Roller skating facts for kids
Roller skating is a fun physical activity where you glide around on special shoes with wheels called roller skates. It's also a cool sport where teams compete in games like roller hockey or roller derby. Some people even combine roller skating with music and dance moves, which is called Jam Skating.
The wheels on roller skates are set up a bit like a skateboard. They have parts called trucks and cushions that help you turn and steer.
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History of Roller Skating
Roller skating has been around for almost 300 years! It has become popular many times, with each time being called a "craze." For example, in 1904, a newspaper said, "Old Craze Comes Back," because roller skating was becoming popular again.
In 1941, writer Charlie Tyler mentioned that the "current roller skating 'craze' is nothing new." He was talking about how roller skating became super popular around the early 1900s. This was when new technology like ball bearings made skates much better. People held big events and long speed-skating races.
Today, roller skating might not be as huge as it once was, but it's still a big part of pop culture. People enjoy it for fun, dancing, and sports. Once you love to roll, you usually love it forever!
- 1743: The first time roller skates were used was in a show in London. We don't know who invented them.
- 1760: John Joseph Merlin created the first known skate invention. It was a simple inline skate with small metal wheels.
- 1818: Roller skates appeared in a ballet show in Berlin.
- 1819: The first roller skate design was patented in France by M. Petitbled. These early skates were like today's inline skates but hard to turn.
- 1823: Robert John Tyers of London patented a skate called the Rolito. It had five wheels in a row under the shoe.
- 1857: The first public roller skating rinks opened in London at Strand, London and Floral Hall.
- 1863: The quad skate was invented in New York City by James Leonard Plimpton. This skate had four wheels, two in front and two in back. It had a special rubber cushion that let skaters turn easily by leaning. This was a huge hit!
- 1866: Plimpton opened the first public roller skating rinks in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. The quad skate became the most popular type of skate for over 100 years.
- 1875: The first roller skating competition was held in Plymouth, England.
- 1876: William Brown in England patented a design for skate wheels that used bearings. This made skates much smoother and easier to use.
- 1876: The toe stop was invented. This allowed skaters to stop quickly by tipping their skate onto the toe. Toe stops are still used on most quad skates today.
- 1880s: Roller skates started to be mass-produced in America. This was a big boom time for the sport.
- 1884: Levant M. Richardson got a patent for using steel ball bearings in skate wheels. This greatly reduced friction, making skates faster and easier to roll.
- 1898: Richardson started the Richardson Ball Bearing and Skate Company. They made skates for many professional racers.
- 1900: The Peck & Snyder Company patented an inline skate with two wheels.
- 1902: The Chicago Coliseum opened a public skating rink. Over 7,000 people came on opening night!
- 1935: The first Transcontinental Roller Derby was held in Chicago.
- 1937: Roller skating became an organized sport nationally, starting its "golden age."
- 1979: Scott Olson and Brennan Olson from Minnesota found old inline skates and saw their potential. They redesigned them for hockey training, leading to the company Rollerblade, Inc..
- 1983: President Ronald Reagan declared October "National Roller Skating Month."
- 1993: Rollerblade, Inc. developed Active Brake Technology (ABT) for safer skating.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rollerblade skates became so popular that many other companies made similar inline skates. The inline design became more popular than traditional quad skates. Many people even started calling all inline skates "Rollerblades."
Around 1995, "soft boot" designs for inline skates were introduced by companies like K2 Inc.. These were promoted for fitness skating. Today, hard shell skates are mostly used for Aggressive inline skating and other special types of skating.
Artistic Roller Skating
Artistic roller skating is a sport with different events, much like ice skating. Skaters usually use quad skates, but inline skates can be used for some events. Competitions are set up by age and skill level. In the US, skaters compete locally, then regionally, and finally at National and World Championships.
Figures
Figures are specific patterns skated on circles drawn on the rink floor. Skaters must perform these movements smoothly and precisely, often including turns.
Dance
In dance events, skaters perform routines to music.
- Solo Dance: One person skates a set pattern of dance steps. Judges look at how well they use their skate edges, how neat their movements are, and how well they do turns.
- Team Dance: Two people skate together, performing set dances. They are judged on the accuracy of their steps, their elegant posture, and how well they match the rhythm of the music.
Freestyle
Freestyle roller dancing is about moving freely to music without planning every step ahead of time. It's often improvised, meaning it's never exactly the same twice. This style can be done alone or with partners.
Precision Teams
A team of skaters (usually groups of 6 to 30) creates different patterns and movements to music. They might skate in lines, boxes, or circles. Judges focus on their choreography and how precisely the team skates together. Jumps and spins are not as important in this category.
