In Rennes, the Rennes sur Roulettes event hopes to find roller-skating enthusiasts after two editions canceled due to Covid-19.
At deconfinement, roller skating offered a return of hype with sales that exploded in France and elsewhere.
Very popular in the 1990s and 2000s, skating had somewhat disappeared from the radar.
The unexpected return of the quad finally made it possible to talk again about this very varied discipline.
The manufacturers were the first surprised.
While the successive confinements limited us in our travels and our leisure activities, a sport that had fallen into oblivion has become fashionable again for a few months: rollerblading.
Very popular in the 90s and 2000s, the practice had almost disappeared from our streets, in favor of scooters, bicycles and skateboards.
Has the Covid-19 epidemic revived roller skating?
Yes, if we stick to the mind-blowing sales figures.
In 2020 and 2021, brands like Rollerblade or Oxelo (Decathlon) saw their stocks run out and sales increase by up to +600%.
A trend that Rennes sur Roulettes intends to surf.
Absent for two years, the great event of rollerblading, skateboarding and scooters will bring together all who ride for two days on the Esplanade de Gaulle [see box].
“We feel that there is a craze, expectation.
Many athletes have been deprived of competition during these two years, ”says Damien Lahaye, who is in charge of organizing the event.
Sales boom of 600%, 50,000 pairs sold in one week in France, out of stock, millions of views: star of social networks and at the top of sales, rollerblading is back ➡️ https://t.co/ f8dFGWIh0w @GoRollerblade @Flaneurz @OxeloOfficial @Decathlon @PS_Matter pic.twitter.com/0D6m3EmNNr
— FF Roller Skateboarding (@FFRollerSkate) May 25, 2020
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To better understand this return to form, we ran after these new practitioners.
But no matter how hard we looked, we found no trace of a pair of rollerblades in the streets of Rennes.
To approach this endangered species, we had to push the doors (which were already open) of the Poterie gymnasium.
In the warmth of a stormy Wednesday evening, a big score of sweaty men handled the stick and the puck for a game of hockey.
“There are fashions.
Lots of people have bought it but maybe they didn't realize it's not that easy.
There is a fashion effect.
But that doesn't really translate into the number of licensees, ”says Vincent, one of the club's supervisors.
The founder of the 9dot8 association Cédric Le Bihan does not share the same opinion.
Since the Covid, its structure has gained 30% of members and had to refuse a large number of registrations, especially among adults.
“Brittany is one of the regions with the largest number of clubs, there is a real dynamic.
What we lack is infrastructure”.
The association currently has 600 members, compared to around 200 for the Cercle Paul Bert.
The two structures offer the varied palette of the discipline: street, slalom, sprint or even hiking.
“Skating has suffered from the emergence of scooters and bicycles”
Exactly the hike.
For more than twenty years, a roller-skating ride has been organized every Thursday evening in Rennes.
In the golden years after the year 2000, there were up to 500 participants at each outing.
In 2022, the Rennes Rollers section is struggling to retain ten practitioners.
“Skating has suffered from the emergence of scooters and bicycles.
It is difficult to explain why the practice did not continue.
I think that rollerblading is not seen as a means of transport.
Rather like a hobby, ”says Olivier Saluden, the only one to still keep a dormant association alive.
His observation is clear: “the enormous sales did not bring people to rollerblading.
I think the skates are in the closets”.
“It's not always seen as a convenient means of travel.
In the few skateparks in the Breton capital, fans of “aggressive” rollerblading have not resurfaced either.
"I have the impression that we see a little more but it's not phew", slips Malo, skateboard under the foot.
Very popular in the 2000s, roller skating suffered a violent backlash linked to its industry.
After equipping all enthusiasts, brands like Salomon or Fila were unable to sustain their business and withdrew from the market, suffering an uninterrupted decline in practice.
Only hope: the return to form of the quad, which had been buried by inline skating.
Driven by the popularity of roller dancing, roller derby and made famous by the Disney series Soy Luna, the discipline has resurfaced in recent years.
This weekend, the organizers of Rennes sur Roulettes hope to take the opportunity to convince people to bring out their quads and rollerblades during the big family outings organized on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
“We see that parents want to support their children.
We reach a new audience with teenagers, who are inspired by social networks.
There is a return of the culture of the 90s, we must take advantage of it, ”assures Damien Lahaye.
The opportunity, perhaps, to find the trace of these thousands of pairs sold during the pandemic.
We bet there is a little dust.
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Two days to ride and slide
Installed on the Esplanade de Gaulle, the Rennes sur Roulettes event will show all that the discipline has to offer: inline skating races, freestyle competitions, demonstrations of scooters, BMX, skateboarding and even a roller skating evening. dance from 10 p.m. Saturday on the esplanade.
Free event.
Company
Sport
Roller
Skateboard
Scooter
Extreme sport
Confinement
Deconfinement
Covid-19
reindeer
Brittany