Roller skating might not be as common or popular as ice skating, bicycle or skateboard but it has got similar points of interest. Just like other similar equipment, roller skating has several forms of uses : recreational, sport or transportation. You certainly have an idea about how roller skating in its recreational or transportation forms look like, but how about in sport ? The sport is not yet an Olympic sport but is recognized by the U.S.O.C. (United States Olympic Committee) as a Pan American sport. Popular domain of sport such as speed, artistic, freestyle movement can also be find in roller skating. Let’s discover more about them.
Speed Skating
This sport is often called “Inline Speed Skating”, using inline skates. The sport is similar enough to ice speed skating and many competitors are known to switch between inline and ice speed skating according to the season.
Artistic Roller Skating
This sport consists of several styles and are most often performed on quad skates :
Figure skating is when the skaters follow the black lines drawn on the skating floor. There are set patterns of movement you must follow around the circles while tracing the line.
Dance skating is a sport where a single person or a couple skate to a specific style of music (blues, tango, etc.). Technique, flow and how well they match as a team are important points in the judgement.
Free dance is the in the top categories of dance where the team chose the music. In free dance the lifts cannot go over the man’s head and there are no jumps as there are in pairs.
Roller Hockey
This sport is like ice hockey but played in a dry surface using roller skates.
Roller Derby
This is a contact sport where 2 teams of 5 members roller skate in the same direction around a track. Both teams designate a “scoring player” and they score points by lapping members of the opposing team.
It is always interesting to see how human’s creativity can always create a new game from one single equipment. If you’ve become interested in trying one of these activities, keep in mind that Shanghai Metal Corporation provides the materials needed to build your ideal roller skate. Our product has been analyzed, stress-tested, and refined to reduce weight, increase strength, and improve the feel. Feel free to contact us for further information and follow us on social media.
Credits to wikipedia and skatenw
Pictures from Google image.
Ayu P.//SMC editor