It is time to get back on your roller skates. In an attempt to revive roller skating as a sport and hobby, roller skating sessions will start in Bolton from this Friday, 24th October.

The residents of Little Lever joined together in an attempt to push for a roller skating venue in the village. The residents of Little Liver had to travel all the way to Altrincham to enjoy their favourite hobby. However, they now have reasons to rejoice as roller skating sessions will now be held locally at the Little Lever Sports Centre.

Carol Hardman put in a lot of effort to lead the campaign. The 48 year old from the Little Lever High Street said that this would get the kids off the streets on a Friday night. They want Sundays to be for families, with grandparents and parents bringing together their children.

Named after the popular ice rink, The Navada, in Spa Road during the period 1950 to 1985, The Navada Experience will be held at the centre at Little Lever Specialist Language College on Fridays and Sundays between 7pm to 9 pm and 1.30 pm to 3.30 pm respectively.

The sessions will cost just £3 per person and skates can be hired at the venue for 50p.

So you have decided to try inline skating but are confused with the type of skate you need? Well, it all depends on what type of skating you are interested in:

Recreational skating
If you want to try skating for recreational purpose then you would not need professional inline skates. These basic skates are designed along with a boot to firmly hold your ankle and wheels that provide a large degree of control.

The boot materials are available from one or two piece moulds of engineering plastic and newer soft boot designs that are similar to a hiking or training shoe. All recreational skates have brake attachments.

Fitness skates
They are similar to recreational skates. They are usually light in weight with large wheels and a low cut boot. They also have break attachments.

Speed skates
Racing skates come with 5 wheels and some frames are capable of having even more wheels. They have a longer wheelbase along with ankle support and low cut leather boots. These skates are for experienced skaters only as they have no brakes.

Hockey skates
They are similar to ice hockey skates. They are made up of lace up and stitched leather for a very comfortable and close fit. They are specially designed for quick and better manoeuvring. Some skates even have brake attachments.

Aggressive skates
These are specially designed for performing stunts on ramps and rails. They have grind plates with smaller wheels to withstand rough use. Brakes can interfere while performing stunts and hence they do not have any brake attachments.

Roller skating keeps you on the move and revives your spirit. As a sporting activity, it is now a big favourite among children as well as adults. Thanks to an increasing number of skating clubs, awareness about roller skating is building up rapidly.

There are attractive skates to choose from for boys and girls as well as adults. If you are new to it, buy a pair of durable skates which come with the necessary basic features needed for entry level roller skating.

For novice skaters, especially young children, we recommend budget priced skates, whereas for adults who want to skate, we recommend higher quality skates since their feet have stopped growing. Buying good quality, branded skates will allow you to save money in the long run. They will include features like adjustment buckles that ensure a comfortable fit.

Every individual skater will have his or her choice when it comes to selecting roller skates. There are so many variables like physical and mental capability and different skill levels that will come into play. If you are confused about what type of skates to purchase or want to know what model of skates will serve you best, ask online.

You can enjoy skating for years to come with a pair of quality skates which fit comfortably.

If you are keen to enjoy roller skating, whether it is for fitness, sheer self-enjoyment or for the purpose of socialising, you will need some basic equipment. Good quality Roller Skates is the obvious accessory. What skates to purchase will depend on several factors.

There are things like how long do you intend to roller skate; how often, and what kind of skating do you plan to do with your skates, which need to be considered. It also matters whether you are going to skate indoors or outdoors, plus your skill level.

It is recommended for children to buy a size larger than their existing shoe size since their feet grow fast. Ensure that the kid’s skates that you buy have an easy size adjust catch system. To explain it further, the boot can be easily adjusted as the child’s feet grow. This will save the hassle of buying new kid’s skates every now and then, saving money. Wearing extra socks will allow a little bit of extra leg room out of the skates for your child.

However, if your son or daughter is going to participate in competitive skating, we probably would not recommend this since a proper fit is necessary to provide an edge in the competitive arena.

When winter comes, Londoners will get a chance to ice skate on three dazzling ice skating rinks and showcase their skating skills.

The Tower of London ice skating rink will be located at the dry-moat below the fortress of Tower.
This real ice-skating rink provides the opportunity to ice skate in a truly exceptional setting on the bank of the River Thames.  The ice skating rink will open on 22nd November 2009 and will stay open till 11th January 2009. Detailed information is available at the ice-rink’s official website.

Hampton Court will also open an ice skating rink for the sixth year consecutively.  The ice skating rink is one of the most dramatic ones in London, also located at the banks of the River Thames and offers an exciting and fun filled ice skating experience.

The ice skating rink will be open from 29th November 2008 to 11th January 2009. It is set against the amazing backdrop of the historic Tudor Palace of Henry VIII.

Another ice skating rink in London will be the most magical rink located at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew for an exciting ice skating season.  The ice skating rink is located in the majestic woodlands at the heart of the gardens below the spectacularly illuminated Temperate house. This rink will open on 29th November and stay open till 4th January.

