By Alicia Cosgrove
Published: Friday, August 29, 2008 3:50 PM CDT
Fresh from the USA Roller Sports Inline Speed Skating Nationals, two Summerfield competitors have been enjoying a well-deserved break.
Mollie Brown, 17, competed in the June outdoor competitions in Colorado and the July indoor competition held in Nebraska. She was elbow-to-elbow with skaters from 77 other teams, all of whom hoped to perform well enough to qualify for the Federation Internationale de Roller Sports Speed Skating World Championships in Gijon, Spain, in September.
Read More...
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
In-line skaters excel at national event
Northville resident Susie Jackson accounted for seven medals and placed first overall in the Grand Master Ladies Division. Jackson's son, Nathan, also fared well at his first national meet, placing second in the freshman boys division and second in the freshman four boys relay along with Kaleb Broomhall, Aaron Cingle and Zachery Dimitri.
Read More...
Read More...
Family fun day for New Castle County
Many athletes in various sports got their start in roller skating. NBA 2004 Slam Dunk Champion, Fred Jones, credits roller skating with strengthening his leg muscles, which helped result in a successful college career at Oregon and a position with the Indiana Pacers. Olympic gold medal speed skater Chad Hedrick started his career on roller skates before switching to ice skates to compete in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Olympic speed skater Apollo Ono also began competing in speed skating with inline skates before switching to ice blades to compete in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
Read More...
Read More...
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Olympic hopeful Mark back on track after injury
PENNSBURG — While the focus of the Olympics has most recently centered on Beijing, thousands of athletes are well into their training for the 2010 Winter Games.
And one of those athletes, 18-year-old Alex Mark of Pennsburg, is hoping Vancouver, Canada, will be the site of his Olympic debut.
Mark, who attended Upper Perkiomen High School as a freshman, is the youngest member of the Wheels on Ice Program (WHIP), designed to crossover America's top talents in inline skating onto the ice. Only 12 skaters from throughout the U.S. were picked for the program, and athletes like Joey Cheek, Derek Parra, and Apolo Anton Ohno are proof the system can yield Olympic hardware.
Read More....
And one of those athletes, 18-year-old Alex Mark of Pennsburg, is hoping Vancouver, Canada, will be the site of his Olympic debut.
Mark, who attended Upper Perkiomen High School as a freshman, is the youngest member of the Wheels on Ice Program (WHIP), designed to crossover America's top talents in inline skating onto the ice. Only 12 skaters from throughout the U.S. were picked for the program, and athletes like Joey Cheek, Derek Parra, and Apolo Anton Ohno are proof the system can yield Olympic hardware.
Read More....
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Horning makes national team
One of the best inline speed skaters in the nation, Horning left Salisbury for Colorado Springs, Colo., last Friday to train for the 2008 World Roller Speed Skating Championships in Gijon, Spain. Along with the other 23 members of the U.S. world team, she'll be in Colorado for another two weeks, training six-to-eight hours a day before leaving for Spain on Aug. 26.
Read More...
Read More...
Rock Hill skaters excel
Jacob Anderson, 8, Damon Spencer, 10, and Will Irby, 12, set national records in inline speed skating in Lincoln. The three were among a group of 14 at the championships who practice under trainer Donnie Allen of Rock Hill.
Anderson broke the national record for the 1,200-meter primary two mixed -- with teammate Deja Johnson, 7 -- and the 1,200-meter primary two-boy -- with teammate Travis Spencer. Jacob and Damon set another national record on the 1,200-meter juvenile four-boy -- with teammates Aidan Murphy-Booth, 8, and Clay Ellerbrock, 9.
Read More...
Anderson broke the national record for the 1,200-meter primary two mixed -- with teammate Deja Johnson, 7 -- and the 1,200-meter primary two-boy -- with teammate Travis Spencer. Jacob and Damon set another national record on the 1,200-meter juvenile four-boy -- with teammates Aidan Murphy-Booth, 8, and Clay Ellerbrock, 9.
Read More...
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Greased lightning
By John Denny
The Clackamas Review, Jul 8, 2008
PORTLAND – Things are looking up for the speed skating team at Oaks Park Roller Rink.
