Skate to Ski skill transfer could be key to your success!

By Nancy E. Cook – Alpine L3 – Stowe Mountain, Vermont

Let’s go back in time to the 1970s where roller skating was on the rise in popularity and every week, skate nights were held at places like the Broadacres Roller Rink in Colchester, Vermont.  The disco music would be blaring as we slipped on the  4-wheeled skates with brake on the front toe.  We would conjugate with our friends and learn to skate and try to do tricks like Shoot the Duck, Grapevine and Backwards skating.  Performing new tricks on the rink was like being on stage and we had so much fun!  I remember the music, the fun, the friends and learning many of those tricks on skates.  

Fast forward to 2007 when I met my husband, Steve Cook who is an avid inline skater and PSIA Examiner.  Coronado Beach, California was the location where we bought inline skates to enjoy the area.  We spent our honeymoon working on short radius turns, combining balance, pressure, rotation with the proper stance all add to an efficient skating technique.  At home I continued to grow my skills in the sport with our weekly sessions on the Norwottuck Bike Path in Western Mass, where we found the perfect downhill section to skate.  Using the skills originally learned in my childhood were now transferring to a sport that will enhance my skiing!

In 2017 Rollerblade joined forces with US Ski & Snowboard, the Professional Ski Instructors of America, and the National Ski Patrol to develop a world class off-season cross-training program.  The Skate to Ski Program, launched in April of 2019, leads you through a training that will help develop transferable skills to enhance and grow your skills as an alpine skier.  The program goes into detail using a 4 stage progression to build on these skills.  The Skate to Ski App is available for download on the App Store and Google Play. For more information on Skate to Ski, video testimonials and more link here: https://www.rollerblade.com/USA/skate-to-ski/ 

Last summer was the third year of offering Skate to Ski clinics in the Northeast.  Billy Shreve PSIA Development team member and Myles Corter-Sparrow from Rollerblade organized three events – two at Roundtop in 2017-18 with Bob Venditti and in 2019 at Camelback with Mark Absalom, reaching more than 100 participants.  We are looking to expand to more sites in New England and we’re having conversations with areas including Mt Wachusett in central Massachusetts to offer these events to our instructors, race coaches, ski racers and the public. 

 These events would give us the opportunity to connect our snow sport instructors and offer the introduction and advancement of these skate to ski skills and continue training that will benefit growth as a ski instructor in understanding movement patterns that are directly transferable to skiing.  This could be the edge you are looking for in training for your next level in PSIA or fine tuning your skiing skills! 

Are you ready to get rolling?   Consider this a “new sport” option or focus during this isolation!  Thank you to Rollerblade for being an official supplier and partner with PSIA.  There is a substantial discount on the Pro offers page located on www.thesnowpros.org.  Stay tuned for more information on Skate to Ski events in the near future! 

 If you are interested in hosting a Skate to Ski event in your location please contact Nancy Cook at nanskimtn0622@gmail.com 

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Dave Schuiling: PSIA-AASI Director of Education

“No other summer activities translate skills of skiing better than inline skating. Besides the benefits of strength and endurance, you can enhance the 5 key fundamentals of skiing through skating.\”

FACEBOOK GROUP:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/282412369320709/

Rollerblade® Skate to Ski Community

Skate to Ski YouTube Video Links: 

Doug Lewis Intro to the program 

Terrain Selection:

CVA promotion of the Skate to Ski program: 

Complete Youtube Skate to Ski Play list

This is a post of an article that I wrote published in the Spring 2020 edition of Snow Pro – The Official Publication of the Professional Ski Instructors of America Eastern / Educational Foundation.

If you are interesting in learning more about Skate to Ski and how it can improve your skiing technique and get you training for ski season next year please reach out and comment below!

Hope you enjoyed this article!