Inline
Skating Newsletter Article Inline
Skating Newsletter Article Perfect weather, smooth pavement, fun and fit new friends!
On the last weekend in June, I flew out to Philadelphia, PA to earn my Fitness Inline Training (FIT) certification and to join nearly 500 other skaters for a spectacular weekend event called the Philly Skate Jam.
What a fantastic weekend from so many perspectives! In addition to the great skating and all of my new and renewed friendships, my FIT certification has inspired me to offer something new to East Bay area skaters. I am now accepting enrollments for my new Get Rolling - Get FIT lesson series, an 8-week program designed to deliver progressively better cardiovascular fitness and body composition, improved agility and stroke efficiency, plus tips on hydration, nutrition, and flexibility.
While I booked my weekend in Philadelphia primarily for the FIT certification training, it turns out our agenda fit hand-in-glove with the Philly Skate Jam schedule. We enjoyed phenomenal rolling in perfect weather on miles of mostly creamy pavement. All of the group events were escorted by city police and at least 40 National Skate Patrollers (see one in the photo below) who went ahead to hold traffic at the intersections while hundreds of enthusiastic and fit skaters rolled through. Of four routes offered, the three I skated were thrilling and well planned. My favorite parts were skating on the newly repaved waterfront section and way beneath the city streets through the downtown subway corridors. Incredibly, my FIT program examiner, Trish Alexander, managed to weave both the lectures and on-skates work into these activities to deliver the full FIT program by Sunday afternoon.
When all the work and play of the weekend were over, I was impressed yet again by the thoughtful event volunteers who had arranged for showers and luggage storage at the event hotel well after checkout time. The Philly Skate Jam was a class act all around and a great way for anybody to start a summer of skating. It recurs the weekend before the July 4th holiday every year.
Comments or questions? Ask Liz