Singles and Pairs
A single skater or a pair of skaters perform routines to music. They are judged on their skating ability and creativity. Jumps, spins, and turns are expected in these events. Sometimes, pairs skate to slow music.
Speed Skating
Speed skating first started on traditional quad roller skates. The first big national competition was held in 1938 in Detroit, Michigan. In the early years, skaters from the Midwest (like Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio) were the best. By the 1950s, as rinks hired coaches, skaters from the East and West coasts also started winning national titles.
Rules were made for state and national competitions. Skaters could qualify as individuals or as part of a two-person or four-person (relay) team. Top skaters could even get invited to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs! Inline speed skating is a competitive sport on inline skates. It includes indoor, track, and road races, with many different skill levels so families can compete together.
Group Skating
Many skaters who don't focus on one specific style enjoy group skates or street skates. This is where large groups of skaters meet up to skate together, often on city streets. Some charity skates in Paris have had 50,000 people! The current world record for a night skate is over 7,300 participants in Warsaw, Poland.
Aggressive Inline Skating
Aggressive inline skating is all about doing tricks. Skaters use a slightly different type of inline skate. These skates have a "grind block" between the wheels and stronger boots to handle the stress of tricks. The wheels also have a flat, wide surface for better grip.
Aggressive inline skating can happen at a skate park or on the street. Skaters often perform grinds (sliding on obstacles) and air tricks like spins and flips.
Roller Hockey
Roller hockey is a general name for a roller sport that existed long before inline skates. Quad skate roller hockey is played in many countries and was even a demonstration sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Other versions include skater hockey, played with a plastic ball, and inline hockey.
Roller Derby
Roller derby is a team sport played on roller skates on an oval track. It started as a speed skating show. In the early 2000s, it became popular again as a team sport, mostly played by women. Most roller derby teams follow rules from the Women's Flat Track Derby Association. There are also leagues that play on a banked track, which is how the sport was originally played in the 1930s.
Aggressive Roller Skating
Also known as "park skating," this type of roller skating involves doing tricks and jumps in skate parks, on ramps, or in bowls. Any roller skate can be used, but many skaters prefer boots that come up higher on the ankle. Skaters often add plastic "slide blocks" or "grind blocks" between their front and rear trucks. They can also change their trucks to wider ones for different tricks.
Skating Organizations
The Fédération Internationale de Patinage a Roulettes was started in 1924. In 2017, it joined with the International Skateboarding Federation to form World Skate. This organization now has over 130 national groups.
In the United States, the Roller Skating Rink Operators Association started in 1937. These groups later combined to form USA Roller Sports. This organization is based in Lincoln, Nebraska, which is also home to the National Museum of Roller Skating. National competitions are held every summer, and skaters must qualify through state and regional events.
Roller Skating in Pop Culture
Roller skating has appeared in many movies, songs, and TV shows!
- 1916: Charlie Chaplin's film The Rink has scenes set at a roller skating rink.
- 1950: In The Fireball, Mickey Rooney skates with Marilyn Monroe.
- 1971: The song "Brand New Key" by Melanie uses roller skates as a theme.
- 1975: Rollerball is a science fiction movie about a roller skate-based tournament.
- 1978: Linda Ronstadt wore a roller skating outfit on her album cover Living in the USA, which helped make the sport popular again.
- 1980: The movie Xanadu, starring Olivia Newton-John, features roller skating a lot.
- 1984: Starlight Express, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, opened in London. The actors perform on quad skates!
- 2005: Roll Bounce is about teenagers competing in a roller skating competition in the late 1970s.
- 2009: Whip It, directed by Drew Barrymore, is about a small-town girl who joins a roller derby team.
- 2014: Beyoncé roller skates in her music video for the song "Blow."
- 2020: Actress Ana Coto roller skated to "Jenny from the Block" on TikTok. This video helped start a new roller skating trend online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other Wheeled Fun
Roller skating, like skateboarding, has led to other cool sports and devices:
- Soaps: These look like normal shoes but have a plastic plate on the bottom for sliding (grinding).
- Heelys: These are shoes with a single wheel that pops out of the heel. You can walk normally or roll around when you want to!
- Freeline skates: These are two separate skates, one for each foot, with two wheels under a small platform. They are tricky to use because they don't strap to your feet.
- Orbit wheel skates: You stand on a platform inside a large hoop that has a wheel. It's a unique way to roll that feels a bit like skateboarding.
Images for kids
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People roller skating
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Roller skates in the United States around 1905
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A 1931 medal for Robert Bruce, who set a world record for non-stop roller skating (61 hours and 36 minutes!).
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Typical inline skating protective gear includes a helmet, elbow pads, wrist guards, and knee pads.
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See also
In Spanish: Patín sobre ruedas tradicional para niños
