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Look at the pictures below; Can you guess where Morgane and I went the other day?
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Click here for the results from July 1st’s Canada Day Marathon & Half Marathon.
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The Sk8tologist’s fifth addition is Olympics my arse-
The name counts, but it’s not critical. Last time, we –represented by FIRS- made a sorry appearance before the IOC’s members (featuring the most pathetic video ever produced), no wonder nobody took us seriously. Having learnt the lesson well, this time over Sabatino & Co spent the last 3 years -plus an unthinkable magnitude of FIRS resources- doing some lobbying, taping the right channels and broadly bribing his superiors in the Olympic food chain. True, it’s a zillion times more than what was done by his predecessors, but that’s just because none of them did anything at all, ever. It simply is not enough, compared with what can be done by the powerful rugby, golf and karate federations. Even squash looks impressive in its political influence. The general impression is that we did too little too late (once again), and are quite not up to the task.
So let’s face it: unless a cosmological miracle happens, or the politicians feel the need to screw karate or rugby, we’re not going to be an Olympic sport as yet. The good news is, we won’t die, and in the worst case scenario, nothing will change for us. We need to keep working towards an international & professional set of races that’s TV worthwhile, we MUST put a great deal of effort in bringing as much kids as possible to SKATING (NOT speedskating, at first), and finally we should keep proving to the world that the true Olympic spirit absolutely lives in our sport, in which fortius citius altius are perfectly epitomized.
Because if the Olympic Games are still run by the same crooks last seen in Singapore, they can take the whole five rings and shove them up their arses. Starting with the red one, please.
Filed under: International, Olympics, Roller, Sport Developement | Leave a Comment »
Discussion has been ongoing in the thread Reverse Cycle needed urgently in Speed Skating since I recently shared the link.
In my area alone I think I might be the only skater, I live in one of the largest cities in the east coast USA, where there is 4 million people. Of course I’m not the only skater but I haven’t seen any other and people ask me what is your sport? They think I’m going to say Soccer or Baseball, or maybe Cyclist? When I answer Inline Speed Skating they look at me like if I just made that up. How are we going to have a successful sport if people aren’t even aware of it? It’s our fault guys, simply our fault but we could certainly use a little help to take the sport further by having the pros participating more in social events designed to attract people to the sport not just the races
I have always felt that the USARS does not do enough for inline skating in the United States. With strong indoor participation one would assume that this would trickle over to all aspects of the sport. In fact, it does not. For some time USARS has continued to gouge its members with high fees for National Championships and has given almost nothing in the way of marketing or direction for the sport of inline speed skating, or roller skating as a whole.
Another issue of equal importance is how to approach the youth about it, we wouldn’t want the sport to become a Harley Davidson beautiful but for the old! Kids get lured in differently, we have to find a way to literally deliver the sport to them and that we have to figure it out as well.
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Due to the change of hands of the Send the Best organization a name change was required for Legal and documentation purposes. Send The Best will now be known as the US Inline World Team organization.
Read more here; STB Name Changed.
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Check out the pictures from the Busan International Shoe Fashion show.
Photo from Gyro Wheels
Photo from Gyro Wheels
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Glenn asked me to post to the site. Attached is a picture of me skating in Jaipur at 5:30 in the morning shortly after a heavy rain. Gotta do it when you can do it. Skating the roads in Jaipur is suicidal so skating is done in the Industrial part where I’m working. Interesting skating in an area where wild dogs provide the motivation to skate fast and where building guards carry machine guns. Fortunately, they are all very friendly and I become a source of entertainment for them. Hope to have more pictures shortly. Very much enjoying the new sport.
Read more here; Skating in India.
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As many of you already know, USA’s World Team was selected at the recent USA Outdoor National Championships. The links listed below will give you information and insight about the 2009 squad;
That brings me to my next thoughts… and i have talked to alot of people about this, some agree, alot don’t. Outdoor nationals, what is it? is it simply the time to pick the SR/JR world team? or is it actually a United states Outdoor nationals? why do we put so much emphases on Indoor Nationals(upwards of 800-1000 skaters), but not on Outdoor Nationals(150-175 skaters)? I know that there is more divisions, etc in indoor, but there still should be allot more skaters going to ODN!!! Justin Stelly made the SR world team again this year. He deserved it, he skated awesome for it, he earned it, but he turned the spot down to focus on the 2010 Olympic games in Feb.
