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Freestyle slalom skating is a highly technical field of skating that involves performing tricks around a straight line of equally spaced cones. The most common spacing used in competitions is 80 cm, with larger competitions also featuring lines spaced at 50 cm and 120 cm.
Contents
Equipment
Most freestyle slalomers use inline skates although some use quad skates. Those who use inline skates tend to use a full rocker wheel configuration, however there are variations of the rockers which are used. Some skaters prefer to use a 'full hi-lo' rocker, which means the largest wheel is the second in from the back, with the smallest at the front. A short frame (230–245 mm)is used to give them the maximum possible maneuverability. The inline skates are very tight with a very strong cuff, to give sustaining ankle support. Popular skates used to include the FSK skate range by Salomon, now unavailable, the market is now dominated arguably by Seba skates, formed by a world class slalom skater, and other brands such as Powerslide and RollerBlade.
List of slalom moves
The list of basic moves from easiest to hardest. There are many more moves than the ones shown in the list, and many variations on how to complete each move. The names of these moves may differ between countries.
Basic
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Master
Instruction
Both the ICP and Skate IA offer slalom instructor certification programs which develop the ability of skaters and coaches in breaking down slalom tricks. They also expand instructors' ability in identifying and solving problems in slalom skating.
Instruction Manuals
The Art of Falling (ISBN 978-0692227374) by Naomi Grigg, a renowned freestyle slalom instructor and former champion freestyle slalom skater, was published in June 2014.