What is Freestyle Slalom Skating?
This isn’t rollerblading as you remember it in the 90s; it’s more like urban figure skating, and it’s super cool.
Freestyle Slalom skating is a kind of inline roller skating (though also done with quad skates) that involves performing tricks around a straight line of cones spaced at equal distances, normally 40cm, 80cm or 120cm. This article is going to first cover the origins and early history of Freestyle Slalom, then take a look at the the unique design of skates that used for the sport. After that, we’ll break down some of the techniques and tricks in detail and take a brief tour of the different competition events. But first, let’s take a look a just how cool freestyle slalom skating looks in action:
Origins
The origins of this unique sport can be traced back to Europe in the 1980s. What started as street skating through urban areas using obstacles such as sidewalks, ramps, staircases, railings, benches, barricades and construction cones slowly evolved into a technical style of skating with a culture all its own. This included: skating within evenly spaced lines of small plastic and rubber cones; specialized skates that provided the necessary stability and freedom of movement; a complex library of new tricks; and the format, events and rules for competitions.
In 2009, Freestyle Slalom was first recognized by the FIRS, the International Federation of Roller Sports (French: Fédération Internationale de Roller Sports). Today there are several international freestyle slalom organizations that hold dozens of events every year including exhibitions, open competitions and world championships. Each one draws skaters from around the globe to travel to major cities in Europe, China, Korea, Russia, South America and the United States to compete.
Seba Skates
Much of this development over the years is credited to Sebastien Laffargue, a French skater who began dominating skate competitions in 1996 and became well-known in the early days of the internet for his impressive skill, unique style and inventive new tricks that formed the fundamentals of Freestyle Slalom.
In 2005, Laffargue founded the company Seba (a nick name for Sebastian in French), which at the time was the first and only manufacturer of skates and accessories that was wholly dedicated to the this new style of skating. The company has since broadened its catalog to include high performance urban skates, speed skates and aggressive skates. It remains one of the top brands in the industry due to its innovative designs and heavy involvement and leadership in competitions, clubs, organizations and sponsorship of athletes.
The Skates
Skating freestyle slalom doesn’t necessary require a specific kind of skate and can be done with inline, quad, aggressive, hockey or plain-old recreational skates. But a purpose-built set of slalom skates will make to easier to get started by providing the improved maneuverability required for difficult tricks. Here’s a quick look at what makes slalom skates unique.
Boot
Slalom skates are made with stiffness, light weight and flexibility. A firm cuff, rigid boot, and close fit offers the required ankle support for tricks that have skaters balancing on the inside and outside edges, as well as on heel and toe wheels. In order to achieve the speed and maneuverability of slalom skills, a compact, lightweight skate is important. Slalom skates are designed this way, with some more expensive models even made from carbon fiber to increase strength while adding minimal weight to the overall design.
Frame
Freestyle slalom skates have a short, stiff, lightweight frame. For this reason, they are usually made from aluminum instead of other softer or heavier materials. The frame length should be smaller than what’s normally found on recreational and speed skates, usually between 220 and 250 millimeters. Skaters with smaller foot sizes will be on the lower range, while those with larger feet will be at higher range.
No Brakes
One detail you have noticed in the photos and videos above is that freestyle slalom skates have no brakes. This accessory gets in the way of achieving tricks that require fluid maneuverability and can interfere with movements where a skater’s feet are crossing and uncrossing at close distance. Besides, there are several other techniques that can be learned for stopping that are much more fun and look a lot cooler than jamming that heel brake in the pavement (see Slide Competitions) below.
Rockering
One important configuration for freestyle slalom skates is a rockering, which is a way of adjusting axle positions and/or wheel size on a skate to provide variations in stance and ground contact. Most recreation skates with which people are familiar will have flat frame and wheels of equal size. This means that all four wheels are touching the ground at all times, which for some styles of skating is ideal in that it provides speed and stability. A rockered frame is designed with the axles of the front and rear wheels positioned slightly higher than the two middle wheels. In this configuration, only two wheels are ever touching the ground, which greatly improved maneuverability, but comes at the cost of speed and stability.
The same effect can be achieved on a flat frame by using smaller wheels for the front and back and larger wheels in the middle, something like 76–80–80–76cm. It takes some getting used to, but the difference is like night and day: instead dealing with the resistance of all four wheels rolling and dragging while you try to make tight turns and spins, these maneuvers become effortless and fun.
Wheels
In general, wheels for freestyle slalom skating are small, with a low center of gravity but reduced power and speed. Depending on frame size and whether the frame is flat or rockered, wheels can come in different sizes. For example a 250mm rockered frame works well with four 80mm wheels, and a similar sized flat frame could also be rockered with two 76cm wheels and two 80mm wheels. Most skates purchased from the manufacturer will come with wheels appropriate for the frame which can be replaced as desired. The typical hardness for freestyle slalom skates has a durometer of 84A, which is a middle-of-the-road balance of durability, speed, vibration, roll and traction. Hockey skates, for example, typically have softer, stickier wheels for better power and traction, while speed skates have harder wheels for improved durablity and speed over smooth surfaces.
