Roller skating in decline in the US.

Roller skating in decline in the US. Image by Chad Kainz / CC BY 2.0

For many it dates back to a time of neon leg warmers and Michael Jackson hits, but urban roller skating is alive and well and happening in decades-old skating rinks around the US from Los Angeles to Atlanta. That is, if the rinks haven’t closed already. A vibrant subculture of urban roller skating is at risk if skate rinks keep closing. ‘There are a lot of rinks closing around the country because they aren’t open to this community. In many big cities, there’s no rinks left,’ says Dyana Winkler, a filmmaker working on a documentary called ‘United Skates’. Despite the rink closures, some say the culture is getting even stronger. Read more: reuters.com