Speed Skate World- By Peter Doucet- Online Since 1999

Speed Skating Spectator has been providing some media coverage of the USA Indoor Championships- you can watch the video of the Pro Men’s 5000-meter at the bottom of this post- check out the following posts;
- UPDATE…
- DAY 4 - PRO MEN SHAKE THINGS UP
- Day One - INDOOR NATIONALS
- INDOOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (IDN)

You will hear cheering and you will hear booing. Even after watching the race over and over and off of two different camera angles, the only reason I can think of that the crowd booed was because Team ANSWER took 1st, 2nd and 3rd. BUT as you watch this race….. 1st place is a lap ahead and he moves over and allows 2nd-5th to race it out the last two laps (which in my opinion shows class). My own son is in the race and I can honestly say that again in my opinion every single skater raced it out till the end. It just so happens that the top 3 guys skate for the top team. That’s why they are sponsored, because they are so good! So if you want to cheer skaters on… do so because they are the best and if you are going to boo someone… don’t do it because they skated well or represent a team that seems to take all of the top honors…. do it because they tried to cheat someone else and let them know we won’t ACCEPT that, no matter WHAT uniform they have on!!

Photo from Linda Wood

The thread PRE-TEENS COACHING talks about coaching the youth base. Bill Begg recently added the following comments;

1/ Skaters Get older make up their own minds & coaching control freaks are no longer part of it.

2/ They have to either study at University or earn an income ( not so easy to fit in )

3/ Or they are simply Burnt out & had enough & want a life.

4/ Meetting up with some top seasoned senior skaters, makes life difficult & they are no longer a big age group hero.

5/ And the big killer OVERTAINING, some never return properly after the 3 months rest you need to come back to full health & also the overuse injuries situation.

Desley Hill talks about preparing a team- read the whole interview in Desly Hill, Preparing a Team-

A typical day as we are 3 days out from Euros is very specific now to what each skater needs. Over the next 24 hours I will work with each athlete specifically, together with our physio Leon, to make sure we are doing the best possible for each of them to be at their best. For some, like Ingmar Berga, that means slowing them down and preventing them from using up too much energy, and just spending valuable time on quality efforts.

The Van Vlaanderen Grand Prix will take place August 15th to the 17th in Oostende, Belgium.

Check out this video; Video- Eddy Matzger’s Skate Farm #9- you can watch below-

Roller En Ligne shared a link some pictures of the Skirollace race. You can view the photo gallery here.

Photo source- click here

Should I watch the Tour De France Or USA Indoor Championships?

Both.

Tour De France coverage in France is A+ on television and in the newspapers.

Here’s the event site and you can follow some of the riders’ data- live race data.

Right now, I’m sitting in front of the television which is featuring excellent commentary and coverage of the Tour right. At this point, they’re hammering Riccardo Ricco’s positive EPO test and Saunier Duval’s withdrawl.

On my lap is my lap-top, which is displaying 4-mixed relay heats from the USA Indoor Championships live video.

Mundo Patin published an interview with New Zealand’s Scott Arlidge.

- Do you think to continue in Zepto Team the next seasson?

For sure. I will skate for Zepto. This year they start to get some good results with me, and Reyon Kay at the WIC in Wolvega. The team manager Jorg Dietrich is one of the best people in the world of skating and I really like to work with him, so it’s a good relationship

Scott Arlidge (3rd) at the World Roller Speed Skating Championships in Cali, Colombia

The most recent entry on Road Rash Chronicles is My 15K P8 Experience-

…It was kinda fun being at the front of the pack but the whole time I was thinking “don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t fall”.

All in all, I have to say that I did enjoy myself last night in spite of all the challenges. Skating is never going to be easy and I am coming to realize that there are challenges for everyone, not just me. The key is finding out how to overcome those challenges….if you can.

Powerslide has been publishing daily facts for a while- some of the daily facts are little known gems that offer a small peek into roller speed skating’s rich history.

