Junior roller skiers in action

Roller ski racing

International sprint racing

Junior rollerski programme

From Programme Organiser - Felicity Bertram
Head Coach - Ekaterina Rachel

I'm Flic and I administer and coach the junior programme. I've been a junior rowing coach for the past 10 years, and took on this project to bring the great sport of rollerskiing and cross-country skiing to teenagers in London and Windsor. If you want to get involved or have any questions - athletes or parents - then e-mail me, felicity@rollerski.co.uk

Why?

Roller skiing is a sport for everyone - involving endurance, strength and agility. You can either cruise around smoothly on wheels to relax, or race around as a challenge. It's based on cross-country skiing and, if you do it correctly, it's very easy to transfer roller ski skills onto snow.

Cross-country skiing is great fun, and the fitness you will gain from this ultimate strength-endurance sport is superb both in sport and life. As with most things in life, the more you put in, the more you will get out.

* Cross-country skiing / roller skiing is a physically intense strength-endurance activity that requires huge amounts of cardiovascular fitness;
* Power is required from all four limbs and from the core muscles, and elite skiers have recorded the highest VO2max scores in tests;
* Elsewhere in the world, cross-country skiing is widely used as cross training for elite athletes from other endurance sports such as triathlon, cycling and rowing. The GB rowing and canoeing teams have regular on-snow cross-country ski training camps.

For more information, or to register your interest, please e-mail flic@rollerski.co.uk or 07736 408749. Please don't hesitate to get in contact.

Sessions

We currently have a group of juniors training in Richmond Park on Wednesday evenings at 17:30, and in the future we would be keen to establish other groups at various locations across London – including Hyde Park and Dulwich Park.

Roller-skiing and cross country skiing require endurance, strength and agility, so as well as roller-skiing during the sessions, we also work on these in the sessions with games and exercises. This training does a lot to support skiers' other sports.

The first phase is technique focused, and assumes zero prior knowledge. Key elements are building up balance, technique and skiing concepts to relate rollerskiing to skiing on snow.

Coaches

The main coaches are Ekaterina and Felicity. Ekaterina was a successful junior skier in Russia before coming over to teach Russian in the UK, while Felicity has many years of experience from coaching junior rowers, and now puts her enthusiasm into cross country skiing.

We have many other excellent and experienced instructors who are also involved occasionally. All coaches are CRB checked and insured, qualified by Snowsport England and follow the SSE Child Protection Policy.

Future plans

We intend to enter the summer rollerski race series in London this year, and possibly also go to a few races further afield. We hope some athletes will also take the opportunity to join the 'British Nordic Development Squad' and attend their training camps at various locations across the country, and on snow.

THE PROGRAMME

• The first session is free, to give you a chance to try it out without obligation - we are sure you will be back for more!
• Thereafter junior club fees are payable by standing order. Please e-mail flic@rollerski.co.uk for a membership form and details of this.
• Fees are currently £30/month for 1 session per week.
• Fees have been set to cover costs of equipment (purchase and maintenance), coaching and supervision. We aim to have all juniors racing, and want to prepare them as well as possible. Fees may be reduced if we can secure external funding support or sponsorship.
• Race entry fees, and additional events such as holiday courses and extra day trips may incur additional costs.

Safety

When roller-skiing, children should wear helmets, gloves and knee and elbow pads. You may already have some of these items, but advice on purchasing these can be given.

Roller-skiing requires the use of ski-poles with a metal tip and travelling at speed on wheels. Juniors will be expected to be sensible during sessions to ensure their safety and the safety of others.

When skiing after dark, lights and fluorescent clothing are also essential. Skiers should bring their own lights - we may have a few spare, but if skiers don't have lights they may not be able to attend the session.