Rollerskating History

**Roller skates** are shoes that are worn to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. The "quad skate" style is the design consisting of four wheels arranged in the same configuration as a typical car.

Parts that make up a roller skate include; the boot, laces, plate, kingpins, trucks, bushings, pivot cups, wheels, bearings, toestop, multiple washers and nuts. Refer to Anatomy of a Roller Skate.

**Roller skating** or quad skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, sidewalks, and bike paths.

Types of roller skating include; artistic figure skating, freestyle dance skating, jam skating, speed skating, roller hockey, roller derby, hill bombing and aggressive quad skating.

## History

While the first reported use of wheeled skates was on a London stage in 1743, the first patented "roller skate" was introduced in 1760 by Belgian inventor John Joseph Merlin. They were hard to steer and stopping was difficult due to the fact that they did not have any type of braking mechanism and as such they failed to gain popularity. The earliest roller skates known are from 18th century Europe. These skates were used in theater and musical performances, possibly to simulate ice skating onstage. Early roller skating was done in a straight line because turning or curving was very difficult with the primitive skate designs of the time. Limited to an occasional performance prop at the time, roller skating would not see widespread use until the 1840s.

In the 1840s, Meyerbeer's opera Le prophète featured a scene in which performers used roller-skates to simulate ice-skating on a frozen lake set on stage. This exposure had an impact on audiences and led to the rise of roller skating as a new and popular activity throughout the Continent. As ice skaters subsequently developed the art of figure skating, roller skaters wanted the ability to turn in their skates in a similar fashion.

In 1863, James Plimpton from Massachusetts invented the "rocking" skate and used a four-wheel configuration for stability, and independent axles that turned by pressing to one side of the skate or the other when the skater wanted to create an edge. This was a vast improvement on the Merlin design, one that was easier to use and drove the huge popularity of roller skating, dubbed "rinkomania" in the 1860s and 1870s, which spread to Europe and around the world, and continued through the 1930s. The Plimpton skate is still used today.

Roller skating boomed in popularity from 1880 to 1910; roller skates were mass produced and skating in rinks became popular with the general public in Europe, North and South America, and Australia. Specialized types of roller skating appeared in this period, such as figure skating and speed skating.

After a decline in popularity, roller skating became widespread again in the 1930s to the 1950s. This era is known as the Golden Age of Roller Skating. Many skating rinks offering electric organ music were built throughout the United States in this period.

Eventually, roller skating evolved from just a pastime to a competitive sport; speed skating, racing on skates, and inline figure skating, very similar to what can be seen in the Olympics on ice. In the mid 1990s roller hockey, played with a ball rather than a puck, became so popular that it even made an appearance in the Olympics in 1992. The National Sporting Goods Association statistics showed, from a 1999 study, that 2.5 million people played roller hockey. Roller skating was considered for the 2012 Summer Olympics but has never become an Olympic event. Other roller skating sports include different forms of dance skating, roller derby and aggressive quad skating.

In the 1970s, roller disco became widespread. Roller skating popularity exploded during the 1980s disco era but tapered off in the 1990s. Roller disco and jam skating originated with disco music predominantly among Black and gay skaters. During the late 1980s and the 1990s, outdoor and indoor inline skating (inline skates or "rollerblades") became popular.

Roller skating saw a revival in the late 2010s and early 2020s, spurred on by a number of viral videos on social media. Sales of roller skates increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as people sought for safe outdoor activities. Many popular brands sold out to the point of back-order, with many people taking up the hobby during quarantine across the globe.

Roller skating has long been tied to Black American social movements, immigrant communities and the LGBTQ+ community. Roller skating is perceived as whimsical and is widely accessible to many people.

## Timeline

Rollerskating historical timeline from 1743 to present day

## References, Sources & Bibliography

Turner, James; Zaidman, Michael (1997). The History of Roller Skating. Lincoln, Nebraska: National Museum of Roller Skating. ISBN 0965819205.

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Moreno, Gabriela (7 January 2021). "Skating craze rolls on – Roller Skate Shops continue to sell out, RGV residents take part in hobby". Valley Central 23. Rio Grande Vally, Texas. Retrieved 24 March 2021.

Library of Congress (2 May 2013). "Topics in Chronicling America – Roller Skating Craze, Newspapers and Current Periodical Reading Room". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2 December 2018.

Diffendal, Anne P. (1989). "Fred "Bright Star" Murree: Pawnee Roller Skater" (PDF). Nebraska History. No. 70. Lincoln, Nebraska: Nebraska State Historical Society. pp. 158–163. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.

Carmel, Julia (30 December 2020). "Meet Bill Butler, the Godfather of Roller Disco". The New York Times.

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Russo, Tom (2017). Chicago Rink Rats: The Roller Capital in its Heyday. Charleston, SC: The History Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-1625859686.

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Specification for elasticated straps, BSI British Standards, doi:10.3403/00527802u, retrieved 17 April 2021

Turner, James, in collaboration with Zaidman, Michael (1997). The History of Roller Skating. National Museum of Roller Skating. ISBN 0-9658192-0-5.

National Museum of Roller Skating: Homework Page

United States Amateur Confederation of Roller Skating (1980). American Roller Skate Dancing Part I Bronze and Silver Dances Edition X. An Official USAC/RS Publication. p. 9.

Pickard, George (2010). Titans and Heroes of American Roller Skating. National Museum of Roller Skating.

Russo, Tom, (2017) Chicago Rink Rats: The Roller Capital in Its Heyday. The History Press ISBN 978-1625859686

120 Hours Longest Non-Stop Relay Roller Skating Marathon World Records

NON STOP RELAY SKATING MARATHON BY INDIVIDUALS World Records