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After
a hearty breakfast to get energy levels up, the skaters took their
positions on the start line at St. Mary's Stadium ready for the
9am kick-off.
The
weather had been looking slightly dodgy all morning but a strong
autumn sun reared its head just in time to clear away the cloud.
Armed
with a boom-box on wheels blaring out high energy tunes, the hordes
of French and English in-line skaters made their way around the
closed streets of Southampton to complete the 10.12 mile circuit.
Photo
Gallery 1 | Photo
Gallery 2
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| Two
bladers relax at Ocean Village |
Euroblade
is not a race and all ages and standards of skaters took part. Some
showed off their skills, whizzing on ahead and doing tricks, while
the beginners of the group happily stumbled along with all the co-ordination
of a new-born deer.
Hundreds
of French enthusiasts made the cross-channel trip from Southampton's
twin city Le-Havre for the event and they made their way round the
course with ease. The French bladers are no strangers to street
skating - The
Pari Roller takes place every Friday from Gare Montparnasse in the
French capital and there are numerous similar events in regional
towns and villages.
The circuit passed famous city landmarks and the the skaters rounded
the Bargate to the sounds of Outkast's Hey Ya and headed down to
the parks. Some fell casualty to a few bumps and scrapes as they
battled with a particularly steep hill!
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| Skating
through the park |
No-one
minded though as the party spirit was in full swing. The boom-box
blared out classic dance anthems to keep the pace up and the party
vibe going.
As always, the comedy hats, costumes and wigs were out in force
to raise a smile while flag waving and horn honking kept up moral
as the troops headed off to tackle a complete circuit of the Common.
After
a quick water stop to quench dry mouths and rest weary legs, they
took off into town once again and towards Mayflower Park.
From
there, the skaters whizzed along the waterfront to Ocean Village
before summoning up enough energy to set off on the home stretch
back to St Mary's.
In-line skating or 'roller blading' was developed by the Dutch as
a means of ice skating without the ice - totally different to those
skates famous for the 'roller discos' of the 1970s!
The Rollerblade Inc company developed the design in the 1980s and
took in-line skating to a mass market.
It has
grown massively in popularity, not least because of its fitness
benefits. In-line skating burns
as many calories as running and is easier on the joints.
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