“We’ve moved up from the sixth strongest region in the nation last year to this year we’re the third strongest region,” said Derek Meade, a 38-year-old Milwaukie speed-skating enthusiast who coaches the team.
Meade is a big reason things are looking up for the Oaks Skating Club team. He’s been a part of competitive speed skating since he first took up the sport close to 30 years ago, and he’s got credentials.
Read More...
The Clackamas Review, Jul 8, 2008
PORTLAND – Things are looking up for the speed skating team at Oaks Park Roller Rink.
“We’ve moved up from the sixth strongest region in the nation last year to this year we’re the third strongest region,” said Derek Meade, a 38-year-old Milwaukie speed-skating enthusiast who coaches the team.
Meade is a big reason things are looking up for the Oaks Skating Club team. He’s been a part of competitive speed skating since he first took up the sport close to 30 years ago, and he’s got credentials.
Read More...
Monday, July 07, 2008
From 'out of nowhere,' Honey Brook speedskater makes his mark
By Tom Brolley
Reading Eagle
Keith Carroll toed the starting line at the first race of the recent Junior Inline Speedskating National Championships, ready to make a quick impression.
In less than 27 seconds, the 17-year-old from Honey Brook did just that, setting a blistering pace in the time trial and breaking the national record in the 300-meter banked track race.
"That race let everyone know that he's the fastest man on the track," said Jeff Foster, Carroll's coach with SOS Racing. "That really set the tone."
Carroll would finish the championships with two national records and four medals - two golds and two silvers - on his way to placing second overall at the meet in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The next step for the Twin Valley senior-to-be is the World Speedskating Championships in September in Spain. Foster said Carroll has the chance to come away with five medals.
After that there may not be much left for Carroll to achieve in inline skating, leaving him with a tough decision.
Carroll aspires to go to the Olympics in 2014, but there's a small problem: Inline speedskating is not an Olympic sport. Carroll will eventually have to decide if he wants to pursue that goal or stick with inline skating.
Read More...
Reading Eagle
Keith Carroll toed the starting line at the first race of the recent Junior Inline Speedskating National Championships, ready to make a quick impression.
In less than 27 seconds, the 17-year-old from Honey Brook did just that, setting a blistering pace in the time trial and breaking the national record in the 300-meter banked track race.
"That race let everyone know that he's the fastest man on the track," said Jeff Foster, Carroll's coach with SOS Racing. "That really set the tone."
Carroll would finish the championships with two national records and four medals - two golds and two silvers - on his way to placing second overall at the meet in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The next step for the Twin Valley senior-to-be is the World Speedskating Championships in September in Spain. Foster said Carroll has the chance to come away with five medals.
After that there may not be much left for Carroll to achieve in inline skating, leaving him with a tough decision.
Carroll aspires to go to the Olympics in 2014, but there's a small problem: Inline speedskating is not an Olympic sport. Carroll will eventually have to decide if he wants to pursue that goal or stick with inline skating.
Read More...
Healthy and injury free, Baver has great expectations
By Tom Brolley
Reading Eagle
Before Allison Baver went on to Olympic fame in short track speedskating, she was a local kid terrorizing the competition on inline skates.
The Wilson grad, along with skaters such as Apollo Anton Ohno and Chad Hedrick, is among a growing number of former inliners to have success on ice.
Read More...
Reading Eagle
Before Allison Baver went on to Olympic fame in short track speedskating, she was a local kid terrorizing the competition on inline skates.
The Wilson grad, along with skaters such as Apollo Anton Ohno and Chad Hedrick, is among a growing number of former inliners to have success on ice.
Read More...
Denham Springs native wins skating race
Debbie Rice of Denham Springs won the women’s division of the American Family Insurance Badger Games Inline Marathon on Sunday in Portage, Wisc.
Rice, 40, finished the 25.5-mile inline-skating race in 1 hour, 15 minutes and 27.3 seconds, more than 5 minutes faster than the runner-up. She stayed with the lead men’s pack until the midpoint of the race.
She finished 15th overall.
The victory in the women’s division, Rice’s second in a National Rollercup race, gives Rice a narrow lead in the NROC master women’s division with 120 points.
Read More...
Rice, 40, finished the 25.5-mile inline-skating race in 1 hour, 15 minutes and 27.3 seconds, more than 5 minutes faster than the runner-up. She stayed with the lead men’s pack until the midpoint of the race.
