Week of August 1st, 2005 on the Inline Planet Monday
(Aug. 1, 2005)
U.S. Coach Seeks Equipment for Mexican Skate Kids - U.S. World Team  manager Linda Wood will be volunteering her time in Mexico City this September to coach a fledgling children's skate team. But there's one problem: Most of the 25 children have little, if any, equipment. ... Do you have any closet clutter you can spare? (Here's the Planet storylet!) (Aug. 1, 2005) Swiss Police Take to Inline Skates to Patrol the Streets - The Zurich police  have replaced their mounted patrols with squads of officers on inline skates. The inline squad consists of 34 members: 25 men and nine women. It was started as a way to patrol the city's massive Monday Night Skate. But it "worked so well that we decided to employ the unit for other tasks, too," the police chief said. ... Besides, police are easier to keep in oats. "The police on skates carry out more or less the same tasks (as the mounted patrol) but are a lot cheaper to manage," one official said. (Here's Swiss Info's story.) (Aug. 1, 2005) Minnesotan Wins July Sweepstakes! - Brian Schroeder of South St. Paul, Minn., has won the Planet's July Sweepstakes. Brian wins a pair of Rollerblade Lightning or Aero skates. ... We just checked with the winner of last month's drawing, Mark Kim of San Ramon, Calif. His Aero 10s arrived last week. ... How does he like them so far? "They're great!" he says. (Come back tomorrow to learn how to register for this month's drawing!) (Aug. 1, 2005) Joey Mantia To Miss a Week or More of U.S. Training Camp - Joey Mantia  is recovering from infectious mononucleosis and will miss at least the first week of training with the U.S. World Team. The 20-year-old from Ocala, Fla., is the top men's skater on the U.S. team. The team started a two-week training camp Friday in Colorado in preparation for the Inline World Championships, which start late this month in Suzhou, China. Mantia won two gold, three silver and two bronze medals at last year's World Championships. (More Racing News.) (Aug. 1, 2005) On the Forum:
• Gatorstop in Action  - The key to fast stopping, says the inventor of the Gatorleash, is leverage. And that's the idea behind the Gatorleash. (Here's photos of the inventor and his wife leveraging their way to quick stops with the Gatorleash.) • Skate Clubs Lack Diversity - A member of the Washington Area Roadskaters says skate clubs need to work on ways to include all kinds of skaters, not just those of the fitness and speed variety. (Read the post.) • Got a question, comment, events to publicize or press release? ... Post a note on the Planet Forum Elsewhere on the Web ... Ice rink in Berkeley, Calif., may be shut down due to ammonia used in air conditioning. Tuesday
(Aug. 2, 2005)
The Garmin Forerunner: Made for Runners, Great for Skaters - Want to know  how fast you skate and how far you go -- and be able to quickly scan through two years worth of workout stats? If so, consider buying the Garmin Forerunner 201. Contributing writer Travis Brown says that though this GPS device was designed for runners, it's great for skaters, too. (Here's the Planet review!) (Aug. 2, 2005) World Team Fund Drive Nets More than $10,000 - Skate mom Martha  Polston and her team of volunteers has raised $10,400 so far for the U.S. World Team. The money came from Internet sales ($4200) of calendars and trading cards and fundraising at last month's Indoor National Championships in Pensacola, Fla. "It's less than we had hoped for, which was $15,000," Polston said. "But not too shabby for eight weeks of promotions and selling." ... Next week, Polston plans to send checks of roughly $285 to each of the 31 World Team speed skaters. The money will help them pay their way to the World Inline Championships, which start Aug. 26th in Suzhou, China. (Here's the Planet story about Martha's fund drive!) (Aug. 2, 2005) Last Chance for a New Pair of Rollerblades! - There's still one month to  go in the Planet Sweepstakes. The winner of the August drawing gets a new pair of Rollerblade Lightning or Aero skates (same as it always was). To enter, fill out the registration form and post a note in the Planet Forum about your first time on inline skates. The winner will be announced Sept. 1st. (Register here!) Elsewhere on the Web ... Six-year-old speed skating prodigy from Olympia, Wash., wows Julie Glass. Wednesday
(Aug. 3, 2005)
The Napa Marathon Rolls This Weekend Through Wine Country! - The Napa Valley  Inline Marathon doesn't attract the crowds. But don't let that stop you from coming out this Sunday to support one of the finest inline marathons on the West Coast -- and an event that has the potential to be one of the best inline marathons anywhere! (Here's the Planet preview!) (Aug. 3, 2005) Inline Hockey Growing Among Kids at 'Phenomenal' Rate - The inline hockey  contingent at the Amateur Athletic Union's annual Junior Olympic Games keeps growing. When inline hockey was added to the event in 1996, only 20 teams competed. But this year, nearly 270 teams are skating in the Games, which end this week in New Orleans. "It's phenomenal," AAU inline hockey chairman Keith Noll told the Times-Picayune. "The growth has been unreal." ... However, that growth isn't reflected in the latest industry figures. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, U.S. participation in inline hockey dropped by 53.9 percent during the last six years. (Here's the Times-Picayune story.) (Aug. 3, 2005) On the Forum:
