SKATING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1695, 24 August 1904, Page 58

SKATING.

(By “Columbia.”) The local skating rink continues to be the rendezvous nightly for scores of enthusiasts in the gentle art of roller skating. The weather has been very cold, and consequently those who indulge in the pastime have been enabled to enjoy it under favourable conditions. During the influx of visitors for the British v. New Zealand football match there was a number of Christchurch skaters in evidence at the rink. Nowadays skates of all the best makes are constructed on the “extension ’ pattern, and there -is some difference of opinion as to the adjustment of the length of skates. Whilst some prefer the skates to be as long as convenient for ordinary skating, on the other hand others consider that skates should be worn as short as possible. Advocates of both plans claim to speak from personal experience. One of The best trick skaters in Wellington has his skates so adjusted that the front wheels fit underneath his instep instead of in front of the ball of the foot —the other extreme.

A perspiring beginner, discussing the number of different ways of failing, said: “I fell sixty-one different ways, and when the band played ‘Cod Save the King,’ well, I sat down so forcibly that my chronometer stopped.” Amongst athletes and sportsmen who patronise the rink yachtsmen are prominent.- Cyclists are, as a rule, quick to learn to skate. Some of the best lady skaters are cyclists and apparently are able to do far more skating than those who are not cyclists. The morning session is the most popular for beginners, but every night there are several novices who manage to scramble around, despite the crowded state of the .floor.