Inline Skate Journal

Roller Derby Maven, Ann Calvello Dies

Ann Calvello, a spirited and wild personality of roller derby whose outrageously dyed hair and brawling competitive style made her a Bay Area icon, died Tuesday in a Peninsula hospital after a brief battle with cancer. She was 76.
On February 27, 2006, Calvello was featured in an episode of the reality television show Rollergirls that was broadcast on the A&E Network. In the episode, filmed in 2005, members of the Texas Roller Derby league travel to California in search of their hero.
Calvello last resided in San Bruno, California with her cats. She never officially retired from roller derby, but had not competed since 2000. In early 2006, she was diagnosed with liver cancer, and passed away soon after.
More on Ann
Check out Roller Derby in Portland With the Rose City Rollers

Olympic Speed Skating

Who is J.R. Celski? - The story, by now, is familiar to millions: A young kid from Federal Way, Washington a natural on inline skates, switches to the ice, moves away from home to train like a fiend, wins short-track speedskating medals at the Winter Olympics. Except in this version, the central character isn't named Apolo Anton Ohno. He's J.R. Celski, the next speed demon from Federal Way likely to take the winter-sports world by storm.

How Many Olympic SpeedSkaters Started On Inlines or Roller Skates?

Did you know, Efforts, so far, to make inline skating an Olympic sport have failed, forcing inline skaters to switch to ice skating to fulfill their Olympic dreams. KC Boutiette made three Olympic teams, and Derek Parra won the gold medal in the 1,500 and the silver in the 5,000 at the 2002 Games. Seven inline skaters are on the 18 member US long track team alone.

Roller Rapper Video - at #1

The Roller RapperPlease check out the video “The Roller Rapper" which is number one on MTV's ifilm.com in the music video rock and pop section. The roller rapper is an indie artist that is planning to skate across rt66 in the spring. Somehow it’s a miracle that his music video is in the number one spot ahead of established artists such as Jessica Simpson and Green Day without the promotion and backing of the major record companies The amazing thing is that the video is number one without sex, drugs or violence.This is a great promotion for skating and we need everyone to give us support. Please go to rollerrapper.com which links to video at ifilm.com to see the video. The video is ranked by viewership so every time the video is watched it will stay at the top.

Sparks of Passion

Nov 28 2005
Rhythm, passion and speed take shape in the icon of the Torino 2006 Olympic Ceremonies.It will be the Sparks of Passion – Scintille di Passione – the icons symbolising the Olympic Ceremonies, which, on February 10, will be lighting the passion of the Torino 2006 XX Olympic Winter Games making over 2 billion hearts beat as one.
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Woody and Gen during Competition

RollBounce Skate Off - Seattle

Congratulations to all the teams that braved the skate floor and showed off their stuff at the RollBounce Skate off at the Skate King. It was a fun event with an exhibition by the Rat City Rollers, they look like nice girls! Teams from Portland and Seattle area, competed to join other skaters from across the region in the regional event held in LA August 18, 2005.
Joining them from Seattle are the winners, Genny, Moe and Woody, the awesome skate dancers that always drops my jaw at the strength and skill of their tricks. I am always inspired by them!

Crazy Legs

Venice Beach Skate Dancing

A whirlwind trip on skates, took us to Venice Beach early Friday morning where we took the taxi to our hotel arriving well before check in. Not wanting to miss a moment, we took turns changing in the lobby bathroom and sorting through our luggage in the hotel lobby to the stares of the other curious guests.
Maria, Jessica and I, stuffed our luggage in a bag check room and rolled out of Marina Del Ray around 10:00am for our skate down to Venice Beach. The weather was terrific, the ocean was beautiful, you couldn't ask for a better place to skate.