Every season inline figure skating gets better. The inline freeskating short and long program participants enjoyed the support of teammates and an enthusiastic crowd of local college students and families. There are also new comers in the event including young Vivian Moreira and Diego Dores from Brazil. This season, there were no long shots. All participants came armed with good quality content, well designed programs and the equipment needed to support their efforts.

Women's Inline Final Placements

1. Silvia Marangoni, ITA
2. Kristen Slade, AUS
3. Hsin, Chia-Ling, TPE
4. Shauna McCullough, USA
5. Melisa Marcon, ARG
6. Natalie Motley, USA
7. Chen, I-Ching, TPE
8. Melanie Bernhard, SUI
9. Sarah-Jane Jones, NZL
10. Vivian Moreira, BRA
11. Aleesha Hanczakowski, AUS

Men's Inline Final Placements

1. Eric Traounez, FRA
2. Carlos Urquia, ARG
3. Marco Viotto, ITA
4. Gustavo Casado De Melo, BRA
5. Philip Gibson, USA
6. Huang, Chin-Wei, TPE
7. Leonardo Maidana, ARG
8. Diego Dores, BRA
9. Lee Chun, TPE

The next big inline figure skating event will be the Open International de Paris in January, 2009. Hopefully, many of the World competitors will support this event, hosted by Jean-Pierre Faugère, to increase their competitive experience and grow the inline figure sports.

If you have links to any of these or other inline figure skating events or performances in any discipline, feel free to send them via email for possible inclusion in the inlineskating site.

Robb Dunn has enjoyed World Championship and World Cup success with many athletes in the sport of Inline Speed Skating. Dunn is a former World Speed Team Coach and was a successful competitor on roller skates several decades ago, when he was part of the United States World Team. He was U.S. Coach of the Year in 1988, and is now a member of both the Athlete and Coach’s Hall of Fame at the Roller Skating Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In 2005 Coach Robb Dunn retired after 20 years of competitive coaching. But, he is still active at major events and provides workshops and seminars for inline speed skaters and coaches around the United States. Robb has done a lot for inline speed skating and roller sports in the United States and continues to contribute to existing and new roller sports disciplines.

Robb skated in an era when artistic skating, speed skating and fun skating were all part of the same package, so I was not a bit surprised to find him rolling at a Riverside Arena derby girls practice to help our roller derby team develop better speed and maneuvering skills. It was also no surprise to see that he still skates great.

Learn more about Robb and the Wolverines:

• Robb Dunn's Wolverine Bio
  
  
• Wolverine Inline Racing Team History

Photo © Linda Wood

Unless the skater in your life has given you a very specific shopping list including sizes, models and foot tracings, buying inline skates or fitted gear can be risky gifts. But, there are some electronic accessories that almost athlete who lives to inline skate will love. These high tech gadgets are useful and appropriate presents for holiday gift giving or other special occasions. And you won’t run the risk of a poor fit.

I think this GoPro Digital Sports Wrist Camera is cute. It is a 3 megapixel waterproof wrist camera that can be attached to your wrist, skates and more. It can be worn over a jacket and used with protective gear or gloves on. And surprise! It can also shoot up to 54 minutes of TV resolution 640X480 resolution video (with sound) on a 2GB SD card (not included). It's an exciting gift for any skater, and could give you a view of skating that you will either love or fear.

GoPro Digital Sports Wrist Camera



Other Electronic Gifts for Inline Skaters:

• Garmin Foretrex GPS System
  
  
• Tech 4 O B1H Inline Skate Speedometer
  
  
• GoPro Digital Sports Wrist Camera
  
  
• 20/20 Helmet Camera

Wayne Begg grew up on inlines and now has done the inline-to-ice transfer like his sister Nicole. The Timaru Herald, a New Zealand publication, has an update on his progress.

Begg and world inline marathon champion, Shane Dobbin, are training in Holland, and he is dividing his time between marathon and 1000m. Wayne feels that the 1000m will be his qualifying event opportunity for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Read more about inline-to-ice transitions and other inline Olympic dreams:

• Inline Speed Skaters Switch to Ice for Olympics
  
  
• Transition: inline to ice (and back)
  
  
• Linda Wood's Inline-to-Ice Transition Camp Photos
  
  
• What Does It Take to Get Roller Sports Into the Olympics?
  
  
• Can Inline and Roller Skating Become Olympic Sports?