FOLLOW ME: Khoo leading the boys on a tandem
skate. - Pictures by Munira Abdul Ghani. |
Skateline Malaysia's recent Saturday Night Skate in Putrajaya was
a great opportunity to socialise, get some exercise and, better yet,
contribute to a good cause. K. RAHMAH met a record-breaking skater
too.
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| HANGING ON: One little girl wouldn't let go
of her anchor. |
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| GEARING UP: Safety is
paramount. |
MEET Khoo Swee Chiow, who just broke the world record for the
longest journey on skates, travelling from Vietnam to Singapore.
What’s more, he only just learned to skate nine months
ago.
With a little help from Skateline Singapore and various
other organisations, Khoo managed to skate 6,000km. In red
lycra.
A high achiever, Khoo has climbed Mount Everest and
travelled to both poles.
But the humble Khoo said that that didn’t make him any less
clumsy as he still fell down quite a bit while he was learning to
skate.
To celebrate his success, Skateline Malaysia featured
Khoo as its guest skater at its recent Saturday Night Skate (SNS) to
raise funds for United Voices.
United Voices promotes
self-advocacy as well as training and creating employment for people
with learning disabilities including Down’s Syndrome, autism,
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and cerebral
palsy.
At the SNS, held in Putrajaya, everyone present was
asked to donate RM10.
As Skateline loaned out equipment for
free, all proceeds went to United Voices.
A lot of the
participants that night were children. Some had just learned to
skate a few days before but were already whizzing about like they’d
been born with wheels strapped to their feet.
SNS is modelled
after other skate events like the huge Pari Roller in France, a
non-profit event that evolved from skaters meeting up to skate
through Paris every Friday night in order to see the city and meet
new people. Now it resembles a massive, moving party with crowds
reaching up to 35,000 during their three-hour tour.
Berlin
has a similar event in the summer called Sunday Skate Night with
crowds numbering as many as 10,000.
SNS in Putrajaya was
created with the same independent, fun-loving spirit in mind. It is
one of the many events organised by Skateline Malaysia that allows
Malaysian skaters to meet other skaters to socialise, get some
exercise in safety as well as work towards a good cause while having
fun.
Originally meant for a way to train off-rink for
ice-hockey players, it has since developed into various disciplines
— from the adrenaline-fuelled stunts of aggressive skating to the
more relaxed group skating.
Still, as fun as skating is, it
can also seem pretty intimidating at times. Not every one is as
casual as Khoo about falling down.
Thankfully, Skateline also
organises skate classes.
The fees are RM160 for three-week
classes with unlimited hours, free use of equipment and instructors
accredited with the Inline Certification Programme.
Who
knows, you might meet someone who might just tell you how they
managed to climb a mountain, swim the Straits of Malacca, break a
world record or where to find some very attractive Lycra-mix
fabrics.
Saturday nights will never be the same
again.
Skateline Malaysia is located in Taman Tun Dr Ismail,
KL. It’s open from Tuesday to Friday (noon to 8pm) and Saturdays and
Sundays (8am to 8pm). Call 03-7727-7758 or log on to
www.skateline.com.my.
If you want to get involved in
United Voices or make a donation to their cause, go to
www.unitedvoices.com.my, call 03-7958-8069 or e-mail
info@unitedvoice.com.my.
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