The last time Calgary hosted the national competition was in 1997. Tyler Congdon, head coach of Calgary’s inline club and vice-president of speedskating for Roller Sports Canada, says finalists from July’s event will head to the world championships in Colombia in October.

Speed competitions were first held in Canada in the 1970s on roller skates. Even with the switch to inline skates enabling sprinters to reach speeds upwards of 50 kilometres per hour, Canadians are small players on the global racing scene.

Read more here: Calgary hosting inline championships

Photo from Grant Black, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald

A group of skaters from Montreal & Toronto raced in this past weekend’s Eastern Seaboard Series in Trexlertown.

Herb Gayle won the Pro Masters & Veterans race while Stephan Charron placed 4th in the race, good enough for 3rd in the Pro Masters category.

Heb Gayle (4th in green) & Stephane Charron (6th in green) race in the Pro Masters & Veterans category- photo from Peter Doucet/ SpeedSkateWorld

Brigitte Beaudy won the Pro Master women’s race.

Peter Doucet topped the Pro Senior men’s race, beating out top US skaters on his way to the top of the podium. Doucet was involved in a number of breakaways.

In the Pro Senior women’s race, Morgane Echardour came about 1/2 a skate shy of stepping on the 3rd step of the podium. Echardour drove a hard pace for the women, causing many skaters to drop out of the lead group. However, Echardour came short in the sprint, settling for 4th place.

• 2010 ESS results
• Pictures from Peter Doucet
• Keith Carroll’s race report
• Dave Dolnick’s pictures

Canadian skaters together after the race- photo from SpeedSkateWorld

Race conditions were excellent for the Thunder Bay Half Marathon this morning. The 7:00 am gun was even more challenging for the top 3 finishers. All had body-clocks reading one hour earlier, due to the time change. The course is rolling-hills with a beautiful Lake Superior view, to make up for the rude awakening.

Read more here: Race Report: Thunder Bay Half Marathon