Skating News and Recent Discussions

Happy Halloween Skaters! A schedule of Halloween skates around the world where skaters roll through their cities in a group and show off their costumes. It's not too late to have your own Halloween skate. On these pages you will find ideas for last minute Halloween costumes, party ideas, crafts, recipes, decorating tips, photos from past Halloween skates, and more [Kathie's Halloween Special]

Roller Skating in the Movies - Xanadu Even Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, and the Electric Light Orchestra could not make this film a critical success, but over the years it has become a roller disco cult classic. I enjoy watching it myself from time to time, especially when I have roller skating visitors [Read Movie Review]

Chat With Me And My Friends Tonight Join me and other skaters in the chat room tonight and every Sunday night from 7 to 8 pm Pacific (California) time. You don't need to register for a user name to join our chat, but registering is a good idea because it prevents anyone else from impersonating you by using your favorite chat I.D. (I will always log on in the chat room as "KathieFry") [More About Our Weekly Chat]

Jorge Botero Moving from Bont to Rollerblade? This week an unofficial announcement was made in the Hyper Forum that inline speed skating world champion Jorge Botero of Colombia will move from Team Bont to Team Rollerblade in 2005. According to unconfirmed reports, Jorge signed a two-year deal and will skate for Team Rollerblade in 2005 and 2006 [Jorge Botero Bio and Photos]

Zephyr Skate Tours - Questions and Answers At a Zephyr Skate Tours presentation in Southern California, Zephyr Adventures owner Allan Wright answered skaters' questions about his inline skating tours in Europe and the United States [Read Full Article].

Gangnung Inline Marathon in Korea - October 31 The second annual Gangnung Mayor's Cup International Inline Marathon will take place this Sunday, October 31, in Gangnung, Korea. The race will celebrate the grand opening of the new Donghae Highway that runs between the cities of Gangnung and Okge. The course will actually be ON the new highway which is a wide, straight, open stretch of road that almost entirely flat. To see pictures of the course see the rotating photos at the top of the home page of the [Official Event Web Site] and to see event information in English see [Doctor Spark's Event Announcement]

World B Hardball Hockey Championships in Macau (Results) Results, photos, and a list of the countries and regions who participated in the 2004 World Roller Hockey "B" Championships which took place October 17-23 in Macau [Official Event Web Site]

Introduction to Skating in Pakistan Roller skating as a national competitive program was introduced in Pakistan more 20 years ago by Khalid Saeed who is now the General Secretary of the Roller Sports Federation of Pakistan [Read Full Article]

New Blake Dennis Photo Gallery A brand new photo gallery at SkateLog.com with pictures of world class inline street skater Blake Dennis of Australia competing in many different events plus closeup portrait photos of Blake, pictures of Blake with his friends, photos of Blake Dennis edition skates and wheels, and a bio [View Larger Photo]

Anybody Tried Blake Dennis Wheels? "Senate has named at least two of their aggressive inline skate wheels after Australian street skating champion Blake Dennis. Does anybody know the history of these two wheels? Are they available to the public? I'm wondering if the newest Blake Dennis wheel is available only on the 2004 Roces Graal Skate." [Read More In Our Forum]

Happy Birthday to A2A Champion Kim Perkins Kimberly Virginia Perkins was born on October 25, 1966 in Avon Lake, Ohio USA. Kim has had an impressive skating record in 2004. Not only did she finish first at Sunday's A2A 87 Mile Road Skate, but she also finished in first place at the 2004 Disney and Texas Road Rash marathons, and in 8th place at the Inline One Eleven in Switzerland. Congratulations Kim, and I hope you are having a fanatastic birthday! [View Larger Image]

Happy Birthday to Martina Svobodova Today is the birthday of Slovakian aggressive inline pro skater Martina Svobodova. She is most famous for winning gold medals at the X Games inline park competition in 2001 and 2002 but she has also finished first at many other important international competitions. Martina was born on October 25, 1983 in Bratislava, Slovakia and she is one of the most respected female aggressive skaters in the world. Happy birthday from Southern California Martina!!! [View Larger Photo]

What Skaters Think About Carbon Fiber Frames Skaters in our forum are discussing Jonathan Seutter's new carbon fiber frame. Is carbon fiber a suitable material for a skate frame? [Read More in Our Forum]

Chat Tonight? I will probably have to miss our chat tonight because my nephew is visiting and this will be his last night in California. Most likely we will be experiencing the nightlife in Hollywood and Santa Monica. Feel free to stop by the chat room anyway, from 7 to 8 pm Pacific/California time, to see if any other skates are around [More About Our Weekly Chat]

What I Am Doing This Weekend (And With Who) My 14 year old nephew Montana Blu, from Vancouver, Canada is in Southern California for his annual "Get Totally Spoiled by Aunt Kathie" Southern California Weekend and today we will be exploring Venice Beach, Santa Monica, and Malibu by car, bicycle, beach cruiser, and/or inline skates [View Larger Photo]

