Archive for March, 2011

REBOOT Outdoor Skating 2.0 San Francisco

Sunday, March 6th, 2011
Logo for California Outdoor Rollerskating Association

California Outdoor Rollerskating Association (C.O.R.A.)

Join a weekend of rolling fun and help Reboot Outdoor Skating on April 8, 9 & 10, 2011 in San Francisco!

C.O.R.A. the California Outdoor Rollerskating Association, is presenting a weekend of skating activities intended to mark a new beginning in the development of recreational and fitness skating in the San Francisco Bay area and beyond. Planned activities include the infamous Friday Night Skate, Saturday seminars, Saturday Night Roller Disco and Sunday Streets. To top it off, there will be a Guinness World Record attempt: the World’s Longest Skating Serpentine (a line of skaters linked hand to hand).

C.O.R.A.’s extended-weekend goals are to:

  • Present an exciting San Francisco skate weekend
  • Renew interest in outdoor roller and inline skating by showing interested participants how they can duplicate C.O.R.A.’s efforts in their own communities by getting involved
  • Raise money for C.O.R.A. activities, build membership and skater participation in C.O.R.A. events, expand participation in the C.O.R.A. SkateFit Program and establish alliances between C.O.R.A. and other skating-related business and organizations

“This New Beginning skate weekend is not the same kind of skate event we have been exposed to here in San Francisco,” says C.O.R.A. founder David Miles, known to many as the Godfather of Skate. “If it had to be put in a category, it is more like what you would experience in an event like the Great EsSkate in Florida, only this event is designed for the participants to leave with the tools to build on the experience where they live, or join with us as we move forward. The main point of this weekend is to unify efforts of skaters and establish a new beginning.  It is open to anyone willing to get involved and limited only to your imagination.”

Miles adds, “If there is anything else happening that generates interest in new skaters like we are advocating, we don’t know of it.  We (C.O.R.A.) have taken the position that we can make this happen, and any skater, company or business that wants to see our sport thrive is invited to participate.  C.O.R.A. is a true 501c4 non profit organization.  We need help and we are offering skate groups everywhere an opportunity to learn how to become self sufficient and how to make skating grow where they live. “

Find a detailed itinerary of events, seminars and more on the C.O.R.A. REBOOT!!!!!  OUTDOOR SKATING 2.0 ROLLER / INLINE SKATE WEEKEND IN SAN FRANCISCO web page.

About the California Outdoor Rollerskating Association

The mission of C.O.R.A. is to strongly raise awareness of the positive aspects skating can bring into the lives of youth and adults and to give people a fun, healthy skating experience people can enjoy.  Over the years, we have been consistent in our efforts by promoting hundreds of skating events, races, competitions, parades, parties and much more to make the San Francisco Bay Area a great skating city. California Outdoor Rollersports Association has worked for many years to promote the concept of “recreational asphalt,”  when cars are removed from the roadway so that people can use it to walk, run, ride their bikes, roller skate and inline skate.

Over the years, C.O.R.A. has been consistent in its efforts by promoting hundreds of skating events, races, competitions, parades, parties and much more to make the San Francisco Bay Area a great skating city.

About Sunday Streets

Introduced by Mayor Newsom in 2008, Sunday Streets started with two events in 2008, expanding to six events in 2009. By 2010, nine Sunday Streets events covered five different routes around the city, with longer car-free stretches and program hours, attracting 15,000-20,000 participants per event.

On Sunday, April 10, 2011, C.O.R.A. will be joining with San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), Livable City, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, Shape Up SF, Kaiser Permanente, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, California Pacific Medical Center, AT & T, and a host of other civic groups, businesses and community-based organizations to present Sunday Streets San Francisco.

Zephyr Adventures Guides Get a Training Weekend

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

In February, I joined my fellow Zephyr Adventures guides (here’s a complete list with bios) for our semi-regular guide training weekend, where we brainstormed ideas for giving even better customer service while skating the local trails and goofing off between meetings. To find out more about why we met, read Zephyr owner Allan Wright’s blog about the weekend.

I can say without reservation that nobody else I know can beat the charisma and antics of the “life-of-the-party” mates I find myself so lucky to be associated with!

While I did not digitally document the hi jinks for sharing, below are snaps of some of my favorite moments in Tampa. Click for full-size view.

Sponsoring Ghana’s Hidden Stars Dreams

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

Last summer I introduced my followers to Paul Korankye, a skating enthusiast from the InlinePlanet shater’s network. We keep in touch by email and the social network from time to time. Here is a recent training shot of the Hidden Stars Skaters Dream Club.

11 speedskaters from Ghana
Members of the Hidden Stars Skaters Dream Club

As a 2010 Christmas present, Get Rolling donated $200 for gear and international shipping fees to Ghana. I selected the following items from Paul’s wish list at Inline Warehouse, one of my favorite skating retailers:

  • 2 sets of Rollerblade 90mm wheels with SG9 Bearings
  • 1 red Firefly Supernova Safety Light w/ Clip
  • 1 Sonic Super Bearing Oil  1/2 Oz
  • 1 Rollerblade Inline Skate Blade Tool
  • 1 Sonic Turbo Wash Bearing Cleaner
  • 1 TWINCAM Speed Bearings ABEC5 16pk
5 Ghana speedskaters pose in a paceline
Helmets, the most essential safety gear!

Judging by these latest photos, more club members are sporting essential safety gear. I hope that other skaters or clubs here in the U.S. who can afford to be generous will check the Hidden Stars web site to see what else we can do to keep the team rolling safely toward their stars.

View Paul’s latest photos and make friends with him by joining the  Inline Planet Community. If you decide to support his speed skating team, he would welcome direct contact through email at paul_kn2000@yahoo.com.