Inline Skates

Traditional roller skates have wheels arranged in pairs, two at the front of the boot and two at the back. Inline skates developed in the 1980s as a more realistic substitute for an ice skate, and the wheels are arranged in a straight line down the middle of the sole of the boot. They are often known as Rollerblades, although this is the brand name of the company who first manufactured them. They were first developed for use by professional athletes training for long distance ice skating events, but quickly became popular with fitness fans and people looking for a fun way to get around. Nowadays, inline skates are popular with both children and adults, and a variety of different boots and wheel sizes are available for different uses. For recreational skating, inline skates are easy to buy in most large sporting goods stores or online. For more specialised skates, there are several stores online which stock a good variety of different types, but they tend to be more expensive.

Different inline skating disciplines

There are different things that skaters can do on their skates, and the type of skates bought will depend on the type of activity. Aggressive skating is popular in towns and cities, and involves the skaters going up ramps or performing jumps and tricks on their skates. Skaters often use the same parks and try to copy the moves of skateboarders. Speed skating, or inline racing, is done on a track and is a simple race between participants to see who can finish the distance in the quickest time. Artistic inline skating is much more like figure skating on ice, with skaters trying to be as graceful as possible, and show off their technique through jumps, complicated moves and routines to music.