Roller skating is the traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a form of recreational activity as well as a sport, and can also be a form of transportation. In fact, as the United States readied for World War II, the government entertained the notion to add roller skates as essential equipment to move infantry around Europe to save gas. Skates generally come in three basic varieties: quad roller skates, inline skates or blades and tri-skates, though some have experimented with a single-wheeled "quintessence skate" or other variations on the basic skate design. In America, this hobby was most popular first between 1935 and the early 1960s and then in the 1970s, when polyurethane wheels were created and disco music oriented roller rinks were the rage and then again in the 1990s when in-line outdoor roller skating, thanks to the improvement made to inline roller skates in 1981 by Scott Olson, took hold.
CCM Hockey is a Canadian brand of ice hockey equipment. CCM was held by two separate entities both maintaining the CCM trademark, one manufacturing hockey equipment and the other, CCM Bicycles manufacturing bicycles.
Rollerblade is a brand of inline skates owned by Nordica, part of the Tecnica Group of Giavera del Montello, Treviso, Italy.
Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played by two teams of fifteen members. Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, mostly inside the United States.
USA Roller Sports (USARS), formerly the United States Amateur Confederation of Roller Skating, is the national governing body of competitive roller sports in the United States. It is recognized by the International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) and the United States Olympic Committee.
Roller skates are shoes, or bindings that fit onto shoes, that are worn to enable the wearer to roll along on wheels. The first roller skate was effectively an ice skate with wheels replacing the blade. Later the "quad" style of roller skate became more popular consisting of four wheels arranged in the same configuration as a typical car.
A flowboard is a variation on a skateboard, combining aspects of surfing, skating and snowboarding. There are three sizes made by the brand Flowboards: 32", for tricks and smaller riders; 36", the standard size; and 42", the large downhill bomber.
Pacific Cycle, Inc. is an American division of Canadian conglomerate Dorel Industries that imports and distributes bicycles. It was founded in 1977 by Chris Hornung. The company pioneered the sourcing of bicycles from the Far East for distribution in the U.S., developing relationships with suppliers primarily in Taiwan and China. The company now owns several well known bicycle brands as well as diversifying into bicycle accessories and other types of children's play equipment. Pacific Cycle sells more bicycles than any other company in North America and is one of the most prolific bicycle suppliers in the world. In 2006, Chris Hornung left Pacific Cycle leaving President Jeff Frehner in control. Alice Tillett has been the President of Pacific Cycle since 2008.
The Roller Derby Skateboard was the first mass-produced skateboard, sold by the Roller Derby Skate Company as a “Skate Board”. Roller Derby made this skateboard in their La Mirada, CA factory, and it was available nationwide at Roller Derby arenas in 1959, and then in Thrifty Drugstores and Sears, Roebuck and Co. as the "Roller Derby Skate Board" in 1960. It was very similar to the first commercially available skateboard; the red, flat, straight-sided, steel-wheeled "Bun Board" which had been made and sold in Hermosa Beach by Alf Jensen since 1957. In 1964 Roller Derby added 3 surfboard-shaped rubber-wheeled models similar to Makaha skateboards produced in 1963. These three skateboards were produced in their Litchfield, Illinois plant.
J&J Snack Foods Corporation (JJSF) is an American manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of branded niche snack foods and frozen beverages for the food service and retail supermarket industries. Headquartered in Pennsauken, NJ JJSF uses over 175 facilities for manufacturing, warehousing, and distributing located in 44 states, Mexico and Canada. The company is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market as “JJSF”, and serves both nation and international markets.
Heelys, formerly known as Heeling Sports Limited, is a brand of roller shoe that have usually one or more removable wheels embedded in each sole, similar to inline skates, allowing the wearer to walk, run, or, by shifting their weight to their heels, roll. Braking can be achieved by lowering the back of the foot so that sole contacts the ground. Roger Adams patented Heelys in 1999. The headquarters are located in Carrollton, Texas.
Frank Nasworthy is notable in the history of skateboarding for introducing polyurethane wheel technology to the sport in the early 1970s.
K2 Sports, LLC is an American company founded in 1962 by brothers Bill and Don Kirschner on Vashon Island, near Seattle, Washington in the United States. K2 is known for pioneering fiberglass ski technology, which made skis significantly lighter and more lively than their wood and metal contemporaries. Famous users of K2 skis include pro champion Spider Sabich, World Cup and Olympic champion Phil Mahre, and his twin brother Steve Mahre, World Champion and Olympic silver medalist and Laurent Donato, great Belgo-Italian amateur skier.
RollerJam is an American television series featuring roller derby that aired on The Nashville Network from 1999 to 2001. It was the first attempt to bring roller derby to TV since RollerGames.
California Free Former was the world's largest skateboard manufacturer during the 1970s. From 1970 to 1981, it was owned by Rick Smith of ALS Industries with a business partner. They also held several licenses from Walt Disney, manufacturing roller skates and other Disney brand consumer products.
Sector 9 is a skateboard manufacturer and subsidiary of Bravo Sports. The company was started in La Jolla, California in 1993 by cofounders Steve Lake, Dave Klimkiewicz, Dennis Telfer, and Tal O'Farrell. Sector 9 is currently headquartered in San Diego, California.
Aggressive skating is a sub discipline of inline skating primarily focused on the execution of tricks in the action sports canon. Aggressive inline skates are specially modified to accommodate grinds and jumps. Aggressive skating can take place on found street obstacles or at skate parks.
The Frantz Manufacturing Company located in Sterling, Illinois, is a manufacturer and marketer of conveyor system components and steel ball products used in a variety of applications.
The Australia men's national inline hockey team represents Australia in international inline hockey competitions. They are controlled by Ice Hockey Australia for events organised by the International Ice Hockey Federation and by Skate Australia for events organised by the International Roller Sports Federation. Australia plays in Division I of the IIHF InLine Hockey World Championship and Group C at the FIRS Inline Hockey World Championships.
Mueller Co. is a Chattanooga, Tennessee based industrial manufacturing group that manufactures fire hydrants, gate valves, and other water distribution products. Mueller Co. which moved to Chattanooga from Decatur, Illinois, in 2010 is the largest supplier of potable water distribution products in North America. Mueller Co. is a subsidiary of Mueller Water Products, Inc. A manufacturing facility remains in Decatur.
