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June 2003 This reprint [with minor
revisions] is from our 1st issue published in June 2002 and is the article
that inspired the creation of RST. We revisited it in celebration of
our 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY.
THE GENESIS OF NATIONAL SKATE PARTIES
However, the genesis...the beginning...the origin of these national events goes back to three major organizers in three major cities - J&J Skate Productions (J&J) of Atlanta, Georgia, The Detroit Connection of Detroit Michigan, and The Skills on Wheels Skate Club of St. Louis Missouri. J&J is well known on the skate circuit for its annual Atlanta Labor
Day Weekend
Before moving south and teaming up with Joi, he hosted an Atlanta Labor Day Weekend party in 1995 which attracted approximately 300 skaters mainly from New York, New Jersey and Baltimore. He moved in November of that year and in 1996 met Joi who worked as a cashier at an Atlanta area rink where she had outstanding rapport with skaters. They clicked instantly as friends and he asked if she would like to assist him in hosting a national party, and when she agreed, J&J was born. They hosted their first event in 1996 over Labor Day Weekend, the weekend that has now become synonymous with J&J and Atlanta. Joi says they had expected 500-600 to attend but were overwhelmed when a whooping 1200 showed up representing more than 20 cities. A few weeks after Johnny’s 1995 Labor Day party, The Detroit Connection* hosted their first event, in October. Pat Byrd, one of the club’s founding members, was very impressed with the organizing ability of Vanessa Poindexter, a Chicago skater, and from that was motivated to begin an annual event in the Motor City. Small skate world that it is, it should not be surprising that Vanessa’s inspiration was none other than...Johnny Perkins. Johnny recalls that he first met Vanessa in Virginia Beach, 1995 at one of his skate functions. “She wanted to know how to give parties, so I just told her what I did...Her function (Chicago, July 1995) was nicer than mine as far having more people from more areas,” he said. Vanessa hosted a second event in Virginia Beach, 1996 but reports have it that after a death in the family and other setbacks, she faded from the scene. There are many, however, who would like to hear from her again, including Detroiter, Pat Byrd. Detroit’s October 1995 event led to April 1996 when St. Louis’ Skills on Wheels (SOWs) hosted their first extravaganza. The skate club was formed in November 1994 and began with 20 members, but over the years that number has dropped. Surprisingly, they are able to accomplish more with fewer members, according to Donna Hudson (formerly Hoosman), the group’s current treasurer and a founding member. She recalls that before the club was officially formed, she and a few other St. Louis skaters began traveling to other cities. In the summer of 1993, they skated in Memphis Tennessee and in 1994 they went to Chicago Illinois and the club was formed shortly thereafter. In May 1995 they took 50 skaters to Atlanta and while there discovered that a Detroit group was also visiting Atlanta rinks. They started networking and kept in touch which appears to be a key factor in the success of those early skating parties. Back then, skate information on the Internet was unheard of, so organizers had to rely on telephone, mailing lists, and word of mouth to make their events known. The unplanned rendezvous of skaters in Atlanta seems to have been a gathering where much information was passed about the 1995 Chicago party, which primarily attracted skaters from St. Louis, Detroit and Atlanta, many of whom also attended the Atlanta and Detroit parties. St. Louis’ first event, which attracted many of the same skaters, was “slow” and drew a modest crowd; however, through the networking efforts mentioned above and the club working hard to get the word out about their extravaganza, they were rewarded the next year with a crowd TRIPLE the size. Since then, the St. Louis event, every 4th weekend in April, has become known as the one that officially kicks off the skate season. However, starting in March 2002, that was no longer the case as witnessed when skaters from all over converged on Charlotte North Carolina to make that areas first skate party a record-breaking event. “A LOT HAS BEEN LOST ALONG THE WAY”
“In the beginning, these parties were mainly for networking - bringing skaters together...Now at some parties you feel like you are at a regular skate session in your own city,” said Donna of SOWs. She believes that a lot has been lost along the way and that some of today’s events are not as appealing as parties used to be when they were few and far between. Now there is at least one major event per month, if not more than one, and of course the more parties there are, the more chances for some to be scheduled close to another or even the same weekend. When that happens, the result can be what occurred in 2000 over Labor Day Weekend. That year, J&J decided to do something a little different and hold their event in Virginia Beach instead of Atlanta. They noticed attendance had started slipping and wanted to move the party to another area for one year in the hopes that would rekindle interest in Skate-A-Thon. To this day, John & Joi wish they could take that decision back due to the confusion that resulted amongst skaters. The confusion arose when two other Atlanta organizers decided to host separate parties in the stead of Skate-A-Thon. So, all in all, there were three events that weekend, two in Atlanta and the J&J party in Virginia Beach. Joi recalls that many skaters who went to Atlanta were not aware that those parties were not the annual J&J event they were accustomed to. Donna from SOWs remembers that people were so scattered they didn’t know which party their friends were at and even today some confusion remains as there are two annual events held in Atlanta. “Who wants to go there twice for national skate parties? Why can’t they come together?” she asked. In St. Louis, many groups come together to make the city’s extravaganza special for out of town guests. One group takes charge of the food, another group handles the hospitality, and others handle additional functions but it’s all for a unified purpose. Many skaters recognize and admire the cohesiveness that St. Louis groups exemplify. In contrast, Detroit also has two or more major clubs hosting events, but there is little controversy since the other group (Detroit Rhythmic Rollers) does not plan its events around the time of the well-established Detroit Connection’s October bash. They hold their annual event every Memorial Day Weekend and usually the event is held outside of the state of Michigan with much success. So it is possible for separate groups within the same area to host successful events without conflict and controversy - respect, courtesy and a little skate etiquette appear to be the keys. Johnny (J&J) admires the groups that work smoothly together in that they are free of the controversies that so many have evidenced amongst Atlanta organizers. His advice to newcomers is to time their parties right. “It’s not good to plan a party too close to another city’s party, i.e., if one city always has had their annual party on a certain date or weekend, it is unwise to plan a party for that same date.” He recalls that even when he and Joi decided to take Skate-A-Thon to Virginia Beach they made sure in advance that what they had in mind would not conflict with any events local organizers may have planned. That is the type of consideration organizers should remain cognizant of, especially as the skate calendar continues to expand. Back to IndexOTHER TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL EVENTS
