Barcelona needs a speed skating rink
In my previous stories I have shown that there are a lot of skaters in Barcelona. On Facebook the APB has more than 9000 followers. If they organize a special event they bring together a huge amount of skaters. In the foto below one can see for example the large number of participants in the Ruta Blanca. Many of these people participate for fun but there certainly are also skaters that are interested in skating as a sport.
I have shown that the Club Pati Barcelona, that concentrates on speed skating, could attract a lot of adult people who like this activity on a weekly basis. A limited group went on participating in speed skating competitions and with success. On the other hand the club Roller Can Cuyas realized a lot of participation of children and parents and could also realize participation of its members in competitions.
The next step
In nearly all countries in the world special skating tracks have been created. They are created to organize championships in speed skating but they are also used for training of the skaters, teaching skating and sportive skating without the aim to participate in championships. The countries that win the most medals in the Olympic Games and world championships are the Netherlands, in ice speed skating, and Columbia, in inline speed skating. These are also the two countries that have the most skating tracks in their country. Such facilities attract a lot more skaters and these skaters can go on to speed skating if they want.
In the past I was also thinking that skating on a track was boring till I started to do it and detected that it is a lot of fun to skate in a group with equal speed and hardly without any effort.
In nearly all countries in the world special skating tracks have been created. They are created to organize championships in speed skating but they are also used for training of the skaters, teaching skating and sportive skating without the aim to participate in championships. The countries that win the most medals in the Olympic Games and world championships are the Netherlands, in ice speed skating, and Columbia, in inline speed skating. These are also the two countries that have the most skating tracks in their country. Such facilities attract a lot more skaters and these skaters can go on to speed skating if they want.
In the past I was also thinking that skating on a track was boring till I started to do it and detected that it is a lot of fun to skate in a group with equal speed and hardly without any effort.
What is needed?
What is needed is an easily accessible and visible skating rink where people can skate whenever they want, where speed skaters can train for their championships and where official championships in speed skating can be held as well.
In the Netherlands such facilities have been realized in all big towns and in many smaller towns. A very attractive form of such a speed skating rink is presented below.
The outer rink (400m) can be used by all skaters while inner track (200m) will be reserved for the speed skaters who participate in competitions and for official championships. The advantage of such an arrangement is that everybody can have access and the risks of accidents is reduced by separation of the general public and the speed skaters. Another advantage of this combination is that people who see the speed skating and can easily move from sportive skating to competitive skating.
Barcelona has a lot more potential in skating
If such a facility would be created one can expect that many people will start using it and the number of speed skaters and sportive skaters will considerably increase. Let me suggest some groups that will be going to participate:
What is needed is an easily accessible and visible skating rink where people can skate whenever they want, where speed skaters can train for their championships and where official championships in speed skating can be held as well.
In the Netherlands such facilities have been realized in all big towns and in many smaller towns. A very attractive form of such a speed skating rink is presented below.
The outer rink (400m) can be used by all skaters while inner track (200m) will be reserved for the speed skaters who participate in competitions and for official championships. The advantage of such an arrangement is that everybody can have access and the risks of accidents is reduced by separation of the general public and the speed skaters. Another advantage of this combination is that people who see the speed skating and can easily move from sportive skating to competitive skating.
Barcelona has a lot more potential in skating
If such a facility would be created one can expect that many people will start using it and the number of speed skaters and sportive skaters will considerably increase. Let me suggest some groups that will be going to participate:
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In this way the number of skaters of every level from kids to top skaters will increase. There will be more people skating in a safe way and the speed of top speed skaters will increase so that they will be able to compete in the World and future Olympic Championships.
Realization
The best would be that the skating rink would be on a place where many skaters pass by so that they will see this activity. I think that there is a lot of space left at and close to the Forum where such a skating rink could be realized. I hope that the local government and the skating clubs take an initiative to create this facility. Barcelona has great possibilities in this sport but not without a skating rink.
Hopefully we will see soon the same activities one can see in the video below also in Barcelona with skaters from the United States, South America, other European countries, Asia, Australia, New Sealand and skaters from Barcelona
The best would be that the skating rink would be on a place where many skaters pass by so that they will see this activity. I think that there is a lot of space left at and close to the Forum where such a skating rink could be realized. I hope that the local government and the skating clubs take an initiative to create this facility. Barcelona has great possibilities in this sport but not without a skating rink.
Hopefully we will see soon the same activities one can see in the video below also in Barcelona with skaters from the United States, South America, other European countries, Asia, Australia, New Sealand and skaters from Barcelona