Joey Mantia has come forward as a spokesperson for USA Roller Sports and inline skating via his Team USA blog. It's simply called "Joey Mantia In Black & White," and the first post, "Skating Is The Best Sport In The World," says it all. I've added him to my Inline Skating Blogline, so we can keep up with his encouraging words.

If you want to know how the women skated at the 2009 World Inline Hockey Championships in Varese (Lombardy), Italy, moving pictures can definitely speak louder than words. The Women's Team USA won the inline hockey Gold, and the video is still available online at Rollersports TV.

Get more information about the events and complete results from 2009 World Inline Hockey Championships at the Comite International de Roller In-Line Hockey site.

A lot of skater email boxes and blogs are filled with Evian Roller Babies videos. Although they are not wearing the right equipment for their aggressive stunts, freestyle slalom or jam skating routines, the commercial has caught the eye of many around the world and may encourage a few recreational skaters to get their inline or quad skates out of the closet, just for laughs. I don't know how everyone else feels, but I'll take a little free PR for roller sports in any form.

The USA Roller Sports 2009 Inline Speed Skating National Championships and World Team Tryouts has delivered a new Inline Speed Skating World Team. These skaters will represent the United States at the FIRS Speed Skating World Championships in Haining City, Peoples Republic of China from September 16th though September 27th.

Junior World Team USA Members

Our Junior Women are Erin Jackson, Alex Harris, Sophie Webb, Hailey Leech, Meagan Gillis and Samantha Goetz with Nicole Lloyd and Darian O'Neil as alternates. The Junior Men are Jonathan Blair, Mario Valencia. Justin Mannon, Andrew Shatzer, Eben Jackson, Michael Ringer with Corey Bethel and Brandon Esianor as alternates.

Senior World Team USA Members

Team USA Senior Women include Sara Sayasane, Briana Kramer, Chelsea Creveling, Katie Grimm, Nastassia Hamor and Leeza Hargreaves as well as Xion Akana and Sophie Buckaloo as alternates.The Senior Men on the team include William Bowen, Keith Carroll, Joey Mantia, Michael Cheek, Chad Horne and Justin Stelly with alternates Jake Powers and Corey Gahan.