Roller figure skating! | Golden Skate

Roller figure skating!

FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
I'm a roller figure skater, and I decided to create this thread to talk about this "parallel skating world", less famous than ice-skating (in many cases, less pleasant to watch, yes) because it is not an Olympic sport (even if they're fighting to make it a sport at the Summer Olympics)...
Roller skaters compete in singles, pairs and dance (exactly as on ice), but the rules are a bit "old", compared to the ice world: we still do figures, but there are separate rankings at each competition (one for the compulsories, one for SP+FS, one for compulsories+SP+FS), so there are three separated champions at each competition (even if most of the times, one person wins two or even all of them); there are still the CD/OD and the marks are given with a 10.0 system, similar to the 6.0 system; there is synchronized skating (but they don't have the SP) and there are also competitions for solo dancers (with two CD and a FD) and for "show groups", which is almost recreational skating, because they are not allowed to do do synchronized skating elements and jumps/spins/lifts are not required, they are judged basing only on choreography/interpretation/speed/SS/difficulty of the steps etc. and this is what many succesfull single/dance skaters do after their career.
Jumps and spins are much more difficult, because of the weight of the skates and their structure (this is an example http://www.google.it/imgres?imgurl=...EqCUffCNMfU4QSruYC4Cg&ved=0CEMQ9QEwBA&dur=575)
The strongest skaters in the world are all from Italy, but there are some good skaters from Spain, Germany (especially in compulsories), Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, France. Unfortunately, important countries like USA, Canada, Russia, Japan, China do not have very good skaters...
Some examples...
The best female roller figure skater of all time: Tanja Romano (Italian but with Slovenian origin), she won 15 world titles (7 in the FS, 8 in the combined result)! :eek: Some of her best programs:
2007 Worlds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ4ePXYM1Tg
2008 Worlds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9ncBDALJDI
her last competitive performance, at 28: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS_V696ivtk
the best skater in the world at the moment is Debora Sbei: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zc0ABY5-cU
The best men programs:
Luca D'alisera (ITA), 2006: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip-eCbfpENc
Roberto Riva (ITA), 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCNHety99HE
Dario Betti (ITA), 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgfZHeqTP7Y
The best Pairs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4v5uEXSrLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yRMdcCKbPw
The best dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfEe8rtKckM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufXrF5vCVV4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd1P--6fCoY
Synchro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlSgBZ6ZGiI
Some examples of solo dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBidyS5J5qU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aky1fWchFaM
Some of the best show groups:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oraM1GOJk48
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLO0BbHrIhI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUlf6_n4Y0Y
Feel free to ask any question :)
 

Slowdive

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Intriguing to read about and watch videos of roller figure skating.
What fun!! :)
But I would hate to see people fall on this surface. Ouch!
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Wow, Tanja Romano is sensational! And even though the pixelation made it hard to see her facial expressions in Carmen, her body language and interpretation was spot on... one of the best Carmens I've seen, maybe. And she does all 5 triples too! :clap:

Thanks for putting these up. :)
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I can't wait to watch these. Thanks so much for introducing us to a great new sport.

I would be thrilled to see this as a summer sport. And why not? It's certainly demanding, and yet it's rewarding for non-skaters to watch. And it would fill the hole that ice skating leaves us with in non-Winter Olympics years.
 

FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
I can't wait to watch these. Thanks so much for introducing us to a great new sport.

I would be thrilled to see this as a summer sport. And why not? It's certainly demanding, and yet it's rewarding for non-skaters to watch. And it would fill the hole that ice skating leaves us with in non-Winter Olympics years.
The problem is that the best skaters are beautiful to watch, but most of the competitors are not really good... To make you understand, most of the Senior Ladies include only UR 2A, 3T, 3S in their programs, just three/four ladies in the world are capable of 3Lz or 3F, and most of the pairs are not able to land a throw 3S... Our situation is similar to ice skating in the 80s: skaters have to train one/two/three hours per day the compulsories, so they can't dedicated themselves 100% to the FS, and only the very talented skaters can produce programs that are actually pleasant to watch...
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
It's interesting to see all the FS jumps being performed on roller skates. I wonder if Tania Romano dedicated herself to figure skating for one year how competitive she would be. It's seems like a lot of what she does would transfer over.
 

skatel80

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
Thanks for the vids FSGMT! :) they were really interesting to watch, I absolutely love the running camels (not sure if thats what they are called in roller skating), so impressive !!
I have never seen any done as well as that on ice!
I actually taugh two girls a few years ago who decided to switch from roller to ice, the jumps were easy for them to bring to the ice, spins were hard for them to get used two as I think they spin on a different part of the foot (heel?) but both of them had problems with skating skills as they were not used to using their edges, for one it was quite discouraging and she went back to roller, one kept working and now she skates as well as any of my students who have been on ice since they started (though she was younger when she switched) both had probelms with leg wraps though ( is this a roller thing?)
of course nothing stopped this little girl from going from roller skating champ to olympic gold medalist 7 years later ;)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcYnDX0KL9E
 

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Marina Kielmann also was a successful roller skater and did quite well as a figure skater, finishing as high as 4th at Worlds.
 

