What's New

March 24th
2002

We had a great day for the 'City to Surf' and most of our group once again skated this popular event.
Chris was the second to finish in a time of 29 minutes and everyone else improved significantly on previous times.
Sam arrived in 37 minutes, followed by Sue & Mary in 41 and Marie in 49.
A great effort by all concerned!

March 17th
2002

Finally the weather was suitable for a skate into the park using the Northcote to Riccarton cycleway. The last couple of times we've attempted to get together for this it's rained shortly before we started.
This time it was a brilliantly fine afternoon and we skated into the park for our usual Sunday skate.
We felt so good afterwards that we even skated home again!

November 11th
2001

Another great afternoon with really warm conditions after yesterdays morning rain. It was good to see a few new faces joining us for todays skate.
The new pathway alongside Harper Ave has been completed between Park Terrace and Fendalton Road. This is a wide path with a lot less traffic than some of those through the centre of the park. We've used it at the start of our route the last couple of weeks and it's really good for those wanting a good fast run.

September 16th
2001

Today was a fantastic day to get into the park, warm spring weather, tee shirts and shorts, daffodils in bloom and great company. We stopped for icecreams at the 'Boatsheds' and once again had a few races on the netball courts before heading into Victoria Square, where the gentle ramps and pathways always make for good skating. We then went into Cathedral Square to see the 'Chalice' (a recently unveiled artwork celebrating the new millennium and the 150^th Anniversary of the founding of Christchurch and Canterbury). We headed for home around 4.30 after a most enjoyable afternoon.

August 12th
2001

The last three Sunday skates have been really good, with fine warmer weather and dry paths. We set up marker cones for slalom type activites and even ran a few impromptu relay races the last couple of weeks. It was good to see everyone having a go at something different. Dave arrived wearing his 'Off-road' skates (with 150mm pneumatic tyres). click here for photo.
Some of us have skated into the park the last few weeks on the Northcote-Riccarton cycleway. Sealing of the last section has now been completed between Fendalton & Riccarton Roads making it a great way to get into the city for those living near it.

July 1st
2001

The day was clear and calm so it was great to get into the park again after a couple of 'rained out' weekends. It was also good to see all the familiar faces again. Paths were fairly dry except for a few stretches in South Hagley where the mud dropped from sports boots made it fairly slippery.

June 3rd
2001

The paths were still damp in places after overnight rain but were still skateable provided you avoided the occasional puddle.
Our numbers were swelled by speedskaters from Christchurch, Nelson and Timaru who were attending a weekend training session here and decided to join us. Click here for photos.

May 8th
2001

FREE Buy & Sell Adverts:

'SK8GEAR' offers a Free 'Buy & Sell' Advertising service to individuals wishing to advertise skating related items. To view what's currently listed or post an advert click here.

April 29th
2001

Inline Skating Lessons:

Robert is now offering inline skating lessons for beginner to intermediate level skaters.
He is available any fine day during daylight hours for a very reasonable $10 per hour.

If you are interested, contact him by Email or Phone 366-1697 to arrange a time.

March 26th
2001

We skated the Christchurch Star 'City to Surf'.
All skaters did really well and arrived home in good times.

Congratulations to Jono who was the second to finish in a time of under 30 minutes and also Shane who was fifth.

February
2001

New Website:- New idea ??? Not really.

When travelling around Christchurch I often see Inline Skaters moving along footpaths, up and down driveways and even occasionally braving traffic to travel on the roads. While 'Aggressive' skaters tend to congregate at the skateparks in various parts of the city, there doesn't seem to be any particular meeting place for Recreational/Fitness skaters.
About six months ago our family started skating through Hagley Park on Friday evenings and sometimes in the weekends. After a while we started seeing the same familiar faces along the footpaths and cycleways, often going in the opposite direction or arriving just as we were about to head for home.
Wouldn't be great if we could meet informally, say... once a week and all skate together !
Hagley Park is a good central location with many well formed 'shared' pathways - and good grassed areas to fall onto if you really lose it !
Skating as a group is not only fun, but also gives newer skaters the chance to see more experienced skaters in action and improve their own technique in the process.
Skating in a group also provides a degree of 'critical mass' and you are much less likely to be bullied by that occasional cyclist who insists on riding down the centre of the path knowing that the lone skater will be intimidated into getting out of their way !
Well ... that's about it. We will be there on fine Sunday afternoons at 2pm (also Friday evenings at 6pm during the summer) and will generally loiter around the Armagh Street Bridge on Park Terrace for a while to see who turns up.
Maybe we will see you !

Chris.