Freestyle skating
Planet news and information about freestyle skating, listed in reserve order of publication:

May 31, 2007
Freestyle Invasion
UK's Naomi Grigg crisscrosses the USA twice this summer: first in June for workshops in San Francisco, Detroit and Philadelphia; then in September for BattleUS and workshops in Boston, Seattle and Phoenix.
• June Event Calendar
• Sept. Event Calendar

Jan. 23, 2007
We've Got a Winner!
Jeremy LaCivita weaves the first U.S. victory in European freestyle competition. UK champ Naomi Grigg tells the tale in her new Freestyler column.
• Go to Naomi's column.

Oct. 26, 2006
Event Crazy in the USA
Naomi Grigg reports that U.S. freestyle skaters are hard at work on plans for their first competition. They'll call it BattleUS.
• Go to Naomi's column.

Oct. 9, 2006
Freestyle in the USA: It's Growing
In the debut of her Planet column, UK freestyle champ Naomi Grigg talks about what she discovered during her recent misadventures in the New World.
• Go to Naomi's Column.

Aug. 29, 2006
Freestyle on Great Wall
Sebastien Laffargue and Zhuo Cheng do some fancy skating in this video. But their claim of being the first to skate the Wall is all wet. Eddy Matzger was there 11 years ago.
• Go to YouTube video.
• Go to Eddy's Great Wall story.

July 17, 2006
Naomi to Make SF Stop
English freestyle champ Naomi Grigg will give a two-day seminar in San Francisco on July 29-30. The seminar is being hosted by the Godfather, D Miles Jr.
• Go to more info.

July 12, 2006
Naomi Does London!
Even if freestyle is not your cup a tea, you won't want to miss Naomi Grigg's new video. The skating is spectacular and so is the setting in old London town.
• Go to video.

Naomi Goes Crazy in Singapore
And we've got the video to prove it! Cone weaving, leg pretzels, assorted Crazies ... the English freestyle champ does it all in this video from her recent Asian holiday. (Go to Naomi Grigg video.) (April 18, 2006)

Will Freestyle Be 'Fancied Rotten' in the USA? - English freestyle champ Naomi Grigg says her cone-centric specialty is "a ludicrous pastime ... a dumb thing to do." But it's also a great thrill, she says, "like new love to a teenager." So far, this European invention hasn't caught on in the New World. But Grigg says it's just a matter of time. (Go to the Planet story.) (Feb. 28, 2006)

She's Got the Moves - English freestyle champ Naomi Grigg will be crossing the big pond again this year to share her wizardry with America. Grigg is a master of cone and slalom skating. She is also a gifted teacher. Her 2-day clinic, Intro to Freestyle, starts Aug. 5th in Seattle. (Go to the event web site.) (Go to the event calendar.) (Feb. 21, 2006)

Freestyle Skating Keeps Growing - Freestyle skating appears to be growing in popularity worldwide. The International Freestyle Skaters Association has scheduled seven major competitions this year—up from five last year. At the competitions, skaters will compete in four events: speed slalom (cone skating), freestyle slalom, free jump and high jump. Events are scheduled for Russia, France, England, China, Singapore and Spain. (Go to the freestyle association's web page.) (Jan. 19, 2006)

Rollerblade To Introduce Twister to U.S. Market - Rollerblade has gotten serious about its Twister freestyle skate. Gone are the playful color schemes of 2005. Replacing them is an elegant black-and-white design that would make Fred Astaire's head turn. ... And it won't just be available in Europe. Rollerblade is bringing the Twister to the States. (Go to the Planet story!) (Oct. 4, 2005)

Burning Man Boogie! - The industrious David Miles, president of the California Outdoor Rollerskating Association, head of the Skatin' Place skate school, organizer of the Napa Inline Marathon and on and on ... has embarked on a new venture: online skate lessons. Here's an example of what one of those lessons (apparently a very advanced one) might look like. It features a very animated Burning Man! (Check it out!) (July 29, 2005)

Late-Night Jam Skating Flourishes in North America - A late-night roller-culture is flourishing in North America at rinks that host weekly sessions for adult jam skaters. The sessions at rinks from Ontario to New Orleans feature hip-hop, R&B and rap music. The skaters -- all wearing traditional quad roller skates -- glide around the floor, either alone or in synchronized groups, performing spins, steps and kicks (every region has its own style). The Sunday night session at Skatetown USA in West Chester, Ohio, which runs until 3 a.m., draws an average of 100 to 200 skaters, according to the Cincinatti Enquirer. Sessions in other cities draw even larger crowds. (Here's the Enquirer's story about jam skating.) (June 11, 2005)

Freestyle Skating Arrives in China - China, a country with a scant 1.3 billion inhabitants and a burgeoning middle class, just had its first national freestyle skating competition. More than 300 skaters came from 30 provinces to compete in freestyle slalom (cone skating), speed slalom and acrobatic jump. ... Could it be that the "Sleeping Giant" will awake with inline skates on its feet? Who knows? But it's a good bet that the skate makers are going to descend on this market like locusts!

Naomi Does London!
Even if freestyle is not your cup a tea, you won't want to miss Naomi Grigg's new video. The skating is spectacular and so is the setting in old London town.
• Go to video.