• Waitin' on My Forerunner! - Slacker from Ann Arbor would like it if his Garmin GPS was quicker to lock and load. (Here's the post.) • Any Linguists 'Rolling' Around? - JinWoo is looking for some help with the word "rolling" as it applies to inline skating. (Here's the post.) • Did She Have a Beard, Too? - One of the things Tahiti Girl remembers about her first time on skates was the woman with "a tattoo of an old man with a long beard ... that covered her entire leg." Yikes! (Here's the post.) Elsewhere on the Web ... Kampala to crack down on dangerous behavior while roller skating in traffic. Thursday
(Aug. 4, 2005)
New York 100K Gets Put on Hold While Organizers Search for New Date - One of the world's premier ultra-marathons, the New York 100 K, has been put on hold while organizers look for a new date. "We have every intention of running an event, but we haven't got a date yet," said Robert Kaskel, president of the Empire Skate Club. The club is helping the event's organizer to find a new date ... which could be as late as early November. Brrrrr! (Here's the Planet story!) (Aug. 4, 2005) New Extreme Sports League Prepares for Launch This Fall - Extreme  skaters will have their own national championships next year under a plan announced today by the newly formed National Extreme Sports League (NXL). The Georgia-based league is organizing competitions for aggressive inline skaters, skateboarders and BMX bikers. It plans a 10-week series of events this fall and next spring, leading to an NXL Nationals. The league says it was inspired in part by interest expressed by the International Olympic Committee, although it does not elaborate. It is financed by the Gray Capital Partners private equity firm. (Here's the NXL press release.) (Aug. 4, 2005) Veteran Ohio Skater Wins the 2005 Summer Classic - Lamar Melton  outsprinted the field last weekend to win the 2005 Summer Classic in New Albany, Ohio. Thirty-three skaters competed in the 16 kilometer road race, which was decided in the final sprint by eight skaters. Melton, 32, finished two seconds in front. His Newark Speed teammate Buddy Gurr was second; Pyro Apparel's Michael Sherman was third. (Here's the official results.) (Aug. 4, 2005) On the Forum:
• What It Looks Like On Your PC - Chucky provides a look at what the Garmin Training Center software does with the data from his Forerunner GPS. (Check it out!) • Got a question, comment, events to publicize or press release? ... Post a note on the Planet Forum Elsewhere on the Web ... Guinness Declares the Rideau Canal Skateway in Canada the world's largest naturally frozen ice rink. Friday
(Aug. 5, 2005)
Rollerblade to Bring Freestyle Skate to U.S. Market in 2006 - With Salomon leaving the  U.S. skate market, Rollerblade has decided to introduce its freestyle model to the country's skaters. On sale early next year in the United States will be Rollerblade's Twister II Pro, a short-frame, hard-shell skate with 76 mm wheels. ... Until now, Rollerblade has stayed out of the small U.S. freestyle market, leaving the field to Salomon and K2. But with Salomon out of the picture, Rollerblade decided to jump in, said the company's Nick Skally. ... Freestyle, or freeride, skates are designed for maneuverability and are popular with cone and slalom skaters in Europe. (More product news.) (Aug. 5, 2005) Attendance Jumps for Big Apple Roll - The 3-year-old Big Apple Roll  grew again this year. Some 300 people attended the first day of the weekend skate party in New York City, said Robert Kaskel of the Empire Skate Club. That's up from 220 last year and 150 the year before. "This year we actually did more than break even," Kaskel said. The surplus will be use for next year's event, he added. (More news about skate events.) (Aug. 5, 2005) On the Forum:
• Spiky's First and Only Trail Skate - Spiky is an aggressive skater ... wouldn't be caught dead on a trail. But once his mom dragged him along. ... Never again! (Here's his story.) • Foreign Distributor Wanted • Speed skate maker seeks distributor for South America, Europe and Korea. (Here's the post) • Places to Skate in Ann Arbor, Mich. - (Read the posts.) • Got a question, comment, events to publicize or press release? ... Post a note on the Planet Forum Saturday
(Aug. 6, 2005)
Organizers Cancel 2005 a2a Ultra-Marathon But Plan for 2006 Event - The organizing committee of the  Athens to Atlanta Road Skate announced today that it has canceled this year's ultra-marathon, which would have been the 24th annual, but hopes to bring it back in 2006. "We simply have too few people registered and not enough funds," the organizers said. "We need to regroup, rethink, and revise this event to make it more viable and ensure its success in the future." (Here's the Planet story!) (Aug. 6, 2005) On the Forum:
Can the a2a Be Saved? - Tahiti Girl thinks so and she's ready to contribute $100 to make it happen. "Skaters must band together and save this event!" she says. (Here's her plan!) • Spiky's First and Only Trail Skate - Spiky is an aggressive skater ... wouldn't be caught dead on a trail. But once his mom dragged him along. ... Never again! (Here's his story.) (News tips?) | 
