Roller Jam for summer - Mandeville residents learn to skate
Nadine Burbage-Reid of Mandeville, Manchester, founder and coordinator of the Roller Jam experience.
Members of the Roller Jam experience team.
Draneise McLaren of St Michael's Academy in Mandeville, Manchester, and Denise Simpson of Central High School in May Pen, Clarendon, met for the first time at Roller Jam on Wednesday.
Coach Hossain Forbes takes Anukis Francis through a training routine, while her father, Albert Francis, stands by to give assistance at Roller Jam on Wednesday in Mandeville, Manchester.-PHOTOS BY PAUL H. WILLIAMS
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Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer
MANDEVILLE, Manchester:'IT'S SUMMERTIME, and the living is easy', to quote a line from a well-known song from the American musical Porgy and Bess. But for some children on break, summer can be really boring as they having nothing exciting to participate in.
Yet, if such children are living in the Mandeville area, this summer promises to be much more exciting than the ones before. A new activity has literally rolled into this mid-island town. It's Roller Jam. It has been up and 'skating' since Monday and is creating all sorts of excitement in the courtyard of Bankhouse Mall and SuperPlus Centre.
When The Gleaner visited on Wednesday, the coordinators and the coaches were busy teaching new participants to roller skate, and the mistakes and 'mis-skates' were many, giving much laughter to the learners themselves and curious onlookers who couldn't get enough of the blunders.
Some of the participants were passing by when they came upon the rare sight of people learning to skate in the heart of Mandeville. So they simply flung away their regular shoes and signed up for rollers.
Roller Jam was conceptualised by Nadine Burbage-Reid, who said, "It came about by living in Mandeville with four children - and realising that there isn't much in Mandeville to engage the young people that's healthy, that doesn't involve a rum bar, and that keeps them active."
Burbage-Reid, whose family has a background in roller skating, then decided to invest in a mobile roller-skating experience to fill the void that she said existed in Mandeville.
But it is turning out to be a platform for bonding and camaraderie. There were parents with their children helping and encouraging them, though they were not skaters themselves. One of the poignant moments The Gleaner spotted was a man walking with his daughter around the 'rink'. When her coaches took a break from her, he held her as she learned to walk in rollers. There was another father with his son, who was weighty for his age, but he was there pulling him up from the ground each time he fell.
In another instance, there were two young ladies. One seemed to be a proficient skater, and was showing another some skating techniques as they held on to each other tightly. They seemed to be two long-time friends, but they told The Gleaner they had just met. And it appeared that that wasn't an isolated case. The programme was also giving rise to new friendships and cementing old ones.
Andrew Francis was there with his schoolmates from Mandeville Primary and Junior High School. They were having a whale of time, with Francis, a better skater than his friends, bursting into loud laughter each time there was a 'mishap'.
He spent much time trying to get away from two youngsters, Asar-Re and Nehisi, four and five years old, respectively, but who were excellent skaters.
Francis said: "The first day was hard, but today, it's easier. It's a lot of fun. Sometimes when you fall, it's funny. It has different levels, and it can help you to balance."
The activities continue for the rest of the summer, but Burbage-Reid, who is a member of the Jamaica Roller Sports Federation, said the summer programme in Mandeville is part of a bigger thrust to reignite the sport of roller skating in Jamaica. "What we are trying to do is, we are trying to get Jamaica rolling. By that we mean we are trying to encourage Jamaicans to see roller sports as another avenue where Jamaica can go into the mainstream nationally and internationally. Let's use the talent. We can dance, and we are fast."
rural@gleanerjm.com
Nadine Burbage-Reid of Mandeville, Manchester, founder and coordinator of the Roller Jam experience.
Members of the Roller Jam experience team.
Draneise McLaren of St Michael's Academy in Mandeville, Manchester, and Denise Simpson of Central High School in May Pen, Clarendon, met for the first time at Roller Jam on Wednesday.
Coach Hossain Forbes takes Anukis Francis through a training routine, while her father, Albert Francis, stands by to give assistance at Roller Jam on Wednesday in Mandeville, Manchester.-PHOTOS BY PAUL H. WILLIAMS
1 2 3 4 [b style="font-weight: bold;"]>[/b]
Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer
MANDEVILLE, Manchester:'IT'S SUMMERTIME, and the living is easy', to quote a line from a well-known song from the American musical Porgy and Bess. But for some children on break, summer can be really boring as they having nothing exciting to participate in.
Yet, if such children are living in the Mandeville area, this summer promises to be much more exciting than the ones before. A new activity has literally rolled into this mid-island town. It's Roller Jam. It has been up and 'skating' since Monday and is creating all sorts of excitement in the courtyard of Bankhouse Mall and SuperPlus Centre.
When The Gleaner visited on Wednesday, the coordinators and the coaches were busy teaching new participants to roller skate, and the mistakes and 'mis-skates' were many, giving much laughter to the learners themselves and curious onlookers who couldn't get enough of the blunders.
Some of the participants were passing by when they came upon the rare sight of people learning to skate in the heart of Mandeville. So they simply flung away their regular shoes and signed up for rollers.
Roller Jam was conceptualised by Nadine Burbage-Reid, who said, "It came about by living in Mandeville with four children - and realising that there isn't much in Mandeville to engage the young people that's healthy, that doesn't involve a rum bar, and that keeps them active."
Burbage-Reid, whose family has a background in roller skating, then decided to invest in a mobile roller-skating experience to fill the void that she said existed in Mandeville.
But it is turning out to be a platform for bonding and camaraderie. There were parents with their children helping and encouraging them, though they were not skaters themselves. One of the poignant moments The Gleaner spotted was a man walking with his daughter around the 'rink'. When her coaches took a break from her, he held her as she learned to walk in rollers. There was another father with his son, who was weighty for his age, but he was there pulling him up from the ground each time he fell.
In another instance, there were two young ladies. One seemed to be a proficient skater, and was showing another some skating techniques as they held on to each other tightly. They seemed to be two long-time friends, but they told The Gleaner they had just met. And it appeared that that wasn't an isolated case. The programme was also giving rise to new friendships and cementing old ones.
Andrew Francis was there with his schoolmates from Mandeville Primary and Junior High School. They were having a whale of time, with Francis, a better skater than his friends, bursting into loud laughter each time there was a 'mishap'.
He spent much time trying to get away from two youngsters, Asar-Re and Nehisi, four and five years old, respectively, but who were excellent skaters.
Francis said: "The first day was hard, but today, it's easier. It's a lot of fun. Sometimes when you fall, it's funny. It has different levels, and it can help you to balance."
The activities continue for the rest of the summer, but Burbage-Reid, who is a member of the Jamaica Roller Sports Federation, said the summer programme in Mandeville is part of a bigger thrust to reignite the sport of roller skating in Jamaica. "What we are trying to do is, we are trying to get Jamaica rolling. By that we mean we are trying to encourage Jamaicans to see roller sports as another avenue where Jamaica can go into the mainstream nationally and internationally. Let's use the talent. We can dance, and we are fast."
rural@gleanerjm.com