When Worlds was in China last time the juniors had to bring in $6000 and that’s just for living and travel expenses to worlds. Most of the time that doesn’t include plane tickets to and from residency. It also does not include any wheels and that can be a huge expense too. Unfortunately, the World Team goes to residency to race for 3 weeks in order to get races at Worlds. Skaters do have a concern for having enough sets of wheels for both residency and worlds. So with the wheels added the expenses can shoot up possible $1000+.
So yes rally and support the juniors it’s a hard road to skate down. And it is very stressful on them financially. Many parents have had to make a Gi-normous amount of sacrifices to help their child to fulfill their dream. I am not exaggerating at all when I say this; parents have lost mortgages, cars, and so many more sacrifices so their child can get a shot representing the USA.
Junior Women
Erin Jackson
Alex Harris
Sophie Webb
Hailey Leech
Meagan Gillis
Samantha GoetzAlternates
Nicole Lloyd
Darian O’NeilJunior Men
Jonathan Blair
Mario Valencia
Justin Mannon
Andrew Shatzer
Eben Jackson
Michael RingerAlternates
Corey Bethel
Brandon EsianorSenior Women
Sara Sayasane
Briana Kramer
Chelsea Creveling
Katie Grimm
Nastassia Hamor
Leeza HargreavesAlternates
Xion Akana
Sophie BuckalooSenior Men
William Bowen
Keith Carroll
Joey Mantia
Michael Cheek
Chad Horne
Justin StellyJake Powers
Corey Gahan
Filed under: Championships, International, Junior, National Selection, Roller, Selection, Senior, Track, Upcoming, World Championships | Leave a Comment »
You can use the following links to view results, reports, and more from days 2 and 3 of road racing at the recent USA Outdoor Nationals;
Photo from here
Photo from here
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Patinage De Vitesse Courte Piste has been sharing lots of short track speed skating news recently-
Other times, bad luck is a test of your will and determination. Short-track speedskater Olivier Jean was able to smile Thursday when talking about a failed salmon fishing trip he organized recently for the Canadian national team during a Vancouver training camp. All the 12 skaters had to show for it after a long day on the water was one fish that weighed under two kilograms.
“It was really disappointing,” Jean said with a shake of his head.
“There are so many guys on our team who have been to the Olympics before, won medals at world championships and World Cups,” he said. “We have a really strong field, but that means we’re going to have a strong team for the Games, so that’s only good news for Canada.”
“There’s something satisfying about whacking the crap out of a golf ball, right?” he said. “It’s that sensation that keeps people playing golf. Skating, it’s more than going around in circles. It’s the pressure on your legs, the body position, the wind in your hair … it’s this feeling you’re searching for every time you’re on ice. Feeling perfect on the ice.”
Photo from here
Filed under: Articles, Events, Funny, International, National Selection, News, Olympics, Selection, Senior, Short Track, Skaters, Teams, Training, Upcoming | Leave a Comment »
Visual Skate shared a couple of videos from the 1996 World Roller Speed Skating Championships In Italy- see RETROSkate.
1500mts Mayores Varones
Chad Heddrick, Derek Parra y Jorge Botero en una estupenda definición.
1500mts Mayores Damas
Maria Eva Richardson contra las dos norteamericanas, una de ellas Julie Brand, la ganadora. Fue medalla de bronce para Argentina.
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The latest addition to Maarten Slembrouck’s Blog is Inline Cup 2009.
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Click here for pictures from the Torneo de Escuela Formativa held in Puente Alto, Chile.
Photo from Visual Skate
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WOODSTOCK — Though he may be legally blind, Mark DeMontis will never lose his vision.
The 22-year-old is inline skating 5,000 kilometres across the country this summer to raise money and awareness for Courage Canada, a non-profit he founded to give visually impaired youth the chance to play blind hockey.
“It’s going to be remarkable and it’s going to shape the rest of my life,” said DeMontis, who skated through Woodstock yesterday.
The Quest to the West began five days ago in Weston, Ont., DeMontis’ hometown. He plans to arrive in Vancouver on Sept. 12, in time to raise awareness about blind hockey before the Olympics. One day, DeMontis hopes to help make blind hockey a Paralympic Sport. Currently, blind hockey is only played in major centres across Canada.
Read more here; Mark DeMontis skating for a cause.
