Freestyle slalom skating


Freestyle slalom skating is a highly technical field of roller skating that involves performing tricks around a straight line of equally spaced cones. The most common spacing used in competitions is, with larger competitions also featuring lines spaced at and.

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 other variations of the rocker set-up 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 common way to rocker your wheels is by putting larger wheels in the center and smaller wheels on each end. An example of this is having 80 mm wheels in the 2nd and 3rd position and 76 mm in the front and back. A short frame is used to give the skate the maximum possible maneuverability. Inline skates used for slalom have a very tight fit with a strong cuff, to give sustained ankle support. Popular skates used in the past include the FSK skate range by Salomon, now unavailable. The market is now arguably dominated by Seba skates, formed by a world class slalom skater; other brands such as Powerslide and RollerBlade also offer popular slalom skate models.

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
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.