Skating on the Island of Mallorca in Spain Many of you probably remember the highly entertaining article Daniel Edman of Sweden wrote a couple of years ago about his inline skating holiday on the island of Mallorca off the coast of Spain. Next year you will have a chance to meet Daniel in person if you sign up for Barry Publow's May 2005 Speed Skating Camp in Mallorca, Spain, because Barry has signed Daniel to be the guide for that workshop. For more information about Daniel, Barry's workshop, and inline skating in Mallorca see: Daniel's Wild Week in Mallorca (article + photos) More Articles About Skating in Mallorca

The Roller Cops of Puerto Rico This article by Agent Juan Matos of the Puerto Rico Police Department includes photos and information about Puerto Rico's inline skating police unit. Agent Matos is a sworn police officer and an IISA-certified skating instructor. Puerto Rico Skating Police (Article) Puerto Rico Skating Police (Photos)

Meet Me and the Monsters of Roll This Weekend This weekend at the Chris Edwards "Monsters of Roll" competition in Tehachapi, California there will be a very unique and special event - a vertical roller skating competition (aggressive quad roller skating). Many of the legends of the sport will be there including Brian Wainwright, Fred Blood, and more. Many legends of aggressive inline skating will also be there and the competition will be filmed for television. Events will take place at Camp Woodward West on Friday October 15 and Saturday October 16 from 9:00 in the morning until 10:00 in the evening. For more information contact: World Famous Camp Woodward West The Lodge at Woodward West

Meet Me at the Artistic Worlds in November The 2004 Artistic Roller Skating World Championships will take place November 16-28, 2004 in the city of Fresno, California in the United States. I will be flying to Fresno twice in November so I can be there for the last 2 weekends of the competition. Skaters from as many as 30 countries will be competing for world championship medals and there will be a special "Show of World Champions" on Sunday, November 28. I have been keeping in close touch with the organizers and I have a lot of news and information to share. Watch for articles and announcements beginning next week [2004 Artistic Roller Skating World Championships]

Long Beach Marathon - Status of My Photos All of my award ceremony photos from the 2004 Long Beach Inline Marathon have been posted on the Web (in a preliminary fashion) and when I return from an aggressive skating event this weekend at Camp Woodward West I will start posting my racing action, vendor expo, and finish line photos from Long Beach 2004. In the meantime you can take a look at what I have posted so far: Photos from Long Beach 2004 Results from Long Beach 2004 Reports from Long Beach 2004

Northshore Marathon - Status of My Photos All of my award photos from the Northshore Inline Marathon in Minnesota are on the Web but I still have hundreds of finish line and vendor expo photos to post. I have been traveling to skating events constantly since that event, so Iam a bit behind in posting event photos, but I will start posting Northshore photos again after I return home from this weekend's "Monsters of Roll" event in Tehachapi, California. Photos from Northshore 2004 Results from Northshore 2004 Reports from Northshore 2004

Jonathan Seutter's New Carbon Fiber Frame What do you think about Jonathan Suetter's new carbon fiber speed skate frame? Isn't the whole idea of designing a speed frame to make it as stiff as possible? And look at the clearance above the second wheel. It looks like almost no clearance at all! Five Photos of Jonathan's New Frame Talk About Jonathan's Frame in Our Forum

Video Clip of a Quad Skating Robot Sony's miniature humanoid robot QRIO performed some impressive tricks at the 2004 Intelligent Robotics and Systems Conference in Japan earlier this month including navigating an obstacle course, dancing, and roller skating. [Roller Skating Robot Video Clip]

Australian Artistic Nationals (Photos+Report) Here is a report with photos of the Australian National Artistic Roller Skating Championships which took place September 27 through October 2 in Runaway Bay, Queensland, Australia [Westies on Wheels Report]

Meet Me Today at the Long Beach Marathon This morning I woke up very early to catch the start of the Long Beach Inline Marathon. I will be taking pictures at the finish line until the last skater crosses and later at the awards ceremony as well. Hope to meet many of you there!

Who I Had Dinner With Last Night Last night I had the pleasure of dining with husband and wife 24-hour world record holders Jonathan Seutter and his wife Kim Ames, who arrived in California this week from Taiwan where they currently live. It was great fun to get caught up on all of their stories, and we shared a bottle of champagne to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Kim breaking her then-coach Jonathan's 24 hour world record. Kim is a tough and determined endurance skater who is planning to skate the 40k Long Beach Marathon in Southern California on October 10, the 50k Northern California Road Skate Championships on October 17, and the Athens to Atlanta 87 mile road skate on October 24. Sometime between those events she will skate to the top of 10,804 foot Mt. San Jacinto in Palm Springs, California, a route most people prefer to view from the world-famous Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. I took nine pictures of Kim and Jonathan last night and she has her eyes closed - but is still looking very cute - in all of them! LOL... I will try to do better this afternoon when I see them at the Long Beach Marathon Vendor Expo.

