Inline skating popularity favors the
aggressive
By Tanya Hoida
"If they call it Rollerblading, they are not aggressive inline
skaters," said Wendy Southard, co-owner of the Area 51 Skatepark in
Appleton.
The prevalence of aggressive inline skating has sped past recreational inline skating, according to Appleton inline skating retail stores and Area 51.
Recreational inline skating has shot up hill since the early 1990s but its popularity began to plateau by 1999, said Kim Agostine, manager of Play It Again Sports in Appleton. Randy Lang of BCW Sports carries only the aggressive skates and said the recreational skates stopped selling at high rates at least three years ago.
Skaters wear aggressive inline skates to perform tricks on ramps and rails. The skate’s wheels are smaller for more control and the skate is more durable than a recreational skate.
Area 51 offers 9,000 square feet of challenging courses to the extreme skaters, bikers and skate boarders. Southard and her husband, Eric, opened the business three years ago because they acknowledged the growing sport and their children needed a place to inline skate.
“Our yard was getting smaller with all the ramps
back there,” Southard said. “And they can’t in the streets in town
because it’s illegal.”
Southard said her goal was to keep the skaters off the streets so they
wouldn’t get in trouble or hurt.
“The kids want to grind and jump off things and the parents don’t want them to get hurt,” Southard said. “There is still the chance of getting hurt obviously but at least they’re in a secure area.”
Southard said about 60 skaters came each Saturday, their busiest day, when they opened and now about 210 skaters roll in for that day.
Aggressive skating has consumed the younger generations ages 8 to 24 years old while recreational skating can claim those in their healthy 70s.
Agostine said she has seen parents buying inline skates for their 3-year-old children. Rollerblade creates inline skates that will adjust from size one to size four.
“The kid’s foot grows so fast so this way the parent can save some money for awhile,” Agostine said.
Rollerblade has made other modifications in its skates within the past five years for its diversified customer base.
The skates are available with either a hard shell exterior or a soft boot similar to a sneaker. Agostine said the soft boot gives more ankle support while the hard shell provides a tighter feel around the whole foot. Yet the lacing system, prominent on the soft boot style, fits the foot better.
Skaters can adjust the boot easier with the ratchet buckle on newer models. Rollerblade’s Active Brake Technology (ABT) has become lighter and more efficient. The skater does not need to lift the skate’s front wheels up to brake because the brake detects when the skater applies pressure to the ankle area of the boot.
Skate frames have become aluminum and even titanium on the more expensive models to lighten and strengthen the skate, thus making speed easier to attain.
Other Rollerblade features include the Shock Eraser to absorb and evenly distribute vibrations during skating as well as custom-fitted and thermal-adjusting foot beds.
Salomon, also sold at Play It Again Sports as of this year, is an emerging inline skating brand with many of the same features as Rollerblade.
In addition to new skate features, Rollerblade has released special skates including their own aggressive skates. Play It Again Sports sells the specialty skate, Coyote, with three large wheels resembling a bike’s wheels. These wheels are filled with air and have been adapted so the skater might take on rougher terrain such as dirt trails. While the store has provided the skate for the past two years, it has only sold two pairs. Agostine said the Fox Valley doesn’t have the rough terrain the skates were meant for.
While Rollerblade and Salomon are constantly
upgrading their skates, skating rink employees are starting to see less
inline skates and more quad speed skates. Paul Thiel, owner of Skate
City in Kimberly, said he has noticed the reemergence of quad skates on
his rink for the past two years.
The quad skate is similar to the traditional skate except its boot is smaller and resembles a sneaker. The lower boot cuff allows the skater to move faster for speed skating.
All skates at Skate City must have have clean wheels and secure bolts that don’t stick outside the skate.
Thiel said lessons are available at Skate City to teach safety to beginning skaters. He said he encourages all skaters to wear at least wrist guards because the wrists are the most prone to injury.
Agostine said, after wrist guards, she encourages inline skaters to wear knee pads, elbow pads and a helmet. Regular maintenance of skates also prevents unnecessary accidents. Wheels should be rotated when the skater notices more wear on one end of the wheel than the other. Bearings may also wear out and might need to be replaced. Agostine said maintenance depends on how rough the terrain the skates are used on and how cheap the skate was. Cheaper skates will wear out faster and will need to be fixed more often if the owner chooses to keep them. Most parts on lower-end skates are not replaceable by the company, Agostine said.
She said generic brand inline skates cost between $40 to $80 but will not offer much support or durability. Rollerblade and Salomon brand skates range from $100 to $250 for adults and from $60 to $100 for children. Lang said BCW’s aggressive inline skates cost from $150 to $300.
Agostine said she has noticed families buying inline skates together more the past year.
“Inline skating has become a very acceptable recreational activity,” Agostine said. “When they take their children to the store to buy skates, parents will often find themselves buying skates as well. They want to spend time with their kids.”