Roller skating
Roller skating is a recreational activity that involves gliding on wheels attached to a boot-like shoe. Although roller skates were invented over 200 years ago, they gained significant popularity in the United States during the late 1970s, largely thanks to improvements in skate design and the cultural influence of disco music. Innovations such as plastic wheels and plastic-covered floors in skating rinks enhanced the skating experience, allowing for smoother rides both indoors and outdoors. The introduction of sneaker skates made it easier for skaters to secure their footwear comfortably.
During this vibrant era, roller skating became a social event, attracting people of all ages to roller rinks adorned with disco lighting and music, creating a lively atmosphere for parties and late-night skating. While roller skating enjoyed a significant boom, this enthusiasm began to wane as the disco fad faded in the early 1980s. However, the popularity of inline skating emerged as a new trend that kept the spirit of skating alive, transitioning from the disco era to a new wave of musical influences. Roller skating, with its blend of social interaction, music, and physical activity, remains a cherished pastime for many.
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Roller skating
Americans combined the use of roller skates—with their newly invented plastic wheels—with disco music to make roller skating a wildly popular fad during the late 1970s.
Though invented some two hundred years before, roller skates did not enjoy their heyday in the United States until the 1970s. Until then, they were plagued with a variety of problems, ranging from the absence of toe stops (not present until the 1940s) and the use of metal wheels, which would rust easily and inhibit functionality. In the early twentieth century, many roller skates were designed to fit over shoes, with skate keys used to adjust the size.
The 1970s brought two important improvements to the pastime of roller skating: plastic wheels and skating rinks with plastic-covered floors. The plastic wheels rolled more easily, did not jam as frequently, and could be used on most smooth surfaces, meaning people could roller-skate outdoors and along sidewalks with much more ease than in the past. Sneaker skates also helped things the popularity of roller skating because they allowed skaters to tie their skates on their feet more securely and comfortably. Plastic-coated floors in roller arenas did not scuff as badly under heavy use as did their predecessors, and skaters could go much faster at the arena than they could down the sidewalk. These floors were also easier to maintain, allowing arenas to resmooth the surfaces regularly.
Disco music was also popular during this time, and the combination of it and roller arenas led to industry booms for both the activity and the genre of music. Arenas added disco lighting, flashy colored lights, and disco balls to the music, and suddenly it was not just children who wanted to go to the roller arena on a Saturday night. While the younger set enjoyed skating birthday parties, the modernized lighting and current music attracted older teens and adults to late-night skates on a regular basis.
The plastic wheels that made roller skates so popular also created a new boom in the skateboard industry. Urethane wheels made the boards roll more smoothly, and by 1973, they had become extremely popular with a whole new generation of teens. While skateboards continued to grow in popularity, roller skates lost favor as the disco fad that had spurred the industry came to a close.
Impact
When the disco fad began to fade in North American, so too did the roller craze. However, inline skating soon took its place in the late 1980s, and pop music replaced disco as the roller arena staple.
Bibliography
Emba, Christine. "Opinion: In Search of Clarity and Fresh Air, Roller Skating Into the New Year." The Washington Post, 1 Jan. 2023, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/01/new-year-resolution-roller-skating-2023/. Accessed 20 May 2024.
Olney, Ross Robert. Roller Skating! Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1979.
Shevelson, Joseph F. Roller Skating. Harvey House, 1978.
Woodall, Alexia. "Opinion: You Should Be Roller Skating." The Daily Nebraskan, 28 Mar. 2023, www.dailynebraskan.com/opinion/opinion-you-should-be-roller-skating/article‗cfa3e09e-cd05-11ed-a78c-bba12ff2a144.html. Accessed 20 May 2024.