Hedrick, Lamb win speedskating events

Their absence has opened spots for newcomers like Jessica Smith of Melvindale, Mich., who has made the team based on her runs in two 500-meter races.

The 23-year-old Smith began competing in inline skating when she was 13 and has won a dozen world titles. She switched to the ice in 2004 because she wanted to compete in an Olympics.

"It feels good," she said. "I'm glad to do it now so I have more time to get used to the competition. It will help me in my goal of making an Olympic team."

Her best finish in the two 500s was third. She also placed fourth in the 3,000.

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Hedrick not expecting much on ice right now

Journal Sentinal Online - It has been a long time since Chad Hedrick showed up at a speedskating race willing to settle for anything but victories and track records.

Since he has been back training on the ice only six weeks and is still shaking off the rust from a five-month sabbatical after the 2006 Winter Olympics, however, he's going to cut himself some slack.

"I'm just not comfortable on my skates yet," Hedrick said after skating a relatively slow 500 meters in the U.S. Single-Distance Championships on Friday at the Pettit National Ice Center.

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Skater Distraught After Placing 5th

DongA.com - Excessive confidence, based on the frilly expression, “the best,” to which she was so used to, might have held her back. The most popular inline skater of Korea shed tears as the she heard the announcement that eliminated her from the race as she had three laps to go.

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A POTTERS Bar teenager is taking the world of inline speed skating by storm.

Matthew Cardell-Williams is in his first competitive season and at a meet in August the skating sensation threatened to set a national record - despite stumbling at the start of the race.

The 15-year-old actually broke the previous British Cadet record in the 200m time trial at the Outdoor British Championship.

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Speedskating champ too busy to sharpen game

Chad Hedrick grew up in Spring, about as close to golf and as far from speedskating as a kid could get.

Always competitive, Hedrick was roller skating (at his parents' rink) at 2 and won his first national championship at 8. He won a world inline skating championship in 1994, and 10 years later, just 18 months after switching to ice skates, he won a world speedskating championship in Norway. At the 2006 Olympics in Torino, he won a gold, a silver and a bronze.

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Big incentive helps lure speedskating group

Deseret News - "... Parra, who recently bought a home in Draper, said he hopes to coach athletes here making the transition from inline skating to speedskating. ..."

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U.S. Speedskating to move headquarters to Salt Lake

SignOnSanDiego.com - “We are seeking to establish a better connection to our elite and developmental athletes in our programs, who reside and train here year-round, as well as setting the stage for our new inline transition program,” U.S. Speedskating executive director Bob Crowley said.

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OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST TO RECEIVE HONORARY DEGREE

"Cindy Klassen, the first Canadian to win five medals in one Olympic Games, was born and raised in Winnipeg, growing up with a wide range of sports but with a predilection towards hockey.

She missed out on being selected for the national team for the 1998 Olympics but continued playing hockey for and attending the University of Manitoba. Wanting another sport to supplement her training, she had chosen speed skating and soon found herself competing at the 1999 Pan American Games in inline skating."

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Arizona Rattlesnake Invitational

Just under two weeks until the first annual Arizona Rattleskate Invitational on October 15, 2006. Online registration at Active.com closes October 8th, but entries can still be accepted by mail or done at late registration the night before the race at Venezia’s Pizzeria. No race day entries accepted, except for the team time trial.

21-Time World Champion, JOEY MANTIA, will be conducting an outdoor clinic on Saturday October 14th from 3-5pm. Cost is $25.00 for the two-hour clinic. Payment for the clinic will be collected before the clinic starts. Please send me an email if you are planning on attending so I can give him an approximate head count.
arizonarattleskate@yahoo.com


Come and join us in Arizona for a fun day of racing.

• I have great sponsors who have generously donated items for great give-aways.

• The custom made awards are awesome and nothing like you have ever seen before!

• The t-shirts are made from a dri-fit material that keep you cool while working out.

• Cash prizes to the pro’s.

• You can still sign up your friends and family to receive a free skate lesson from a certified skate instructor so they have something to do in between your races - you don’t even need skating equipment, it will be all supplied. Sign up at www.freeskatelesson.com.

• Food vendors onsite during the day.

• Free coffee from Coffee Connection

• Free race food and drinks for the athletes

• Free massages for athletes and spectators

Full race details can be viewed at
www.arizonadustdevils.org under the Arizona Rattleskate link. Please call if you have any questions 480-734-0558.

Hope to see you all in Arizona!!

Carleton woman skates past world champion

CARLETON - Jilleane Rookard learned how to walk and skate at about the same time.

"I had skates on my feet when I was 11 months old," she said. "The opportunity was there, and it was something that I enjoyed. I love the competition."

Now the 23-year-old Carleton woman has become a world-class inline skater who has competed on the U.S. National Skating Team the last four years. Two weeks ago she beat the reigning world champion at the NorthShore Inline Marathon in Duluth, Minn.

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