She finished 15th overall.
The victory in the women’s division, Rice’s second in a National Rollercup race, gives Rice a narrow lead in the NROC master women’s division with 120 points.
Read More...
Hoffman Estates to host inline skate marathon
Thirteen years ago, as the popularity of inline skating peaked, members of Chicago-based Team Rainbo skating club began cruising the streets of Hoffman Estates.
The village provided an ideal central weekend practice site for a team whose members hailed from as far south as Orland Park and as far north as Lake Geneva, Wis.
Team Rainbo members now hope their old practice site will provide a perfect backdrop for one of skating's largest events.
On July 26, Hoffman Estates will host the second annual Chicagoland Inline Marathon and Half Marathon, featuring men and women of different skill abilities and ages. Mundelein hosted the inaugural marathon last year.
"It's a great opportunity for anybody who likes skating to put on a pair of skates and be around other people that like to put on skates," said Team Rainbo member Greg Major of Oak Park.
Read More....
The village provided an ideal central weekend practice site for a team whose members hailed from as far south as Orland Park and as far north as Lake Geneva, Wis.
Team Rainbo members now hope their old practice site will provide a perfect backdrop for one of skating's largest events.
On July 26, Hoffman Estates will host the second annual Chicagoland Inline Marathon and Half Marathon, featuring men and women of different skill abilities and ages. Mundelein hosted the inaugural marathon last year.
"It's a great opportunity for anybody who likes skating to put on a pair of skates and be around other people that like to put on skates," said Team Rainbo member Greg Major of Oak Park.
Read More....
Local inline skaters feel the need for speed
By Joe Habina
Special Correspondent
Having dabbled in competitive inline speed skating, Melanie Fortner did not want her son Matthew to get involved. It would require too big a commitment in time and finances.
But as a 6-year-old soaking in his first competition three years ago, Matthew's “eyes were glued to the floor,” said Melanie, who couldn't resist his pleas for a pair of skates.
In just a short time, Matthew has become a national champion, setting a U.S. record with his female partner in the 1,200-meter mixed-relay race at last year's national championships in Omaha, Neb.
Next Sunday, the Fortners, including family patriarch Mike – all of whom are reigning national titleholders from Concord – will begin competition in the 2008 Indoor Speed Skating National Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Matthew's mixed-relay partner will be Kannapolis 11-year-old Jenna Alexander, skating in her first national competition.
Read More...
Special Correspondent
Having dabbled in competitive inline speed skating, Melanie Fortner did not want her son Matthew to get involved. It would require too big a commitment in time and finances.
But as a 6-year-old soaking in his first competition three years ago, Matthew's “eyes were glued to the floor,” said Melanie, who couldn't resist his pleas for a pair of skates.
In just a short time, Matthew has become a national champion, setting a U.S. record with his female partner in the 1,200-meter mixed-relay race at last year's national championships in Omaha, Neb.
Next Sunday, the Fortners, including family patriarch Mike – all of whom are reigning national titleholders from Concord – will begin competition in the 2008 Indoor Speed Skating National Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Matthew's mixed-relay partner will be Kannapolis 11-year-old Jenna Alexander, skating in her first national competition.
Read More...
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Area skaters continue busy summer season
By DEVIN HASSON/Staff Writer
(Created: Friday, June 20, 2008 2:48 AM CDT)
It has been a busy month for a handful of Mesquite-based in-line skaters who have been competing in events all over the region.
On May 24, brothers Joseph Burns, 15, and Spencer Burns, 8, who compete for DFW Speed, each won titles at the South Central Regional Championships in Waco. As a result, both qualified for the 2008 National Speed Skating Championships in Lincoln, Neb., on July 13-17.
Read More...
(Created: Friday, June 20, 2008 2:48 AM CDT)
It has been a busy month for a handful of Mesquite-based in-line skaters who have been competing in events all over the region.
On May 24, brothers Joseph Burns, 15, and Spencer Burns, 8, who compete for DFW Speed, each won titles at the South Central Regional Championships in Waco. As a result, both qualified for the 2008 National Speed Skating Championships in Lincoln, Neb., on July 13-17.
Read More...
