SKATE TIP OF THE WEEK
Inline secrets from the world's top skaters and coaches

This week's tip:

Growing the Sport

'All you need is love'

By Jim White

Sharing your love of skating is the key to growing the sport. It brings in new skaters, it helps events flourish, and it's a great way to make new friends.

There are many ways to share your passion. Here's a few of my favorites:

Share your everyday skating.

Tell your friends and acquaintances about what skating does for you. Your enthusiasm might just inspire new converts. If so, invite them to come along and skate with you. If they don't already own a pair of skates, take them some place where skates can be rented (e.g., a roller rink).

Share your training.

Skate with a group. Get to know the regulars at your skate park, rink or trail. Find out if any of them would like to skate as a group.

Skating together is a great way to share tips about technique and equipment. And it's fun.

If you like something more organized, join a speed team or a skate club or connect with other skaters at one of the numerous group skates worldwide. (Group Skate Mapper)

Share your skate travel.

When you go to a skate event, take a friend or two along. You'll be helping the event by boosting the number of skaters. You'll have more fun and save money by sharing expenses with your travel buddies.

Share your time.

If there's a skate event near you, volunteer to help. Event organizers always need volunteers to register skaters and help with clean-up and other chores. Once you've volunteered, you'll be a valued member of the management team when the event rolls around again.

If there are too few skate events in your area, start one of your own. You can start small by finding a running, walking or cycling race (or bike tour) that might be interested in adding skaters.

Share your ideas, via the Internet.

Contribute your knowledge of inline skating by answering questions on skate forums. Often, the only thing a newbie needs to keep rolling is a little reassurance.

Growing the sport really comes down to two things: sharing your enthusiasm and sharing your time. Like a wise man once said, "It is only in giving that we receive."

...

Jim White is a skater, inline and ice, indoor and out. He is the webmaster of Grow Inline Speed, a web site that provides resources for the development of inline speed skating. He also helps organize and produce skate races and is a regular contributor to inline skating forums

• Grow Inline Speed

Related reading:

• Skate Tip of the Week Archive
• Beginners Guide to Outdoor Racing
• Beginners Guide to Inline Skating