Happy Roller Skating Month!

Happy National Roller Skating Month! I’ve been wanting to do a roller sports blog for a while now and what better time to roll it out than National Roller Skating Month?
 

“Why Roller Skating?” Maybe because it’s something I grew up doing.  Having a mom and aunt who were roller skaters it was just around me. My aunt competed and later become a judge.  It’s important to note that I never amounted to more than rink rat status.  I only took a handful of lessons and never competed. But I went skating every chance I got for years, usually 4-5 days a week.  Skating fell by the wayside for me, as it does with so many, after I turned 16. I got a job, my license, graduated, married & had kids.  But then on a wintry Sunday in January of 1999 I walked into Mentor Skateland for the first time. I just wanted new wheels for my skates… I needed the exercise.  It was innocent enough.  But the next time I went I had my daughters, then ages 3 & 5, in tow. It has been our 2^nd home since. My girls have surpassed my rink rat status by leaps & bounds.  And yes, I mean that literally. They learned jumps, spins & turns.  They competed.  As for me, it was determined that I was better at helping out with sessions, sewing the outfits, promoting our sport, things like that.  But that’s okay.  As long as I’m involved with roller skating, I’m a happy camper. 

So here I am to share roller sports (artistic, speed, hockey & derby) with you.  But I don’t want you to just read about roller skating, I want you to experience it! I want you to go to a skating session.  I want you to bring your family and friends.  I even want you to check out a local competition. Why? Because it’s fun… fun you can feel! 

Most rinks have a variety of sessions & pricing so there’s something for everyone.  Take Mentor Skateland for example. Saturday & Sunday afternoon sessions are geared toward families & kids.  They do all the favorites like the hokey pokey, races, limbo, dice game & more.  Best part is they have a Sunday Special right now where parents skate free when they pay for their kids admission.  Skate rental isn’t included but bring your own skates if you have them!  Friday nights, which the kids refer to as FNS (Friday Night Skate), is the night for teens.  While everyone is welcome, this is where the kids like to come & let loose after a week of school.  They skate the 1^st two hours then take their skates off & dance the last hour, making it a really fun night for them. Got a $1.00? That’s all it is for admission on Thursday evenings. Even if you have to rent skates, it’s still a bargain at $3! Do you recall the days of skating to organ music? There are 3 sessions just for you! Here they still do the Couples & Circle Waltzes, trio, dance specials & flea hop (kids today have never even heard of the flea hop!!). These are adult only sessions, affectionately known as the “senior skates”. Don’t let the name fool you.  While their ages range from in the 50’s thru the 80’s, there is nothing senior about the way they skate! You can check it all out on this video the Mentor TV Channel did for Mentor Skateland a few years back. It has a little bit of everything.

Again, “Why Roller Skating?” Maybe it’s because I love rooting for the underdog.  As a life-long Clevelander and forever Indians, Browns & Cavs fan, cheering for the underdog is second nature for me. But that’s okay because I’ve learned to appreciate & savor all the victories, no matter how small.  And so it is with roller skating. As far as sports go, roller skating is an underdog. I mean be honest.  Did you even know there’s competitive roller skating? We have local competitions as well as Regional, National & World Championships.  We have one of the best coaches in the country right here in Mentor!  A Hall of Fame Coach who’s tradition of making Champions has continued since he came to teach at Mentor Skateland roughly 14 years ago. In his 50 years of coaching he’s trained hundreds of National Champions & several World Champions, all from the Greater Cleveland area. So let me add the Underdog Factor to “Why Roller Skating?” What’s my victory in all this? Getting you on skates of course!

Roller skating doesn’t have an off season.  Competitions go year round, with a season that begins in the fall with local meets and culminates with the National Championships in the summer.  The elite World Class skaters who qualify at Nationals go on to represent the United States at the World Championships, which this year is in Taipei-City, China.  So the next time you hear from me you’ll hear a little more about competitive skating as some local meets are coming up.  And I’ll tell you all about birthday parties as well as school parties since those are always fun! In the meantime, Happy Roller Skating!