Filed under: A Bit Of Sunshine, Articles, Fundraising, News, Roller, Skaters, Ultra Distance | Leave a Comment »
According to De Telegraaf Telesport Schaatsen, Norway’s long track speed skater Havard Bökko recently broke his shoulder.
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MundoPatin has a page for the upcoming European Roller Speed Skating Championships.
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Hey everyone, UPDATE: this is now happening on Sunday the 12th. We have 5 skaters going at the moment. If you want to go, let me know. Car space may be tight so if you don’t have wheels I can’t guarantee a seat, but will try to find something for you.
Read more here; P’tit Train Trip Saturday July 12th.
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Here’s the most recent skate tip of the week from the Inline Planet; Practice Sculling to Maximize Your Push-
As you start the push, the toe of your skate is pointed slightly outward. When you extend your leg, you rotate (”carve”) your heel to the outside. This straightens your skate so that your toes are pointed forward.
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Filed under: International, Junior, Marathon, National Selection, Pictures, Roller, Senior, Skaters, Sprint, Teams, Track, World Championships | Leave a Comment »
German long track speed skater Claudia Pechstein recently been found by the ISU Disciplinary Commission for using the prohibited method of blood doping.
According to the ISU, the results of the tests that took place at the World Long Track Speed Skating Championships in Hamar this past February, will see Pechstein suspended from speed skating for two years.
1. Claudia Pechstein is dec1ared responsible for an Anti-Doping violation under Artic1e 2.2 of the ISU Anti-Doping Rules by using the prohibited method of blood doping.
2. The results obtained by Claudia Pechstein in the 500 m and 3′000 m races at the World Allround Speed Skating Championships on February 7, 2009, are disqualified and her points, prizes and medals forfeited.
3. A two years ineligibility, beginning on February 9, 2009, is imposed on Claudia Pechstein.
4. The Deutsche Eisschnelllauf-Gemeinschaft e.V. shall pay to the ISU the costs to be determined.
5. Each Party bears its own costs of proceedings and expenses.
As a Coach for many years, I have been sick of trying to create Super Athletes to beat cheaters, if you have spent all your money & lifetime in pursuit of an even playing field you would understand my stance.
I could have a field day naming them & I will leave it for a book, when I am done & dusted.
Also the organisation of German Olympic sports federations (DOSB) stands behind Pechstein. ” She know has let our that she has not broken the doping rules. We must get this matter as soon as possible clear. It is well that there now a neutral research comes ”, said general to secretary Michael vesper.
Here are a number of links that you can use to find out more about the case;
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The second and final day of the 2009 Canadian Roller Speed Skating Championships took place at Toronto’s Father Remond Track.
Withbetter wind conditions than Saturday, skaters broke numerous national records.
Some of the news coming from this year’s Canadian Championships;
You can use the links below to view photos, reports, and results-
Volunteers & Officials Make It Happen
With a very small but committed roller speed skating community, each volunteer’s impact & importance is great and appreciated. The volunteers & officials who put in the long andunseen hours did a good job putting together these Championships. I know about the behind-the-scenes work that goes on; I was responsible for getting the generator, washrooms, sound system, and permits for the Championships. I also helped measure and mark the starting & finishing lines & promote the Championships to other clubs & skaters. We also had the RSC Speed Technical Committee meeting on Friday night where rules were discussed. This is just the tip of the iceberg of things that need to get done when organizing an event.
It took a small team of officials, tabulators, starters, place-judges, and volunteers to run these championships
The Young Skaters Break Records
The young skaters in the Primary, Freshmen and Intermediate categories set many Canadian records on the 2nd day of racing.
Adrian Alvarez leading the Freshmen boys’ 2km points race- photo by Peter Doucet
Senior Men- Pauley Brothers Strike Gold, 15km record
The senior men’s 15km elimination race came down to a final-lap sprint between Jesse Pauley and I. Pauley grabbed the lead with 200-meters to go and held on to claim the win. Pauleybroke the Canadian record, set earlier in June, by one second.
The 500-meter final saw Jade Pauley, Alex D’Mello, Brett Leavens, and I take to the line. We all had to qualify through heats and semi-finals. Leo Frusteri, one of the 500-meter sprint contenders, went down coming out of the final corner in his heat. In the final, I took the early lead, but Jade Pauley accelerated past me in the back-straight and took the lead right before the entry of the final corner. He held on andtook the win with a gap over 2nd place.
