Sophie Conlon
An informal roller skating group that came together during the height of the pandemic as a safe way for friends to stay connected has grown into a community of avid skaters.
Steven Hateley skates at the Old Hospital Laundry every Sunday and shares his knowledge of the sport with anyone who drops by.
He said he and a friend would go there regularly to catch up and people started to come along to watch or join in.
“We just go there and people started coming along, and they couldn’t skate, but we knew how and more people started coming and now it’s still a thing,” he said.
“It’s a hobby that turned into a hobby that you can share with people, and I really like that.”
He encouraged anyone and everyone to come along and have a go and said roller skating was a fun and healthy activity for all ages.
“It’s not just children either, full grown adults come, at one point I had three generations of one family, so it was the grandparents, the parents and the children all came,” he said.
There are a few regular people who drop by, but Steven said there was always a mix of different people with different skills.
“It varies, there’s been some weeks when no one’s shown up, there’s some weeks where there’s two to five kids and there’s been some weeks when there’s been like 20,” he said.
Because it is an informal group, Steven said if children came their parents had to stay and watch as he could not be responsible for them.
“You’ve got days up there where family members are all in their deck chairs and they’ve got the esky,” he said.
One goal Steven has is to bring some formality to the group, which would include finding a better location and running scheduled classes.
“I’d like to see it taken to the next level, I have made enquiries around town about getting something indoors going,” he said.
“But that’s just really hard to get rolling.”
Steven said he felt a sense of pride seeing the children succeed and was glad to be giving back to the community he loved.
“I’ve been very privileged to receive things from the community in my lifetime so it is time you do put back into it, and I thought keeping the skating going if that’s the only thing I’m doing that’s good because I’m the only person out there doing it,” he said.
Steven roller skates at the Old Hospital Laundry each Sunday from 11am to 3pm and encouraged everyone to come along and have a go.
