Rollerblading

 

The History of Rollerblade

Children growing up in the 2010s enjoy rollerblade skating, sometimes called inline skating, but earlier skaters used more traditional equipment with four juxtaposed wheels attached to the shoe with metal and leather straps. Many people claimed to be the inventor of the skates, but with little supporting documentation. While tracing the inventor of the rollerblades follows the same pattern as researching the history of the roller skate, the history of rollerblading offers clear information as to how the sport became an international phenomenon.

Skateboarder is those cool dudes who sweep through town with styles and in great speed. They are young; they have their own dress sense and have these fantastic wheels under their feet. Skateboarding is the art to go around in skates, and today it is considered an actual sport, with a lot of championships and competitions. The apparel that ‘skaters’ put on has influenced the street fashion and is characterized by low jeans and oversized sweatshirts. This look is made complete with a pair of sneakers with large soles. 

The original concept of skating came from a mild crate with rollers attached on its base for those who did not know how to cycle. Skateboarding is now very popular sport among teenagers in both Malaysia and Singapore. They often gather in skate parks to practise new moves. The best skates are said to be those that are ‘assembled’, rather than those that are bought pieced together. It is advisable to have in hand a helmet, arm and knee guards when you go skating.

Rollerblading can also be known as inline skating, and the sport itself is born on the beaches of California. The first  ‘rollerblades descended from the ’roller-skate’, and slowly speeded to the beaches of Los Angeles. To go on the rollerblades is not very dangerous, but it does require some care when executing, especially for a beginner. It’s often good to do a preliminary testing of the blades first, to make sure that you don’t sustain any unnecessary injury. However, as soon as you gain your foothold, you will feed secure enough.

There are different types of rollerblades that are suitable for either walking or for competition. Good rollerblades can protect your ankles and prevent you from falling down. This sport can also help you to keep fit as it works out your thigh muscle tones, your arms as well as improving your sense of balance. Like the roller skates, it is necessary to use guard protection during rollerblading.

Early Rollerblading

The earliest roller skates were inline or rollerblades, according to Hickok Sports. The earliest skating records and drawings, which date back to 1716, and show skate wheels positioned in a straight line until 1863, when the configuration changed to two pairs on either side of the sole. The advantage to the new quad-wheel formation for the skater was a steady foundation for balance. The Chicago Roller Skate Company returned to the original inline wheel pattern in 1966 with a boot skate with wheels permanently attached to the sole. Unlike earlier models in which the wheels were positioned under the stake, the Chicago skate design included wheels at the front and rear extending out from the boot form.

Inline Skating History - Roller Skating - Rollerblades

Whether you're using them to play hockey, get to the corner store or just blow past that old granny that's walking about two miles an hour - inline skating, otherwise known as rollerblading, is one of the most convenient ways to move yourself around. So where did this whole skating on shoes thing start anyway?

Well, it all started more than 250 years ago in Belgium. A man named Merlin (no relation to the magician) took a pair of skates and attached some wheels to the bottom of them. Great idea, right? Well, this genius, Merlin, failed to build a braking system for his new invention. On his first attempt with the wheels, he flew out of control through his hallway and slammed into an expensive mirror. He was severely injured and had seven years of bad luck on top of that. 

Despite Merlin's little episode, roller skating technology made some advances. By 1840, roller skating was a big hit in Germany. A bar in Berlin even had pretty, young girls wearing roller skates while they served customers. When roller skating came to the United States in the early 1900s, roller rinks popped up all over the country. By this time roller skates had a front brake and four or six wheels. 

In 1980, the modern day inline skate began to take shape. Two brothers from Minnesota redesigned the roller skate so they could train for hockey in the summer time. They added a brake on the back and changed the wheels so they could skate on it as they did on ice. Out of that came the modern day inline skate. Inline skate brands like Oxygen, Rollerblade and K2 are as commonly known as many clothing lines. Roller hockey is now one of the fastest growing sports in North America. There's now extreme inline skating with competitions on half pipes and ramps - kinda like skateboarding. So next time you're burning around the neighborhood on wheels, be sure to remember the sacrifices Merlin made hundreds of years ago.

Rollerblade Model Development

The trend in most roller-skate models followed the quad-wheel pattern until 1980 when brothers Scott and Brennan Olson of Minneapolis, Minnesota, found a pair of the 1966 retro-skates with the straight-line pattern. The Olson brothers, who played street hockey, immediately saw the advantage of control and turning ability in the old skates' inline wheel pattern. The brothers designed their own version of the 1960s skates using hockey boots, large polyurethane wheels and a rubber heel brake originally manufactured for use in quad skates.

Sidewalk Blading 

The Olsons' design grew popular as the brothers hand-crafted skates for their friends. The pair, operating in 1982 as Ole's Innovative Sports, continued to make Rollerblade in-line skates by hand from their parent's basement until they sold out to Minneapolis financiers Robert Sturgis and Robert Naegele in 1985. By 1988, the rollerblade company had earned approximately $10 million, and by 1995 Nordica had taken over full control of the manufacture and marketing of Rollerblades. The skates developed a wide following and the company sold more than three million pairs of inline skates by 1989. The patent rights to inline skates in 2011 were held by Benetton Sportssystem USA.

Blading Organizations and Competition

The International Inline Skating Association, founded in 1991, educates skaters in the safe use of in-line skates and trains and certifies skate instructors. USA Roller Sports, Inc. sets the rules for inline skating competitions and events. The international popularity of the boot skate was recognized in 1999 when inline skating became a Pan-American Game event. The Gravity Games feature several inline skating events, including downhill racing, street competition and vert events in which the in-line skater performs stunts on a half-pipe course similar to that used for snowboarding and competitive skateboard events. The Aggressive Skaters Association, known as ASA, sponsors competitive in-line events and world sport tours for Aggro, the name used for the most aggressive form of in-line skating.