The Tricks
There are several hundred freestyle slalom tricks and new ones are invented all the time by creative and athletic skaters around the world. But there are some classic, fundamental tricks that a beginner should learn in order acquire basic skills that will contribute towards learning more difficult ones. The progression is not unlike a skill tree in a role-playing game, where mastering one trick unlocks another, then mastering two more unlocks yet another. For a comprehensive guide to getting started with Freestyle Slalom skating, I recommend reading The Art of Falling by Naomi Grigg.
Breaking Down Complex Tricks
The following diagrams explain the basic movements that comprise each trick. The colors, symbols and lines have specific meaning to describe what the skater should be doing with each foot.
Red represents the left foot. Blue represents the right foot. A solid line means the foot glides forward, i.e. in the direction the foot is pointed, with the foot flat on the ground.A dashed line means the foot glides backward, also flat on the ground.
Wheelin’
Shown in the diagram above as a thin line with either a circle or diamond its origin, this technique involves skating on just a single wheel touching the ground. As you can imagine, it is very difficult and takes strength, balance, flexibility and lots and lots of practice. Toe wheelin’ (circle) is done with just a front wheel of the skate, while heel wheelin’ (diamond) is done with just a back wheel.
Pivots
Shown above as a circle or diamond with an arrow indicating rotation direction, this technique involves planting either the heel wheel (back wheel) or toe wheel (front wheel) of the skate in one place and rotating in a circle around it. There are many variations of pivots with heel or toe, forwards or backwards and with legs cross or uncrossed. You can see them demonstrated in the following video.
Beginner Tricks
Here are the four tricks you need to get started.
Cross-Cross
Right and left foot cross before the first cone and uncross around the second cone, then the pattern is repeated again on the third and fourth cones, and so on. It can be done forwards, backwards, regular and goofy.
Snake
Both feet move together, one in front of the other, curling around the right side of the first cone, then the left side of the second cone before the pattern is repeated. Like the criss-cross, the snake can be done forwards, backwards, regular and goofy.
Sun
The sun starts as a criss-cross around the first cone, then a heel pivot around the second cone, which transitions into a backwards criss-cross on the third cone, then a backwards heel pivot with the opposite foot around the fourth. As this four-cone pattern repeats, the skater’s body makes a smooth 360° rotation, covering about 90° per cone.
Nelson
The nelson is performed by skating with all weight on the back foot as it weaves around each cone and slashing the front foot backwards and then forwards around the upcoming cones. When done properly, you can hear the wheels spinning on the front skate after each brush with the ground.
Advanced Tricks
Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can move onto some more difficult tricks that build on the fundamentals you’ve trained with the beginner tricks.
Professional Tricks
These tricks involve heel and toe wheelin’, spinning in circles, which are very, very challenging. It requires that you develop a lot of strength in your legs and calf muscles, flexibility in your ankles and careful control of your balance. Spinning tricks will also require you to learn how to minimize and cope with dizziness. When done properly, these are professional level tricks that will win international competitions.
Competition
Competitions consist of several different events that test a range of skills. Most competitions will allow skaters to compete multiple events, though participation in any one event is not mandatory.
Battle
A battle consists of thirty-second runs through three lines of cones, one of each spaced at 40cm, 80cm and 120cm. Skaters show off their best tricks and combinations while judges keep score across multiple rounds. The tricks are performed freestyle without prior planning or choreography, and the music — usually something electronic and full of energy — is not chosen by the skater.
Classic
Classic slalom is most similar to figure skating. A classic performance lasts three minutes and takes place on the same layout of cones as a battle: three lines of cones, one of each spaced at 40cm, 80cm and 120cm. Unlike a battle, though, skaters must skate through each line, covering its full length either in one pass or in several combined passes. Skaters choose their music and choreograph a single, continuous routine designed to impress a panel of judges who give it a score.
Slide
Sliding is an all together different skill from skating around cones, though it requires much of the same strength, flexibility and balance. Skaters get up to speed and then implement various stopping techniques that push or drag the wheels of their skates horizontally across the skating surface. Much like doing burnouts until your tires are bald, sliding will eventually destroy a set of polyurethane skate wheels, but it’s super fun to do and is worth the cost of buying new ones.
Speed Slalom
Speed slalom is an event where two skaters race side-by-side, each down a line of cones spaces at 80cm, skating on only one foot and weaving between each cone as fast as possible. Sensors at the end of course record how fast the skaters can clear the line of cones, and a winner is picked between the two active competitors. The event continues as a single-elimination tournament until a winner is crowned.
The Joy of Skating
There you have it — the basics of freestyle slalom skating. I got involved with freestyle slalom in 2014 when I was living in Santa Monica, CA, and became obsessed with learning these tricks. For about a year, I practiced four or five nights per week in empty beach parking lots for hours and hours. Later on I competed in competitions in Portland, OR and Lincoln, NE, but the most fun was finding the local slalom skaters in whichever city I was traveling to, most notably in London and Berlin. While still mostly popular in Asia and Europe, I really hope this sport catches on in the U.S. because it’s great exercise, a lot of fun, and supported by a great community.
