SPORTS & ACTIVITIES
54
Glide Through the Weekend at RollerHolic ! Written and photographed by Cami Ismanova
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
November 2020
A
few weeks ago, I had a weekend dilemma: “What shall I do? Should I go horseback riding or disco roller skating?” Both of them have a high chance of awkward moments and most certainly painful falls. Both of these activities cost the same, except a horseback ride would last for ten minutes, while a roller-skating session would last for two hours. Two hours of possible falling and being rolled over with some 1980s hits playing? Yeah, that sounded about right! Accompanied by a less enthusiastic friend of mine, we headed over to RollerHolic, an inline skating rink at Unam Plaza.
Roller skating is considered a sport, a type of transportation, and a form of leisure activity. There are several types of skates such as quads, inlines, and triskates. Quads have two pairs of wheels, inline skates have four wheels in a line, and tris have three wheels in line (which eventually proved to be the least comfortable of the three). There are records of single-wheeled quintessence skates and attempts to skate on them, but surely it was not widely practiced since it is almost impossible to skate on one wheel – although it might be hilarious to watch someone try.
But before we dive into the description of interiorexterior-price-vibe things, let me briefly shed a bit of light on the history of roller skating. It all started in 1743 in London during a stage performance where the first roller skates were used. Later in 1760, John Merlin (not the wizard one) invented the first inline skates. In fact, he made a grandiose entrance by crashing into a ballroom mirror during a masquerade party, all while playing a violin! That is when the three-century-old history of roller skating began. The most popular years of roller skating were in 1935, and then on and off between the 1970s and 1990s.
As for RollerHolic, it is a big inline skating rink that offers its services both to kids and adults. The skating rink is huge and can easily hold a lot of people. It costs 8,000 won for children and 10,000 won for adults for gear rental and two hours of skating. The gear consists of a pair of roller skates, helmet, and elbow and knee pads. If you or your kid is a first-timer, they will offer a free lesson teaching basic moves, how to maintain balance, and safe falling tips. I should mention that the owners are extremely nice and welcoming. They will guide you through the whole process. There are lockers and a small cafe available inside. The menu in the cafe contains a
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