Quarantine on Quadskates
Lives around the world right now have been disrupted in countless ways. Our routines and activities have been forced to change and a lot of us need to adapt to a new lifestyle. Many of the skaters I know come from roller derby or skatepark backgrounds and are facing challenges adapting their skate habits to self-isolation.
For me, this has come with an emotional roller coaster of stress and uncertainty for the future.
A great way to relieve stress and anxiety is to exercise. I find when I'm skating, a lot of those feelings ease up or go away. Roller skating is an activity that can be done solo, in your own neighborhood, and even in a small space. I have worked to compile an awesome list of roller skating resources to keep you going during this time. Here you will find links to instructional on workouts, small space skills, jam skating, and events to keep our communities virtually connected.
If you have any favorite resources outside of this list please leave a link in the comments! I will try to update these lists as suggestions come in.
On Skates Skills
Here is a collection of five on skates resources. This is a focus on individual things to work on and derby skills training. You will find outdoor tips, footwork, and suggestions on how to adapt to small space skating.
1. Bearing Street Skating Videos and Zine
Our friends over at Bearing Street Skating have been working on some awesome instructional videos for outdoor skating. They love to travel and street skate through the new cities. They are in the process of making a street skating zine sharing all the pro tips and we can't wait!
Check them out on Instagram @bearingstreetskating
2. Skate Baby Skills
The website Skate Baby has a good list of what to practice when you're skating alone. This has some good solo practice exercises and videos covering lateral movements, stops, edge work, jumping, and endurance.
3. Minimum Skills in Quarantine
Harshmellow is working on an ongoing video series for those who are working to achieve the minimum skills for roller derby. Located out of Newcastle, UK, they are an intake coach for their roller derby team. These videos are awesome resources to work on while in isolation.
4. Planet Roller Skate's 10 Tricks for Small Spaces
Indy Jamma Jones and Pigeon give 10 things you can do for small space skating. It's a lot of footwork and jam skating moves. Definitely more of a playful approach!
5. Dirty Deborah Harry's Dirty School of Skate
Dirty Deborah Harry is a long time skating instructor and has assembled a Small Space Skating Video Playlist. It covers a wide variety of skills starting from the very basics.
