Inline Skating

Inline roller skates seemed poised to eclipse traditonal "quad" roller skates during their heyday in the 1990s. Though the popularity of inline skating among the general public has diminished somewhat since then, and quad roller skates have made a comeback, it seems as if inline skating is here to stay.

The design of inline skates differs from the traditional model in that the four wheels of these skates are all in line with one another, which allows for sharper turns and greater speed. The "quad" skate design, by contrast, has its four wheels arranged into two rows.

Rollerblades

Rollerblades, the pre-eminent modern brand of inline skate, were invented by the Olsen brothers in Minnesota in 1980. The brothers conceived of their skates as a good way for ice skaters and hockey players to practice during warm weather. The idea soon took off, and Rollerblade became one of those brands (like Xerox) that is synonymous in most people's minds with the product it sells.

Recreation & Competition

Today, not only do people use inline skates recreationally (skating on trails like this one around Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis) but competitively as well. One of the sports associated with inline skating is aggressive inline skating. Despite its name, this sport isn't necessarily any more aggressive than roller hockey or roller derby. What the athletes are attacking are difficult skating tricks, trying to perform complex and gravity-defying manuevers with their inline skates.

Aggressive inline skating falls into different categories:

There is street skating, where the skaters "grind" the wheels of their skates down rails, go off staircases and do other tricks associated with obstacles in an urban environment.
There is also park skating, which involves half-pipes and other terrain you might find in a skate park.
There is also inline roller hockey, which in North America is regulated by the Professional Inline Hockey Association (PIHA). PIHA sponsors professional and minor league inline hockey tournaments for both men and women. Its founder, Michael Formisano, Sr., recently passed away at the age of 77.

Inline speed skating, also known as inline racing, has quite a following as well. The inline speed skate is designed somewhat differently than the recreational Rollerblade. They have less padding and conform more closely to the shape of the skater's foot.

If you want to watch videos of experienced inline speed skaters, check out this site of Inline Speedskating Videos. Here you can watch races on banked tracks as well as outdoor tracks.