You can also find a report and pictures from the Hamburg Marathon-

In the final kilometer, Kwinten took off for a long sprint to surprise his opponents, but was caught and directly passed by Maarten Swings (Orana team). But in the final meters Kwinten was able to pass Maarten again and could claim the victory.

Photo posted in Powerslide Racing News

Click here for pictures from the CJS Piste Coulaines in France.

Copyright © JMC Roller Sisters - Photo : Gilbert Pouydebat

Copyright © JMC Roller Sisters - Photo : Gilbert Pouydebat

Copyright © JMC Roller Sisters - Photo : Gilbert Pouydebat

Copyright © JMC Roller Sisters - Photo : Gilbert Pouydebat

The 2008 European Senior Championships will be under way on July 19th in Gera, Germany.

You can expect Mundo Patin’s Euro Champs page to be updated with reports, results, and pictures.

These championships are important for a few countries who will finalize their World Championships selections there.

There will be a Canadian World Team & Open Training Camp on July 26th & 27th at the CITC in Harriston-

Alex Perrie will hold a training camp on July 26th and 27th. The camp open to everyone. Alex Perrie & Andrew Hegarty will conduct the programme.

Programme Outline:
Friday- Registration, orientation, campfire & BBQ. People can camp or stay overnight or drive back & forth- whatever is appropriate and suitable for everyone.
Saturday- Skate 8:00am to 4:00pm
Sunday- Skate 8:00am to 4:00pm

The camp will feature: drills & skills on the new pad, technique and race strategies, training and some fun races & activities, international videos, spinning classes, and weight sessions.

Cost for Weekend = $85.00 or One day $45.00

Come to the training camp at the CITC track in Harriston and at the same time help the Ontario members of this year’s World Team raise funds to help them with their expenses.

So that Alex can adequately prepare for this camp, it would be appreciated if you intend on attending please email him a.s.a.p: speedcoach@highspeedfx.net

Don’t forget to check out the USA Indoor Championships live broadcast.

Andrew Love’s most recent entry is called Where?. It’s an original and great post that covers a wide array of topics.

About the Utah Olympic Oval, he wrote-

It’s pure, clear, and feels like a virginal baseball diamond before spring training begins to tear upon it with frantic cleated intensity.

He describes the bike racing component of his training as being a ‘dash of brutality‘.

It’s surprising how much short track seems to improve everything else. It’s like this activity seems to supercharge the bodies’ capacity to “do”.

You MUST go to Andrew’s site to read the awesome explanation of the fork, knife, and spoon; it’s too good for me to copy and paste- he concludes his explanation, saying ‘It was one of those weird, skater moments that 99.9% of Humanity would just not get‘- photo from Andrew Love

The European Junior Championships wrapped up a few days ago. You can use the following links to dig up results, videos, pictures, and animated discussions-
- Results on official website
- European Championship 2008 in Denmark- discussion, results, pictures, and more on Bont forum
- Mundo Patin’s Euro Jr Champs page- features reports, medal tables, results, pictures
- Quartier Zopf Online’s picture galleries- a lot of pictures
- Training & News Updates- click here, here, here, here, here- there are more
- Pictures on Pattinaggio Bellusco- scan through the site’s July 2008 archives

Photo from Quartier Zopf Online

Photo from Quartier Zopf Online

Photo from Pattinaggio Bellusco

Photo posted in Training & News

The results from the Beilen World On Wheels #12 can be found here. Click for men’s results, women’s results, and beloften’s results.

You can find photos thanks to Harm de Boer Fotografie; see the men’s photos, women’s photos, and beloften photos.

Men’s race- photo from Harm de Boer Fotografie

Women’s race- photo from Harm de Boer Fotografie

Beloften race- photo from Harm de Boer Fotografie

You can find Einsiedeln World Inline Cup/ Swiss Inline Cup videos thanks to Bont TV-

- Women’s video- good quality video with picutres & an exciting finish
- Men’s video

The French selection will soon be in Gera in preparation for the upcoming European Senior Championships.

Photo from Roller En Ligne

This is a plug for Global Inline Corporation’s website that features an active news section.