Skate Without the need for Ice. Off-Ice Skating is a new sport.
Its like Ice Skating but with wheels rather than Ice.
Off-Ice Skates as they are known were made to mimic the ice with a specialist toe rake for spins and jumps. They also have between 3-5 wheels depending on size that are chamfered to mimic the edges of Ice Skates. For more information you can go to thier website www.off-iceskating.com You can skate on almost any surface with them.
These skates were used in both the closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics and paralympic games. The Billy Idle scene with the nuns - the professional female skaters used ( of which was my coach) them and the guys from Dancing on Ice wore them when they were with the Ice Queen Viktoria Modesta
viktoriamodesta.com. The guys from Dancing on Ice team that took part in the Closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Paralympics have their own skates and love them. Dan Whiston helps endorse them on the website.
As Ice rinks are closing down people are buying these so that they can still have the feel of skating as they would on ice. You can skate on almost any surface ( depending on your ability and confidence). They are also a good training aid to help you Off Ice to practice your skills. They are used in halls/gyms and anywhere that has a smooth surface.
I saw an advert, started lessons and then bought mine and im hooked. Not seen anything else like it in the UK. Since finding this in the local paper. i have since joined forums and used google to find out more. found out there are other brands on the market - and that people dont seem to like them and class them as different to the other brands. But they are not rollerskates or quads, probably similar to inlines skates as the wheels are in a single line. But they differ to other inlines in the way they are designed and with the special toe rake that was made for them so that you can jump and spin etc. However pic skate users tend to disagree, along with roller skate users. Having never seen a pic skates and not worn roller skates since i was a young child i cannot make any comment, i can only go by what my coach has told me and by what i have seen on their website. Last time i wore roller skates they were the metal things with wheels that you strapped onto your shoes.