Stephane Charron (outside left), Travis Shaw (leading), Marc Belanger (yellow & blue), Jesse Pauley (right)- 500-meter b-final- photo from Marie-Eve Leblanc
The final race of the day for the senior men was the relay. With four teams, including the trios of Jade Pauley/ Jesse Pauley/ Travis Shaw, Simon Clement/ Benoit Letourneau/ Stephane Charron, Alex D’Mello/ Chris D’Mello/ Brett Leavens, and Morgan Williams/ Marc Belanger/ Peter Doucet, racing action was fast. The race was decided in the final stretch with Jade Pauley and I stretching for the line and taking the win by a fraction of a wheel and besting the old Canadian mark by about 12-seconds to 4:17.
Open men’s relay finish- Jade Pauley edges me out- photo from Marie-Eve Leblanc
Senior Women- Morgane Echardour’s First Canadian Title & 15km record
The senior women saw Morgane Echardour earn her first senior Canadian title. She won the 15km elimination race by taking the early lead and finishing almost a lap ahead of Sarah Hopkins. After clicking skates with Ottawa’s Dominique Lalonde, Candy Wong finished in 3rd place, earning the bronze medal in the distance category. In winning the race, Echardour set the 15km elimination record in a time of 27:21, besting the old mark by 1-minute 23-seconds.
Sarah Hopkins won her 4thrace of the weekend in the 500-meter race. Morgane Echardour took the early lead in the final, but Hopkins flew by Echardour in the back straightaway andtook the win by 1-second.
Morgane Echardour leads Shannon Hegarty, Sarah Hopkins, and Leah Kaluta, senior women’s 500-meter A final- photo by Peter Doucet
Hopkins, Echardour, and Dominique Lalondeteamed up for the relay. They set the new Canadian record with a time of 4:54, 4-seconds lower than the old record time.
Wilby’s Pictures
On Saturday, I had a chance to chat with Wilby Mcknight. He hung out for Saturday’s racing action before returning to Ottawa on Saturday evening. He posted all his pictures here.
Photo from flickr_photographer
Photo from flickr_photographer
Photo from flickr_photographer
Photo from flickr_photographer
Photo from flickr_photographer
Photo from flickr_photographer
Filed under: Championships, Junior, Masters, National Selection, Pictures, Records, Reports, Results, Roller, Senior, Youth | Leave a Comment »
Here are some of my pictures from today’s racing at the Canadian Outdoor Roller Speed Skating Championships. I’ll share a report complete with results as well as update SSW with news from around the world either tomorrow or Tuesday.
Filed under: Championships, Junior, Masters, Pictures, Roller, Selection, Senior, Sprint, Track | Leave a Comment »
The 2009 Canadian Roller Speed Skating Championships are now under way in Toronto.
The two day competition, which features skaters from Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, started early this morning and concludes Sunday afternoon.
Skaters were treated to beautiful clear skies. This was off-set by very strong winds, which had a negative impact on times skated.
Freshmen & Primary Skaters Set Records
Despite the strong wind, Bailin Xie (OISC- Ottawa) and Adrian Sanchez (TISC- Toronto) skated to new records in their 1500-meter races. Xavier Charron (VRL- Quebec) set the natinal record in the 600-meter Primary Boys race. The record setting trio, along with how their fellow age-group competitors skated, are welcome breath of fresh air as they will eventually fill the junior categories.
Junior Skaters Move Up To Senior
Four junior world class men were slated to race today, but with two no-shows, Calgary club-mates Brett Leavens and Chris D’Mello opted to challenge up to the senior world class men’s division.
Doucet (that’s me) Wings All 3 Senior World Class Men’s Races
Changing categories ended working in Brett Leavens’ favour; the 15- year old ended up finishing 2nd in the senior world class men’s 10km points/ elimination race. He joined me for a long break from the lead group. The break lasted through to the finish of the race. I won the race, with Leavens coming 2nd, and Alex D’Mello securing points early on and the single point for 3rd at the end. Montreal’s Marc Joubert and Stephan Charron completed the top-5.
I ended up coming 3-for-3, with wins in the 300-meters, 10km points/ elimination, and1000-meter races. With extremely strong winds, Travis Shaw was the only skater to break the 28-second barrier in the heats. For the 300-meter finals, strong winds added heaps of time to the finishing times; I won the final in a time of 29.23 seconds. Jade Pauley finished 2nd, with .06 between him and I.
