Produced by Geraldine Norris Produced by Geraldine Norris
The History of Roller Skating
Do you enjoy roller blading, roller skating or skateboarding? If so, you might have wondered how it all began. You may be surprised to know how many years roller skating goes back .
The first roller skates were probably made in Holland in about 1700. The people of Holland have used ice skates for a very long time. The many canals in Holland freeze over in the winter and so ice skating has been a good way to get around. One clever man thought it would be a good idea to try skating on the land and so he nailed strips of wood with wooden rollers onto his shoes. These “dry-land” skates were called “skeelers”!
About 60 years after that an English inventor called Joseph Merlin decided to make a “grand entrance” to a fancy dress ball. He made himself a pair of boots that had metal wheels attached to them, got dressed up in his costume and headed out to the party. To make his entrance more spectacular he thought he’d play the violin as he rolled into the ballroom. Unfortunately he lost control and crashed into a mirror.
For the next 60 years roller skates were not popularly used but in 1818 in Germany this changed. Roller skates were used in a ballet concert and people could see how graceful they could be. The first sort of roller skates that ordinary people could buy were made in France in 1819, and interestingly enough they were more like roller blades than roller skates as the wheels were all in a straight line. They were however very difficult to steer!
The first actual roller skates were made in America in 1863. These had two sets of two rubber wheels, one set under the heel and one under the toes. They were strapped onto your shoes and could allow the skater to go forwards, backwards and round curves. By the 1900s roller skating was a very popular recreation and many indoor skating rinks were opened up.
In the 1960s when new materials such as plastic became available roller skates were made lighter and more comfortable and in 1979 two American brothers, Scott and Brennan Olson made the first steerable “in line” skates, using the old fashioned French ones as a model. The rest, as they say, is history!
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Remembering:
- What were the first dry land skates called?
- Who invented the first skates with metal wheels?
- When did the first “roller ballet” happen?
- Where were the first pair of skates that ordinary people could buy invented?
- How did the invention of plastic make roller skates more popular?
Understanding:
Write down in your own words what these words/phrases mean:
- canals
- grand entrance
- graceful
- recreation
Applying:
Complete this timeline with events in roller skating history.
1700 1760 1818 1819 1863 1900s 1960s 1979
Analysing:
Match these sub headings with the correct paragraph.
- Out of Control!
- Rubber Wheels
- Introduction
- New Materials
- Dancing on Skates
- Dry Land Skates
Evaluating:
Write down at least 2 good things about roller skating and at least 2 bad things about it.
Creating:
Design an advertisement for a new pair of roller blades.