Planet News Archive For the week of Dec. 11 - 17, 2005 Monday
(Dec. 12, 2005)
A Better Way to Clean Bearings? - Just in time for  the holidays, Bont is coming out with a new electronic bearing cleaner. It's a hand-held, motorized device that cleans one bearing — standard or micro — at a time. Insert a bearing, dip it into a cleaning solution and press a button. The motor spins the bearing, cleaning out "all the dirt, oil and even mild rust." (Go to Planet storylet.) Suddenly Slim: Santa Attributes Weight Loss to Inline Skating - The formerly  obese holiday icon has transformed himself from stout to studly. How? "Simple. I bought some Rollerblades and gave up Christmas cookies." To fit his new lifestyle, Claus moved to Southern California. "I was sick of all the raindeer droppings anyway," he says. He will spread holiday cheer during the Huntington Beach Fun Roll on Dec. 17th. The skate starts at 10 a.m. at Huntington Beach Pier. Want to join the fun? Wear your antlers and bring some treats. (Go to Fun Roll site.) Rick Short Steps Down as Head of National Skate Patrol - Rick Short is stepping  down after a second stint as president of the National Skate Patrol. The International Inline Skating Association enlisted Short for the job late last year. But he says that with a family and two jobs, he no longer has time to handle the post. He has endorsed Angus Campbell to succeed him. Campbell used to lead the Central Park Skate Patrol. (Go to more news about governing bodies.) On the Forum
More Fun on Skates With the Forward T-Stop - One effective and fun way to stop — especially on speed skates — is the forward T-stop. ... Want to learn how? Read this. (Go to discussion.) Tuesday
(Dec. 13, 2005)
Organizers Push Ahead With Plans for 2006 A2A -  The Athens to Atlanta Road Skate looks like a go for 2006. Organizers have set an Oct. 1st date for the event and have developed a multi-tiered approach to entry fees which they hope will help resurrect the 25-year-old event. (Go to the Planet story.) South Dakota Roller Rink Survives by Diversifying - "Build it and they will come" — that was the plan when Rob and DeeAnn Brandner built their roller rink in Aberdeen, South Dakota. And the skaters did come. But like many rink owners, the Brandners found they had to do more than provide a smooth floor to keep the rink rolling. They started making pizzas and renting rooms for parties. These days, Rob likes to joke that they own a Chuck E. Cheese with skates. (Go to story from the Aberdeen News.) Wednesday
(Dec. 14, 2005)
Skate Coach: Putting the Power in Your Heel Stop -  If you've followed the first two parts of Kathy McSparran's series on the heel stop, you've learned the basics. Bend, scissors and brake. Now it's time to learn to make that brake pad sing. Burn rubber, baby! (Go to Kathy's latest Skate Coach column.) Another Hollywood Babe on Blades - What does Halle  Berry do when she's not making movies or collecting Academy Awards? Inline skating, for one thing. The 38-year-old actress reportedly loves to rollerblade near her Hollywood home. It's one way (another is yoga) she maintains her health despite a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. ... Berry is not the only Hollywood star on skates. Others include Melanie Griffith, Jessica Biel and Jenny McCarthy. (Go to Daily Mail story about Berry.) Thursday
(Dec. 15, 2005)
Long Beach Drops Its Inline Marathon - Inline  skating is no longer a part of the Long Beach Marathon. After a bruised inline history, organizers have decided to drop skaters from the 2006 event. They cited safety and racecourse logistics as the reasons. (Go to the Planet story.) Memory Card Group Signs on as Sponsor of Salomon World Cup Team - The  MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) has signed on as sponsor of Salomon's World Inline Cup team. The association sets standards for memory cards used in cell phones and other mobile devices. "There's a lot in common between our memory cards and Salomon's inline skating team, including speed, performance, dependability and that indefinable "coolness' factor," said MMCA chair Yves Leonard. So far, there has been no word on whether Saab will continue to sponsor the team in 2006. (Go to Salomon press release.) Friday
(Dec. 16, 2005)
The Missing Videos: Kathy Takes Us Down the Tunnel  - Yeah, sure. Kathy McSparran writes a pretty sweet piece of prose. But we like pictures around here. Videos even better. So we weren't about to hit the delete key when she sent us some movie clips to illustrate her latest Skate Coach column: Putting the Power in Your Heel Stop. Here's where you will find them. ... Maybe next time she'll send us some sound to go along with it? On the Forum
Go East, Long Beach Skaters! - Skaters supported the Long Beach Marathon this year, perhaps to the detriment of the a2a. Maybe now it's time to save the a2a. (Go to topic.) Saturday
(Dec. 17, 2005)
The Planet 2006 Event Calendar ... It's Going to be a Very Good Year! - We may have lost a  few events this year. But not to worry. 2006 is shaping up to be a great year for skaters. ... How do we know? We just put together the 2006 Planet Event Calendar. And it's loaded with stuff: inline marathons and races, skate weekends and tours, training events and seminars. And we're not done yet. We will continue to update the calendar as new events appear. (Go to the 2006 Event Calendar.) | 