The 1000-meter race featured plenty of drama; with only two heats taking place, the winner of each heat plus the next 4 fastest time would qualify for the final. The first heat (which I won) was mis-timed. The officials opted to re-skate both heats, to be as fair as possible to all skaters. Jade Pauley just managed to win the second heat , but upon learning that his heat would also be re-skated, had words with officials and was disqualified from the 1000-meters.
Once both heats were re-skated, the final took place. In the final, Brett Leavens drove the pace early on. With 400+ meters to go, I accelerated on the outside and opened up a lead that was big enough for me to win the race unchallenged. Jesse Pauley finished in 2nd place.
Senior World Class Women’s Racing- 1- Sarah Hopkins, 2-Morgane Echardour, 3- Dominique Lalonde
The senior world class women treated the crowd to the exact same finishing order in all 3 races; 1- Sarah Hopkins, 2- Morgane Echardour, 3- Dominique Lalonde.
Don’t get me wrong, despite the results, the races were hard fought and these girls put everything on the line. Hopkins, who earlier in the day took the 300-meter time trial in a time in the high 30’s, won the 10km points/ elimination race by the smallest margin; 1 point.
Morgane Echardour led the early stages of the 1000-meter race. On the last lap, Sarah Hopkins charged up the outside of the straightaway, taking advantage of the wind conditions and shooting by Echardour to take the win.
Racing resumes early tomorrow morning.
Filed under: Championships, Junior, Masters, Pictures, Reports, Roller, Senior, Sprint, Track, Youth | Leave a Comment »
Check out this video with the lead team includig RPM Polo & Bont Enduro at last weekend’s Mans 24 Hours.
I must admit that the map at the top right-hand side- like in car racing games so that you know where you and the other racers are on the race course- is a nice litte touch.
Après un tour avec l’équipe féminine Sarthe Loops Racing, ReL vous propose de retrouver les deux équipes leader de l’épreuve : RPM Poli et Bont. Le tour que nous vous présentons ici n’est pas le plus rapide, mais il offre une bonne vue du circuit. Les derniers hectomètres où Bont essaient de décrocher Pascal Briand sont intéressants à voir. On note le brutal changement de vitesse…
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To view a few pictures of the Mans 24 Hours winning team, check out Powerslide/Matter winning in Le Mans.
Photo from here
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Wouter Hebbrecht shared videos of Sara Hebbrecht’s & Erin Jackson’s 300-meter sprint USA records- view them here; US Outdoor Nationals results. You can view more videos here; Video’s 500m ODN and also here; US Outdoor Nationals results Day 2.
Under the results I added some video of Sara and Erin, probably the two most amazing skaters out there today and some pictures (sorry picture quality isn’t that great but it will still do).
You can find tons of videos from the USA Outdoor Nationals thanks to Milpitasspeed’s blog-
I embeded a few of the videos;
Filed under: Championships, Junior, Masters, National Selection, Records, Reports, Roller, Senior, Skaters, Sprint, Track, Videos | Leave a Comment »
Here are a few more article with pictures from Colombia’s 2009 World Championships Selection-
Jenny Serano- photo from Patin Colombia
Elizabeth Arnedo- photo from Patin Colombia
Filed under: Junior, Marathon, National Selection, Pictures, Rankings, Reports, Roller, Selection, Senior, Sprint, Track | Leave a Comment »
The non-profit will promote inline skate safety through outreach and advertising aimed at innoculating skaters with a four-part safe-skating checklist:
Check. Wear. Watch. Warn.
The foundation’s efforts will include handing out safety cards on trails and at skate events and promoting skate safety on the foundation’s web site.
Read more here; Skater-Nurse Rolls Out Foundation for Inline Safety.
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If you’re in the market for bearings, there’s a lot to consider. These days, everybody makes a big deal about ABEC rating and wants ABEC 7s or better. But as far as I’m concerned, one of the most important things to consider is where the bearings are made. Bearings are a precision product, which need to be made with great attention to detail. That’s why I prefer bearings made in Switzerland or Germany, countries with reputations for precision manufacturing.
Buying bearings nowadays is a bit of a lottery. Some of the so-called “top” names don’t always perform as advertised. As a result, it’s hard for me to offer any firm recommendations.
Read more from Bill Begg here; Bearing Down on Skate Bearings.
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Photo from Nadine
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