and we often send different people and thus have no chance at the combined.

At least that is how I remember it from my roller skating days in the late 80's.

Hugs,
Danielle

I think it could be hard for some people to convert over. Although, the guy in the clip looks like he'd easily be capable of adapting to ice (that's if he hasn't done much ice skating before). That's because the guy in the clip appears to be a natural talent.

You're right that 3's on roller skates are harder than they are on ice. You learn Mohawks firt on roller skates, and don't get your first 3 turn in dance until silver! You don't jump at all, but you have to have your weight mostly on one wheel, which pivots, while the other 3 slide across the floor.

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Good grief, that guy's amazing.

....HOW do they do it?!?

I mean, apart from the issues with friction and all the rest, I imagine roller skaters weigh a lot heavier than ice skates.

S xxx

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True.....with no rocker, a 3 turn on rollers would normally be inconceivable hehehe

There is no rocker, but the axels are mounted on trucks that turn slightly as weight is applied, so that the wheels on the side where the weight is, are closer together than on the other side, and slightly angled towards each other also. This is how you get an edge on roller skates. I still remember my first lesson ever: "What is an edge?" "An edge is a curve" "You make an edge with three things: aim, lean, and push"

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I showed this video to the woman I know who skates on quads- she was amazed how slow he goes and still manages to do triples. Apparently that is common in Brazilian skaters. I wonder if it looks different with the skaters who go faster into their jumps.

I'm sure other people figured this out as well but I searched figure roller skating and came up with tons of videos.
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...roller+skating
(Quad Skating, and Quad Roller Skating got some random stuff)

Including this good "synchro" routine - coed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vudRoUvSwG0
I think they might have the "Triangle" skirts someone said something about upthread.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

All I can say is...amazing. Thanks for the link!
Becca

One of the ladies at my rink used to do quad skating. She said it's a whole different animal and she is virtually starting over. She could jump and spin on quads but is basically starting from scratch on ice. She thinks it would be easier to go from ice to quads but I tried it and I didn't like it-the wheels felt heavy and clunky and I thought I'd fall over every time I moved....

Anyone else try skating on quads?

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

I think very talented and elite level skaters can switch without too much trouble. There was a high level freestyle and figure skater at my rink when I was a kid who could put on rental ice skates and look like he had always been on the ice. Then, there's Gene Kelly, who supposedly had not skated before.

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Gene Kelly on skates? That's a combination I've always wanted to see - thanks

(Similarly, I can't watch Singin' in the Rain anymore without expecting an axel in the middle)

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