An adjustable ski boot for children, which is supposedly the first of its kind, is being officially launched this ski season, first in the US and then in more countries. The new IDEA ‘6-in-1 Kids Adjustable Ski Boot’ has been manufactured by a firm based in Italy.

The product is claimed to have received ‘a tremendous response’ in Europe. This development is significant because adjustable Roller Skates and Roller Blades are bound to get equally popular and in demand.

The new boot is said to be unique. IDEA is getting popular owing to its ability ‘to grow with children’. It can accommodate their changing needs. A video of the product can be found on video-sharing website, YouTube. The new ski boot for children accounts for their growing feet - from toddler age to their adolescence.

It is adjustable in three steps: 1. open buckle; 2. choose size, and 3. close lever. Some simple adjustments can cause length, width as well as cuff height to change and ensure comfort for young skiers.

With a few minor modifications, children can be ready quickly and in a pair of boots that are safe. It offers economic practicality since it can be used for years, meaning money is saved since there is no need to have new boots every year.

In a first of its kind, the pupils of a school in North Wales are getting their skates on in a project to beat obesity. This is the first such project in the UK.

Students at Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni on Anglesey will be given hour long sessions on freeline skating. The sessions will also include skateboarding, snowboarding and surfing.

The project is a part of an initiative funded by the Welsh Assembly to make the students fit and healthy by getting rid of obesity.

A senior coordinator of the project said that most of the students do take part in activities like football, netball etc., they were just helping them to try something different.

The idea is to keep the young people fit, healthy and tackle the obesity problem through regular physical activity. Roller skating is requires a lot of physical activity and is known for helping with obesity problems. Many experts recommend skating as an activity for people suffering from obesity problems. Roller skating does not require any costly equipment besides roller skates and some protective gear.

The students will get to be a part of the five week long project and fight their obesity problems. The intention is to get them interested in skating so that they can continue it later on in a skate park.

The 26 year old girlfriend of Prince William helped to organise a “tongue in cheek” roller skating event in Vauxhall, London with the intention of raising money for a charity that was set up in the memory of an old friend from school.

The event was a great success. People turned up in hundreds for the roller skating event to help raise money for the charity. The money will go towards the development of a new surgical ward at the Oxford Children’s Hospital. The hospital was set up the memory of Thomas Waley-Cohen. Thomas died at a young age of 20 in 2004 due to bone cancer.

The idea for the roller disco came after a group of people got together and decided to do something to raise money for charity. They wanted to do something new and fresh. The idea of roller skating occurred as it is fun and tongue in cheek, like the lighter side of life, just like Thomas himself was.

The roller skating event was able to generate £100,000 for the charity. Most people like to enjoy roller skating and the fact that they can contribute to a charity at the same time makes it much more appealing. A roller disco could be a popular choice for raising money for charity.

“Dana Marschz, a mediocre thespian, roller skates to and from school through the city’s streets because he can’t afford gasoline,” informs Steve Coogan when talking about his new role in Hamlet 2. But herein lies the twist!  His character’s roller skating is nowhere near as good as his acting, as Coogan adds, his poor skating were indeed ‘more true to life than he would really care to admit.

As an entertainer who has paid his dues, gradually charting his course up the ranks in his native Great Britain, Steve Coogan narrates:

”When I talked to my director about this, he simply told me to just skate around the parking lot near the set. So I was skating back and forth, and Andrew Fleming the director, kept laughing, and when I asked, ‘Can I stop now?’ he said, ‘No, keep going. I want to keep watching. I want to keep enjoying this.’”

Apart from the roller skating bit, the one reason for which Coogan was drawn to the recently released Hamlet 2 in which he plays Dana Marschz was, as he puts it:

“Every actor knows so few of us get to make a decent living as actors. It is only natural many former actors can only keep a connection to the business by teaching drama.”

Dana Marschz roller-skates to save money because he runs the minuscule drama department at a poor high school.

Keen to spread a message that roller skates can be an eco-friendly mode of transport, an Indian management professional uses them to go to his office. He never imagined he would be skating on busy traffic roads, to travel to work. But all that changed when he decided to find out his carbon footprint. The enthusiastic roller skater explains:

I realised I could make a difference by shedding away my dependence on fossil fuels.

Hence he decided to skate to the office. After he started skating, his stamina has also increased plus he is making a decent saving.

Based in Chennai, Ashwin Chandrasekar straps on his roller skates to take to the road early in the morning. The idea is to avoid peak hour traffic. This has been his preferred mode of travel to his workplace from his residence, a distance of roughly 5km, for the past couple of months.

He is a senior marketing executive with an information security solutions firm. The budding professional narrates:

I am passionate about cycling, biking and many adventure sports.

I was eager to do something more (for environment) and hence I decided to take up roller skating.

He got the skates from one of his relatives in the US, and ‘after that, it was just a matter of learning out how to skate.’

His dedication to skating and helping the environment is laudable and worth emulating.

Perhaps this trend will catch on in the UK, and citizens will opt for roller skates instead of their cars or their tube!