Skating the Baja Coast of Mexico The twice-a-year 50 mile "Rosarito to Ensenada Roll" in Baja, Mexico is really an event for cyclists, but even though it is hilly and difficult for skaters, there are usually a few of them tagging along. Here are stories by two inline skaters who tried it in 1998 and 2000. 2000 Article by Dan Benveniste 1998 Article by Michael Collins Talk About the Event In Our Forum

Happy Birthday to Riaan Haasbroek of South Africa Today is the birthday of inline speed skating champion Adriaan Johannes Haasbroek, who was born in Cape Town, South Africa on October 8, 1980. Riaan represented South Africa at the 2002 Inline Speed Skating World Championships in Belgium and in 2004 he finished in first place Bont's Skating Bachelorette Contest where the prize was an all-expense paid trip to Belgium for a date with the beautiful Belgian World Team skater Britta Vantournhout. Bio and Photo of Adriaan Haasbroek Riaan Won a Date With Britta in Belgium

Happy Birthday to Renate Groenewold of the Netherlands Today is the birthday of Dutch Olympic ice speed skating champion Renate Groenewold. Renate was born on October 8, 1976 in Veendam, Netherlands and in February of this year she became the 2004 Ladies All-Around Speed Skating World Champion. Happy birthday from California Renate! [View Larger Photo]

Recycle Your Skating T-Shirts Are your closets filled with dozens of t-shirts from past skating events, but you still can't bear to throw any of them away? Here is a very special gift idea and a practical one too. How to make - and where to buy - a custom T-shirt memory quilt or wall hanging. [Read Full Article]

Venice Beach Skaters Dancing in a Line Roller dancers in Venice Beach California skate dancing in a line at the temporary Venice Beach roller dance circle that was used for few months in 2000 after the old circle had been demolished and the new one was under construction [Six Photos of Line Roller Dancers]

Happy Birthday to Garikoitz Lerga Nikolay Today is the birthday of Spanish inline speed skating champion Garikoitz Lerga Nikolay. Garikoitz was born on October 6, 1976 and in 2004 he is skating for Team Roces International. It was recently announced that Garikoitz finished the 2004 World Inline Cup season in 13th place, an event in which he was competing with 75 of the top male skaters in the world. Congratulations Garikoitz.... and happy birthday!!! [View Larger Image]

InlineDownhill.com - It's Back One of the most important Web sites for downhill inline skaters is InlineDownhill.com - a site created by Jerome Perakis of Switzerland. That site has not been available recently and everybody has been wondering why. I am happy to report that Jerome's Web site is now back on the Internet in all of its glory. This is excellent news![InlineDownhill.com]

Happy Birthday to Kornbread Katie Brown Katie "Kornbread" Brown was born in Jacksonville, Florida on October 4, 1982. Katie competed in the X Games aggressive inline event three years in a row and now she is hoping to make the 2006 USA Olympic Ice Hockey Team. So far she has made it to the Junior Olympics and trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Camp. Good luck Katie, and happy birthday! [View Larger Image]

Rio de Janeiro Halloween Skate Join Erika Cordeiro of Planet Roller and the other friendly skaters of Rio on Saturday, October 30 for a night of skating, costumes, and fun at the outdoor skating circle in the Lagoon Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I wish I could join you guys! 2004 Rio de Janeiro Halloween Skate Halloween Skates Around the World Costume Ideas for Skaters Decorating and Party Ideas

Meet Vertical Roller Skater Brian Wainwright Aggressive skating on quad roller skates is not something you see every day, but pro skater Brian Wainwright has been doing it for years. In this article Brian talks about how he got into aggressive skating on quads and he offers some tips for other skaters who want to try it [Read Full Article]

Happy Birthday to Marianne Timmer Dutch Olympic ice speed skating champion Marianne Timmer was born in Sappemeer, Netherlands on October 3, 1974. Marianne won two gold medals at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, for the 1000 meter and 1500 meter distances. This photo of Marianne was taken by Dutch art and sports photographer Ewoud Broeksma in 1994. Happy birthday from California Marianne! [View Larger Photo]

Chat With Me and My Friends Tonight Join me and other skaters in the chat room tonight and every Sunday night from 7 to 8 pm Pacific (California) time. You don't need to register for a user name to join our chat, but registering is a good idea because it prevents anyone else from impersonating you by using your favorite chat I.D. (I will always log on in the chat room as "KathieFry") [More About Our Weekly Chat]

Congratulations to the Women of Argentina Argentina finished 1st at the 2004 Women's Hardball Hockey World Championships in Germany and the women of Brazil and Spain finished in 2nd and 3rd place. Official Event Web Site Article at RollerSports.org Skating in Argentina

Time to Start Planning Your Halloween Skate Skaters at weekly group skates all over the world will dress up in costume on October 31 or sometime during that week. The most famous Halloween skates are in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Lithuania, and the United States, but they also happen in many other countries. Here are some costume ideas for skaters, Halloween party recipes, decorating tips, photos of past Halloween skates (including my infamous SambaGirl costume) and many more resources to help you have the best Halloween skate ever [Read Full Article]

How to Jump and Spin on Inline Skates Silver medal winning ice figure skater Jo Ann Schneider Farris wrote a book entitled "How to Jump and Spin on Inline Skates" to demonstrate that many of the jumps and spins done on ice skates can also be done on inline figure skates. Here is some information about Jo Ann's book, her family legacy of skating, and her opinions about the inline figure skates currently on the market [Read Full Article]