Posted by Jim Mann on March 04, 2005 at 16:39:28:
I am a history major--it saddens me to see this historic place have gotten the wrecking ball--even though it has been almost 20 years ago. I know Detroit was the National HQ up to late 1960's(1968-now Lincoln,NE). I look forward to reading and learning about the rich history Detroit has had in Rollerskating through this website.
Sadly, The decline of skating across the board--coaches retire/ quit along with many skaters quitting/ leaving the sport. Costs have skyrocketed--fees and lessons along with available rink space/practice time- have had an adverse imapct for newcomers and myself, my daughter. I don't get raises to at my company which allows me to continue to cover the cost increases aforementioned. Rink operators along with coaches need to address this soon. Until this is addressed, the decline will continue...until little is left. This is not ice--we have no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
My daughter, Lindsay Mann, has been to the World chamionships 5 times, most recently in Fresno, CA in 2004 as the USA Senior Team Ladies singles representative (3rd place at Nationals).