How to Get Started as a Roller Skater
Even if you've never roller skated before, or haven't for a long time, roller sports are easy to pick up for some recreational, or even competitive, exercise.
Start by buying a pair of skates. Before you go skate shopping, you need to narrow down what you are looking for to either quad or inline skates.
- Quad skates have two wheels in front and two in back, and are better for beginners to keep their balance. If you want to skate on an indoor rink with your friends, you will probably need a pair of quad skates.
- Inline skates have their four wheels in a line, making the balancing experience more like that of an ice skate. Experienced inline skaters can be faster and more manueverable than quad skaters. If you have an ice skating background, you may actually find inline skating to be more intuitive to pick up.
According to Tony Chen's "Buying Guide for Inline Skates," inline skates are usually sold as either multi-purpose, hockey or speed skates. Multi-purpose skates are great for activities as varied as taking a leisurely lap around a lake, grinding off a rail at your local high school, or figure skating in a pattern. They have a foam liner to protect your foot. Hockey skates do not have a liner, allowing you to make sharper turns. (This may cause some abrasions to your foot, but you're a hockey player, you're tough.) Speed skates are the rarest of all. Many speed skate models can be molded to your foot by applying intense heat.
Don't forget to buy a helmet and protective gear, like elbow and knee pads, when you pick up your skates!
Once you have broken in your skates by practicing on local streets, a skate park, or a skating rink, make some friends to skate with by joining a league. The organization you join should depend on what roller skating sport you are most passionate about. If you are in the United States, USA Roller Sports, which covers all the major types of roller sport, is a good place to start. If you are a roller hockey player in Chile, try the Federacion Chileana de Hockey y Patinaje, a Chilean hockey league. And women's roller derby players in the United States can find out which local team to try out for on the WFTDA, Women's Flat Track Derby Association, website.
What are you waiting for? Get rolling!