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Pandemic, TicTok Increase Popularity Of Roller Skating In Cache Valley

Young girl in red sweater roller skating
Steven Depolo, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Roller skating has been enjoyed by many since the 16th century, but because of the pandemic, the love of skating has skyrocketed.

The Cache Valley Fun Park hosts a disco skate night each week. Every Tuesday, skaters gather around to glide and boogie to disco music.

“I literally love skating so much. Like I come probably every week with my friends,” said Eliza Nemelka, a Utah State University student who regularly attends skate night. 

“I've been going to skate as long as as I have been DJing it, for about two and a half years now,” said Conor Nance, who said he has witnessed this spike in skating.

“The surge has just been huge in the amount of people that have been showing up every week.” said Nance. 

What has caused this newfound love? TikTok. The app, popular among teens and young adults, features videos of skaters learning and teaching their new tricks.

“I just saw all these Tik Tok videos of people skating and it's just so cute. And it's just such an aesthetic and it's so trendy,” Nemelka said. 

No matter your skating experience level, the sport continues to grow and all are welcome at the roller rinks.

“The more people that learn how to skate, the more people are having fun,” Nance said.