◁ Classes
ProGuide
Classes by Roller Louisiane
Team USA at Fun Nation in Lafayette, LA
Helpful Links
• Main & Check-In: RollerLouisiane.com/classes
• ProGuide (this): RollerLouisiane.com/proguide/classes
• Terms: Click Here • Groupe page: RollerLouisiane.com/groupe/classes
About
Classes are offered on Saturday mornings (10:05-11:00 AM) and on Monday evenings (6:00-7:00 PM) at Fun Nation in Lafayette, Louisiana. No equipment is needed, rentals come with the cost of classes ($15/Student), which is paid online through your account. You must sign in/up (create an account) on our site to accept the terms, conditions, and waivers needed for class for yourself and any dependents who may be participating.
Fun Nation is located at 4518 West Congress Street, Lafayette, LA 70506.
Ages
One of the hallmarks of roller sports is that we are not ageists. In fact, more than half of our country's athletes are adult athletes—whether as first time or returning athletes. Our classes honor this tradition of openness because we know the potential of each lies in the decisions each student makes. Vouloir, c'est pouvoir (to want to, is being able to).
Classes are open to, and usually comprised of, students of all ages—from youth and university students, to adults and parents, as well as locals and visitors. In our experience (35+ years), classes are best for students ages 5 years and up and if directed by an apprentice or coach, parental guidance (walking along the carpeted edge) may be required.
Apprentices
Our classes are led by both our apprentice, Annie Mahoney, and head coach, Brian Clary.
Anne "Annie" Mahoney, is a former student of our class program, a native of Bâton-Rouge, and a current competitive member athlete ("MA") representing our club, Roller Louisiane, and USA Roller Sports, our national governing body of roller sports in the USA. Annie is also a curator at Louisiana's Capitol Park Museum who designs, manages, and promotes exhibits of immense cultural and educational contributions to Louisiana. We are honored to have Annie as a member of our club's leadership and athletics.
Attendance
Students may choose to attend each week or à la carte (according to your schedule). When you arrive, enter the facility and proceed to the back and meet us floor-side. Early birds are welcome, especially if you need to rent skates.
Check-In
Students are required to check in and pay for class online prior to arrival or upon arrival using their own personal mobile device. Cash is not accepted. Click the image below to return to our Classes page and check in.
Coaches
It is my honor to serve as head coach of Roller Louisiane's programs in Lafayette. When I came up in skating, I learned, trained, and competed in all disciplines of artistic skating—figures, loops, solo dance, team dance, free dance, free skating (singles), and pairs—for the sole purpose of being the best pairs skater I could be. In 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, I was selected and honored to participate as an athlete with USA Roller Sports at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 2003, I represented the USA in pairs (clip below) for Team USA at the World Championships in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I ranked 6th in the world.
Skating opened the world to me and taught me more than a single blog post could ever cover and it is why I returned to the sport in 2021 to start Louisiana's only club (for now).
MY LANGUAGES
• français (native, fluent)
• English (native, fluent)
• Español (advanced)
• Deutsch (advanced)
• Italiano (advanced)
• Português (intermediate)
We are supported by my dear friend, Siobhán Jordan (images), of Dallas, Texas, who is a registered coach of our club with USA Roller Sports who visits us quarterly to help with our classes and athletics development as well as support us as we compete in her specializations: figures, loops, and dance.
Curriculum
My experiences at the Olympic Training Center ("OTC") greatly informed the athlete I became and the coach I am today. Our classes follow the same logic in increments, allowing for Students of the general public and future athletes to layer their learning and achieve the goals most relevant to each student. It is a marriage between the values I learned growing up with the progressive approaches needed for innovation over the decades.
We introduce, layer, and build upon elements that we group into three categories: C1, C2, and C3.
C1
All C1-level elements lay the foundation of roller skating in a rink—meaning, C1 elements cover rink etiquette, floor etiquette, care and maintenance of equipment, and of course: skating—starting, stopping, and all forward-skating elements, in both sinistral (aka "all-skate") and dextral (aka "reverse") floor flows.
Image: C1 Elements
C2
All C2-level elements cover transitions (forward to backward) and matches all C1 elements (forward) with their backward-skating equivalent. Upon successfully demonstrating C1 and C2 elements, the student/family may opt to graduate or decide to continue with Roller Louisiane as cadets (C3) in roller sports.
Image: C2 Elements
C3
Cadets are Students who have successfully demonstrated all C1 and C2 levels and opted to continue learning advanced roller skating elements designed for a future in roller sports. The C3 phase allows Students to continue learning while preparing for their first year (MA-1) in artistic (roller figure skating) with our club, and C3 allows Students to tackle all Athletics Requirements prior to graduating and joining our club, as an official member of Roller Louisiane and USA Roller Sports. During graduation, C3 students wear their athletics uniforms and new equipment (skates) or equipment approved by the head coach.
Image: C3 Elements
Equipment
Roller skates (quads) are provided for each class if you do not already have equipment and in some cases are required if your existing equipment is deemed limiting by the head coach. Inlines are not recommended or allowed for our classes due to their limitations. However, see sports below for alternatives if you're a die-hard inline skater.
Facility
Our host facility, Fun Nation, formerly known as Skate Zone, has served Lafayette, Louisiana, and surrounding parishes for more than 60 years. We are proud to carry on such an institution's legacy and make roller sports accessible for our next 100 years (2024 being our centennial) on behalf of Louisiana's locals and visitors.
Governance
Our classes program is designed by Roller Louisiane's head coach. Our classes and athletics programs are governed by the national governing body or National Federation (NF) of roller sports in the US: USA Roller Sports. All membre-athlètes (MAs) of our club, whether artistic or speed, are recognized as official athletes in the Olympic Movement, regardless of age, by USA Roller Sports, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), World Skate, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Sports
Roller Louisiane is an official roller sports club registered and insured with USA Roller Sports and recognized as such by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and specializes in two roller sports through which each athlete can register for testing and competition at the local, national, international, and Olympic level: Artistic (aka roller figure skating) and Speed Skating. For both sports, you can use our classes program to learn, build, and prepare for a career in roller sports.
Artistic
Artistic is the global and historic term for roller figure skating, which is more and more used at the national level by USA Roller Sports. Artistic skating is one of twelve roller sports at the global level governed by World Skate—the international federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Artistic is comprised of the most roller disciplines, from figures and loops to solo and team dance to singles and pairs, as well as precision, small show and large show groups. Learn more via the video below.
Vitesse
Speed Skating
Open to all levels, die-hards on inlines, and designed for those specifically interested in Speed Skating—you should consider Roller Louisiane Vitesse, our speed skating division, led by #teamUSA member and OTC athlete, Jenna Guidry, a native of Lafayette, whose classes and practices are held on Wednesdays from 6:00-7:30 PM and on Saturday evenings 6:00-7:30 PM.
Please contact Jenna directly for more information:
• Phone: 318 605 1334
• Email: jenna@jnbresource.com
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