Word: skates
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...sport is also producing some big winners among companies that make skates and related equipment. Until recently, the industry consisted of three or four firms that together had seldom sold more than a million pairs a year. Now skate sales are running at about 300,000 pairs a month, and new suppliers are plunging into the field...
...sport's growth has been the improved quality of the skates themselves. Equipped with the quiet and smooth-rolling polyurethane wheels and precision ball bearings that were developed for skateboards, the new skates have better traction and more maneuverability than the noisy metal strap-on models that kids used to rattle around on. Says Harry Ball, 61, president and owner of the California-based Sure-Grip Skate Manufacturing Co., which this year will double its 1978 sales of over $5 million: "The new skate is no longer a toy but a piece of athletic equipment...
Outdoor rollerskating also profits from the summer weather, whereas ice skating is restricted to cold rinks or even more frigid ponds. A rollerskater can enjoy the sun and the freedom of the streets, or he can skate at night--when the roads are all deserted...
Gary Ramus, owner of Roller Power, said yesterday his business has been booming since he opened five weeks ago. He said he had enjoyed skating last year in California so much he decided to open a store in Massachusetts: "Boston and Cambridge were ready for something new, a new form of exercise, a new way of getting high." He added that while the mechanics of roller wheels and bearings are related to those of skateboards, the sport itself is completely different. Skateboarding appeals more to young daredevils, but everyone can enjoy rollerskating. Since most people skate as children, they...
Carol Monica, owner of The Games People Play, decided just yesterday to try skating with her niece, Monica Karpowish, she said. "I haven't skated in 28 years," she added, "but I skated a lot when I was little and I thought it would all come back." It must have, because she had no much fun she plans to skate everyday for exercise...