"How do I get started?"
Click on our Practice Calendar and find any of our Saturday Practices and stop in and check it all out. At that practice you can request a team packet which has all of our rules, regulations and guidelines.
We always start our skaters out at the Saturday practice and then increase their practices as they progress. Weekly progression is noted by the coaching staff and that determines the qualifications for attending more advanced practices.
We have skaters all ages and all abilities from tiny-tot's toddling around at practices to senior citizens that range from recreation or fitness skaters all the way up to skaters competing in the World Championships. We have something for every age and every ability.
As coming into a new sport or a new team can seem overwhelming we have a buddy system at our Saturday practices to ensure that no skater is left out or feeling alone. Our buddy system rotates so that everyone gets a chance to work with everyone else.
We do open and close our practices in prayer. It is God who has given us these gifts and abilities and we like to keep God included in all that we do and through it all do our best to shine for Him.
The national governing body for roller speed skating here in the United States is USA Roller Sports. This is the organization we hold a club charter with as well as coaching certifications and it is the main organization we have our athletes memberships through. USA Roller Sports aka USARS is the only roller speed skating organization which is able to field a World Championship Team to compete at Worlds. There are other organizations that exists but are not nationally recognized as the main governing body and we do hold a charter, coaching certification and team members with and do compete in a few of those competitions as well.
Our regular practice season runs from September-June. Our regular competition season begins in October and goes through May. After May we gear up for the Great Lakes Regional Championships which are held in mid May and in June we gear up for the USA Roller Sports National Indoor Championships which takes place around the second to third weeks in July. We also prepare for our World Team trials which is also our Outdoor National Championships which is held anywhere between May & September depending on when the World Championships will be held in each year.
The level at which you choose to participate is entirely up to you! We have a lot of skaters in every walk of life from beginner recreation skaters to World Class competitors! We have beginner competitions all the way up to World Championship Competitions! Competition is absolutely NOT required by any means! We have lots of skaters that come just for fitness and we love it!
There are two leagues that we participate in and one is a Beginner League known as the MRSO, Michigan Roller Skating Organization, which is designed to be an introduction to competition. The MRSO is a stand alone league and is not affiliated with any of the governing bodies. The other league we participate in is the GLSL, Great Lakes Speed League, which is a step up and a lead into higher level competitions from the MRSO but is a part of our governing body, USA Roller Sports ( www.usarollersports.org ). MRSO is not a part of the governing body. USA Roller Sports hosts our Regional and National Competitions as well as our Team USA World Team Tryouts. All of our skaters competing in the GLSL are required to purchase a membership in USA Roller Sports. The MRSO competitions are generally the 3rd Sunday of every month beginning in October and going through May. The May competition is the State Meet and signifies the end of the MRSO competition season. The GLSL competition calendar has always been a different Sunday of the month than the MRSO. Once we have dates for both leagues we will post them so that you can plan your season. The second governing body is the USRSS and holds its own leagues with their own series of races. Here in the Great Lakes that is known as the Midwest Point Series.
We have an open drop-in policy with no commitments required! The first practice is free and each practice after that is just $5.00 per skater. Team information packets are available at all times.
To attend their first practice, skaters would need to bring their skates and a bicycle helmet and would need to wear a t-shirt and preferably spandex shorts however, I know most people struggle putting on spandex their first few times so basketball style shorts are permitted for the first few times. There are rollerblades that are owned by the rink, if need be, the team does currently own a very few pairs of speed skates for the skaters to try out with very limited sizing. The rink also has some helmets to borrow but selection is limited.
We do have a Team Information Packet and should a skater choose to join the team there is a small, $25 annual, team fee. A perk of joining the team is that team members get a team ID badge which allows them to skate ALL public sessions at Tarry Hall Roller Rink for a very reduced rate!! All participation for competitions is by choice only, never force! The only catch is they must attend practices once a month and must be current on their practice fees to access their free public sessions.
We do use Facebook as well as Team Snap for smart phones to contact our team. www.facebook.com/WestMichiganWolverines and you can get the Team Snap App for free on your smart phone by going to your app store and searching "Team Snap". Once downloaded you can search under teams for "Wolverines Speed Team". Team Snap and Facebook are our main forms for quickest and easiest group communication. You will never receive a group text from us!!
We will be posting to both Facebook and our website as we close in on the start of our 2017/2018 season! In the meantime, if you have anymore questions, feel free to contact me at skatewolverines@gmail.com
Thank you for your interest!!