Local skaters go FAST
Taking the FAST track
Fort Myers team prepares for inline skating championships
KEVIN JOHNSON
kkjohnson@bonitanews.com
Memory can be a powerful motivational tool. Just ask Steve Hanna.
All it takes is a skate down memory lane to make Hanna recall when his speed skating teammates displayed such little confidence in him and his wife/skating partner, Becky, as they prepared to compete in their first national championship races.
Read More...
Fort Myers team prepares for inline skating championships
KEVIN JOHNSON
kkjohnson@bonitanews.com
Memory can be a powerful motivational tool. Just ask Steve Hanna.
All it takes is a skate down memory lane to make Hanna recall when his speed skating teammates displayed such little confidence in him and his wife/skating partner, Becky, as they prepared to compete in their first national championship races.
Read More...
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Roller sports hope to be in the Olympics by 2016
The Colorado Springs resident will get his chance at the 2016 Summer Games if roller sports are ratified as Olympic sports during an International Olympic Committee assembly in October 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Read More....
Read More....
Katelyn Horning
Katelyn Horning secured a spot on the U.S. World team with her performance this week at the Outdoor National Inline Speed Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Horning, a rising senior at Salisbury High, finished third in a 200-meter time trial and fifth in a 20K elimination race Tuesday. Wednesday she finished fourth in the 500 meters and fifth in a 10K points race.
Horning finished the competition among the top six and will represent the U.S. at a competition in Spain in December.
Horning, a rising senior at Salisbury High, finished third in a 200-meter time trial and fifth in a 20K elimination race Tuesday. Wednesday she finished fourth in the 500 meters and fifth in a 10K points race.
Horning finished the competition among the top six and will represent the U.S. at a competition in Spain in December.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
My New Olympic Dream
When I was about 9 years old, I put on my first pair of skates. A neighbor who was on our local in-line speed skating team -- yes, they exist -- and I persuaded my mom to let my brother and me join the team. For $2 a week, I could skate with the team during practice and then during the public session afterward. When I describe to people what it felt like to start racing, I put it this way: It's like what God meant for me to do. Now I don't mean that I was a phenom; far from it, in fact. But I was always good enough that I could envision myself being the best, and when I worked harder than anyone else, I was.
Read More...
Read More...
Thursday, May 01, 2008
San Franciso Inline Marathon
Full marathon features $3,100 cash for top male and female finishers in pro division. Make sure to stick around for post-race activities, including catered lunch from Outback Steakhouse. Inline skating world champion Joey Mantia is participating, so expect some serious competition in the pro division.
Read More...
Read More...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Inline skating phenom
Ohno grew up here, an inline skating phenom before transferring to ice. At 14, he moved first to Lake Placid, N.Y., to train, then to Colorado Springs, Colo., until speedskating moved its headquarters outside Salt Lake City last year. Ohno's training base is there, but he maintains ties in Seattle, where his father has run a hair salon for years.
Read More...
Read More...
The need for speed
f you can put wheels on it, people are going to want to race it. Anyone into racing will agree that man invented the wheel for one reason: to go fast. The growing popularity of speed roller-skating in Southwest Virginia is giving speed junkies young and old an outlet for that urge.
"It's one of those sports where if you like it, you'll be hooked for life," said Eric "Porkey" Spain, coach of Ultimate Speed, a local competitive skate team. Spain's team is open to skaters of all ages and skill levels.
Competing under the rules of USA Roller Sports, speed roller-skating looks very much like its counterpart on the ice. Apart from the lack of ice and replacing blades with wheels, the basic elements remain. Skaters must navigate a 100-meter oval track while avoiding contact with the other racers. Competitors wear streamlined body suits to reduce drag and aerodynamic helmets for safety.
Read More...
"It's one of those sports where if you like it, you'll be hooked for life," said Eric "Porkey" Spain, coach of Ultimate Speed, a local competitive skate team. Spain's team is open to skaters of all ages and skill levels.
Competing under the rules of USA Roller Sports, speed roller-skating looks very much like its counterpart on the ice. Apart from the lack of ice and replacing blades with wheels, the basic elements remain. Skaters must navigate a 100-meter oval track while avoiding contact with the other racers. Competitors wear streamlined body suits to reduce drag and aerodynamic helmets for safety.
Read More...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)