shine

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Thanks for the vids FSGMT! :) they were really interesting to watch, I absolutely love the running camels (not sure if thats what they are called in roller skating), so impressive !!
I have never seen any done as well as that on ice!
I actually taugh two girls a few years ago who decided to switch from roller to ice, the jumps were easy for them to bring to the ice, spins were hard for them to get used two as I think they spin on a different part of the foot (heel?) but both of them had problems with skating skills as they were not used to using their edges, for one it was quite discouraging and she went back to roller, one kept working and now she skates as well as any of my students who have been on ice since they started (though she was younger when she switched) both had probelms with leg wraps though ( is this a roller thing?)
of course nothing stopped this little girl from going from roller skating champ to olympic gold medalist 7 years later ;)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcYnDX0KL9E

Very, very interesting! I've always wondered how easy it is to transfer from roller skating to ice skating. There's really not much of an edge on the roller skates but they still skate on "curves" like ice skaters. How is that done? Watching the videos I also noticed that they don't bend their knees as much as ice skaters. I also wonder why some choose to do roller skating as opposed to ice skating - in countries where both sports are equally accessible, that is. How does speed on roller skates compare to on ice skates?

Tanja Romano's jumps and running camels are amazing! does she ice skate at all?
 

TontoK

Hot Tonto
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Country
United-States
Thank you for posting these! I've found the videos to be very interesting.

Especially, the pairs skater from Italy. Her name is Sara Venerucci (if youtube spelled it correctly).

She has the "it" factor by the truckload. Beautiful positions, especially in the lifts.

Are all spins in roller done with a running technique to get into the spin? The camel position where the skater is balancing on the rear wheels looks difficult.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
The problem is that the best skaters are beautiful to watch, but most of the competitors are not really good... To make you understand, most of the Senior Ladies include only UR 2A, 3T, 3S in their programs, just three/four ladies in the world are capable of 3Lz or 3F, and most of the pairs are not able to land a throw 3S... Our situation is similar to ice skating in the 80s: skaters have to train one/two/three hours per day the compulsories, so they can't dedicated themselves 100% to the FS, and only the very talented skaters can produce programs that are actually pleasant to watch...

Interesting. I can see how frustrating it is that the sport has gotten ahead of most of its practitioners. Maybe the powers that be will take notice and de-emphasize figures sometime in the future. Or maybe the technology of roller skates will improve, and that will have an effect on skaters' skills.
 

jenaj

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Country
United-States
To put it nicely.....Roller Skating is definitely not my cup of tea!

Nor mine. I think they are wasting their talent, skating on clunky rollers on ugly wood gym floors. Everything about ice skating is more beautiful, from the boots to the blades to the smooth white ice surface, to the overall look of the skater.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
Thanks for the vids FSGMT! :) they were really interesting to watch, I absolutely love the running camels (not sure if thats what they are called in roller skating), so impressive !!
I have never seen any done as well as that on ice!
I actually taugh two girls a few years ago who decided to switch from roller to ice, the jumps were easy for them to bring to the ice, spins were hard for them to get used two as I think they spin on a different part of the foot (heel?) but both of them had problems with skating skills as they were not used to using their edges, for one it was quite discouraging and she went back to roller, one kept working and now she skates as well as any of my students who have been on ice since they started (though she was younger when she switched) both had probelms with leg wraps though ( is this a roller thing?)
of course nothing stopped this little girl from going from roller skating champ to olympic gold medalist 7 years later ;)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcYnDX0KL9E

Man, Tara's performance is tremendously impressive. Look at her posture. I see what you mean about spinning on the heel; it certainly looks that way to me from her program. I can see how anyone who switches from roller to ice must feel as if he or she is flying in the jumps: the extra energy it takes to jump on heavier roller skates must be considerable.
 

FSGMT

Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Nor mine. I think they are wasting their talent, skating on clunky rollers on ugly wood gym floors. Everything about ice skating is more beautiful, from the boots to the blades to the smooth white ice surface, to the overall look of the skater.
The problem is that in most of the zones where these people live, there isn't ice skating at all! For example, if you want to find an ice rink in the area where I live, you have to drive 1 hour at least, when there are roller skating clubs almost in every town, so roller skating can be a good alternative in places where there isn't ice skating, such as "hot" countries (South American, South Europe, South-East Asia...)!
Thanks for the vids FSGMT! :) they were really interesting to watch, I absolutely love the running camels (not sure if thats what they are called in roller skating), so impressive !!
I have never seen any done as well as that on ice!
I actually taugh two girls a few years ago who decided to switch from roller to ice, the jumps were easy for them to bring to the ice, spins were hard for them to get used two as I think they spin on a different part of the foot (heel?) but both of them had problems with skating skills as they were not used to using their edges, for one it was quite discouraging and she went back to roller, one kept working and now she skates as well as any of my students who have been on ice since they started (though she was younger when she switched) both had probelms with leg wraps though ( is this a roller thing?)
of course nothing stopped this little girl from going from roller skating champ to olympic gold medalist 7 years later ;)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcYnDX0KL9E

Thank you for posting these! I've found the videos to be very interesting.

Especially, the pairs skater from Italy. Her name is Sara Venerucci (if youtube spelled it correctly).

She has the "it" factor by the truckload. Beautiful positions, especially in the lifts.

Are all spins in roller done with a running technique to get into the spin? The camel position where the skater is balancing on the rear wheels looks difficult.
The running technique is the only way to do camel spins on roller, but we do both "normal" camel spins and heel camel spins, that are more difficult. But we also do sit spins and upright spins with the "ice technique"...
 
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