Have two admission lines: one for advance tickets and one for door sales. This will help get skaters into the rink in a more timely manner. Have food for your guests who will be skating 4-5 hours. “The least you can do is feed them.” Be consistent on state/city roll calls, i.e., some states have cities that do not want to skate together, so if you cannot accommodate every state/city, do not play favorites for just a few. Do the same for all or do for none. In addition to these tips, there are other things The Big 3 organizers have learned from or changed over the years. Joi says an agenda for the night’s events is a MUST for all organizers and even though it may not be possible to follow it exactly, it ensures things will flow smoothly instead of haphazardly and without direction. In St. Louis, Donna states that performances and shows were part of their extravaganzas in the beginning but they chose to discontinue them after many skaters expressed that they mainly wanted to roll and not sit on the side observing. They also added an extra hour to the event so diehards had five hours to skate instead of four. Detroit originally hosted a skate function only but starting in 1997 they added a new feature to their event: a ‘Dress-to-Impress’ dance the night before the big skate. The dance gives skaters the opportunity to strut their stuff and be seen in other than spandex, tights, jeans, T-shirts and the usual skate attire. In 1997, their first combo event drew 400 to the dance and close to 1000 to the skate party while in 2001 the dance hall was filled with 800 guests and the following night more than 1500 packed the skating rink. Unlike St Louis, The Detroit Connection has always featured performances and shows from local and guest skaters as a big part of their event. They prefer this to the skate contests that are popular at many of today’s parties. CONTESTS - ARE THEY WORTH THE EFFORT?
“We did contests mainly for fun but some are taking it SO seriously and getting upset when they do not feel the one who was awarded the trophy was the best,” Donna said. “As we grow, we do our best not to cause animosity or jealousy...the winner is not necessarily the best, it is the one who grabbed the judges’ attention.” Joi says that J&J has never held contests because they take too long and because of how they have to be handled. “It is hard to judge 30 people on the floor at one time and of course, it would take too much time to give each individual two minutes for their personal routine.” In place of that, J&J gives out surprise trophies for categories that are unknown to the skaters until the night of Skate-A-Thon. Categories like Oldest Pair of Skates, Best Senior, Sexiest Woman/Man - categories that are more for fun and surprise. But even with that, there are some skaters who take them as seriously as the standard contests. The year J&J went to Virginia, Johnny remembers that in the Sexiest Woman contest, there was a tie between two female skaters. In J&J contests, the crowd chooses the winner and he and Joi had trouble determining which of the two received the loudest cheer, so while they conferred about it, one of the two finalists came up and snatched the trophy and walked away with it. Johnny said they did not make a big deal out of it because it really was intended to be for fun, but apparently there are some in the skate world who add another dimension to the phrase “serious skater.” Back to IndexTHE DRUG OF CHOICE
In some cities skate fiends are at the rink three, four or even five times a week to get their roll on. Many keep up with what is happening in “their” skate world by regularly checking websites like Roller Skating Today, Skate Groove.com and a growing list of other sites. As Johnny Perkins says, skating is truly “the drug of choice” for many diehards - including himself. At the age of 43, he has been skating for more than 20 years, and like so many skaters, he looks half his age and proudly confesses that skating is as big to him today as it was back in the 1980s during the roller skating craze. Joi has also been skating for more than 20 years and finds it to be a great stress reliever. Skating and seeing her skate friends regularly at the rink helped her through a rough time after the death of a close family member. Donna, a skater for 35 years, agrees that skating reduces stress while providing an escape from what is going on in the world outside of the rink. And to top it off, it is good exercise! Just ask Percitia (Percy) Grant of Atlanta. After having her second child she was up to 200 pounds, but now she is slimming back down and that has much to do with her weekly routine of skating EVERY Friday and Sunday night. She’s back to the sport she has much passion for and says that what she loves most about it is that it provides a support system to meet and develop friendships with people of different ages and backgrounds. EVERYBODY KEEP GETTING YOUR ROLL ON
The skate circuit has grown from The Big 3 to many other cities who have locked down their own annual weekends including The Nati Skate Train of Cincinnati, Ohio who, since 1997, have hosted a function every first weekend in August. Also, The Detroit Rhythmic Rollers recently hosted their 7th annual Memorial Day Weekend Event, so these two groups along with The Big 3 make up what could be called The Big 5 who have been organizing skate extravaganzas for six years or more. This roll down memory lane is for all the skate lovers who continue
to roll from city to city, event to event, making new friends, learning
new steps, awing the spectators, renewing their love for the great sport
of QUAD ROLLER SKATING! Where did it all begin? J&J Skate
Productions, The Detroit Connection and Skills on Wheels. Props to
The Big 3!
*NOTE: The Detroit Connection is a separate group from Detroit Connection Now, the group who, in 2002, began hosting that city’s October event. Back to Index
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