Other than catching a plane to Australia or Chile this summer, inline skating is one of the best ways to work on your skiing skills while you wait for the snow to return.
With inline skates on dry land you can successfully mimic on-snow movement. The dynamic balance, body posture, weight shifting, and rhythm needed to control skis in the snow (moving downhill, changing direction) are strikingly similar to those needed to navigate inline skate wheels.
The fact that you can do it with other professional ski and snowboard instructors also means you can talk technique while you’re working the wheels. To that end, PSIA Alpine Team member Heidi Ettlinger said the PSIA-AASI Western Division is planning to build on last year’s successful PSIA-W Skate to Ski Camp with two camps – one in Southern California and another in the Tahoe region – this year.
Ettlinger said the fun, educational, interactive events are so rewarding that, “I’m encouraging other divisions to consider these clinics in their home regions by forwarding out the event summary we circulated last year.”
Last year’s camp was made possible by PSIA-AASI Official Supplier Rollerblade, and Myles Cotter-Sparrow, the brand’s marketing coordinator, said he is committed to helping professional instructors launch similar events of their own.
“Our goal is to have PSIA-AASI examiners and skaters be the point people in their region for these kinds of events, but we need to start building that right now,” he said. “Whether it’s making sure a demo fleet is available for participants, helping people know which size skates they need, or even identifying a good location for an event, I’m happy to be a resource for anyone who wants to take advantage of this opportunity this summer and fall.”
Cotter-Sparrow also added that while inline skating has proven to build the skills and fitness of traditional alpine skiers, the sport is seeing significant buy-in from the freestyle market as well.
If you want more information on how to build a Skate to Ski event in your region, please e-mail Myles at myles.rollerblade@gmail.com
A recent article on NewSchoolers.com with several embedded videos, takes a closer look at how Olympic freestyle athletes are gaining a competitive edge by cross training on inline skates.
You can also check out more videos on the Rollerblade homepage right here, and shop for your own personal pair of Rollerblade inline skates – all at member-specific pricing – on the Pro Offers page.
-Peter Kray
