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by Anonymous |
WHAT HAS EIGHT WHEELS, TWO STOPPERS AND BURNS 350 CALORIES PER HOUR?
Hint: Cher uses them to firm her stomach, Olivia Newton-John to keep her legs in shape, Robin (Mark) Williams for transportation when his car breaks down. You use them for the fun of it - so do 28 million other North Americans. Rollerskates! Linda Ronstadt wears them on an album cover, Jimmie Walker on the basketball court, Erik Estrada on an episode of CHiPS. Is anyone out there not skating?
RC Skates hopes otherwise. World's largest distributor of roller-skates, they sold $4 million worth in 1978, $12 million in 1979. This year's prediction? Twenty-six million, says John Evans, a Toronto salesman with the company. And skating has only started to roll into Canada, he points out.
"A year ago there were only 60 rinks here, now there are 150."
Why are Canadians rushing to four wheels? As usual, because of Americans. Canada boasts only one major manufacturer of rollerskates, Mississauga, Ontario's Dominion Rollerskate Company. Sales, says president Herb Charlton, are 25% from last year, and the reason is California. "Whatever they're doing there, we do likewise," he says. Outdoor skating, the latest addition to the fad, began in California three years ago says RC's Evans.
"The public awareness of skating is way up," says Evans. "Every month there's another article in a major magazine about it. And the atmosphere is changing; rinks aren't dumpy dives anymore. They're good, clean, family-oriented centres." You may not want to take your little brother or mother along with you to the rink, but a new, cleaned-up reputation is bound to be a bonus for indoor fanatics.
Of course, the biggest push behind the new popularity of rollerskating -jammin' or bootin' to regulars - is disco. Why merely hustle when you can do it on wheels, even backwards? "Ninety-nine percent of rinks are now into disco," says Evans. "Some even have light shows and the dark atmosphere of a club. The kids go to listen and get their ears blown off," he laughs. Evans, an ex-football player skates three times a week. Like all those 16 year-olds (the average age of indoor skaters), he knows a good thing when he sees it.
Rollerskating is great exercise for thighs, calves and hips - you can even use the boots as weights! It's not much different from ice-skating; you push your feet out sideways and you can similarly stop yourself with the T- stop (right foot straight, left foot behind it at right angles.) But skating on wheels takes some getting used to as wheels are less flexible than blades and jumps, and turns are trickier with the added weight of wheels and axles.
That hasn't stopped Wendy Prosser, 14, and Tony Quatrale, her 21 year-old partner. They represented Canada in the Pan Am Games and practise several hours a day at Toronto's Mimico Rink. Dan Currell is another roller addict. He waltz-skates with partner Pat Edwards at Toronto's Terrace, gliding, swooping, spinning - grace on wheels. A 19 year-old Xerox technician, Dan skates between four and twelve hours a day. "Roller-skating is an art," he says. "It's basically just being able to balance on one foot, but once you start skating it's hard to stop. I wish I didn't love it with such a passion because I spend all my time on wheels. But I do!"
Skating does as much for your body as it does for your mind and some Canadian teenagers are lucky to have the best of both worlds. In Winnipeg students can skate for credit! High schools there require one co-ed hour of skating per week and schools in Edmonton, Calgary, Burlington and Ottawa are following suit. The L.A. Rams and Dallas Cowboys skate for a half hour before field practise and L.A. Dodgers outfielder Reggie Smith cured his injured back through regular rollerskating. He also upped his batting average by ten points.
Like any sport, though, roller-skating requires a little preparation. Warm up with stretching exercises for your thighs and shins and running on the spot. And there's no denying the question of balance. "Relax if you're going to fall," advises John Evans. "Roll into it using your shoulder." A helmet may not be necessary, but elbow and knee pads are a good idea and gloves, says Evans, are "the number one accessory" to save your hands while they're saving you.
If you haven't skated since you were little, things have changed. Remember those clunky metal clamp-ons with no brakes and that little key that somehow always got lost? The kind that made your fillings rumble and your knees ache as you rolled around a parking lot hoping you wouldn't fall - again. Today's skates are sleek, smooth. And expensive.
There are two kinds: indoor and outdoor. Outdoor come in racing style, low-cut boot with a faster base-plate, $145; disco style suede at $130; or black and white leather at $115 and $125 (leather-lined.) And if someone tries to sell you tan boots, beware - only rental boots are made that colour. If $80 is closer to your budget try jogger-type skates, a running shoe mounted on wheels; RC Skates sells 5,000 pairs of them every week in the States.
It's the wheels that have made rollerskating. They're now larger and softer, made of polyurethane to absorb bumps and cracks better than older, harder vanethane. Although skateboard sales are now slipping by 42%, it was their technology and research into improved wheels that set the present skate boom rolling.
Where to skate? In Vancouver try one of Stardust's three rinks, Sports-world in Edmonton, Lloyd's Roller-cade in Calgary, Rolla-Rama in Saskatoon. There are rinks in practically every major city - Montreal alone boasts 22 of them. Look for new ones in Ottawa and Gatineau or try one of the Saints chain; there are 20, from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay. But leave your jeans at home - 50 to 60% of all rinks enforce a dress code.
Most rinks offer lessons, but John Craik of Toronto's Terrace suggests grabbing a friend your first time out. "Find someone you can hold onto who'll give you a few pointers. And learn to skate before you go fast; speed isn't grace."
Whether you're whizzing down Main Street in your Joggers or twirling to the beat of Rod Stewart at your favourite rink you know why Canadians are taking to their wheels. And if your bike has a flat and the bus is late and you're out of gas, you can always roll where you want to go: how many other "wheels" are so dependable?
©1999 TG Magazine/Le Magazine TG
tgmag@tgmag.ca