Will quad roller skates become extinct?

Question: Will quad roller skates become extinct?

Now that inline skating is so popular, many wonder if quad skates will eventually become extinct.

Answer: If you check out the history of inline skates, you'll see that the first documented inline skate appeared in London in 1760 and the first known inventor of an inline roller skate was John Joseph Merlin. Quad skates evolved later as an improvement on the inline configurations' lack of maneuverability. Inline skates moved into the background of roller sports until they re-emerged as a recreational and cross-training option, thanks to the Olson brothers introduction of Rollerblades.

Now, there are many more types of inline skates than just the hard to maneuver recreational styles. But, quad skates still have many specialized uses. Today, in recreational, speed, figure skating and other roller skating activities, both types of skates are popular, and most things can be done in either kind of skate, if you get the right equipment.

• Roller figure skating and rhythm skating are still predominantly done on quad artistic or figure skates, although there is a growing community of social and competitive inline figure skaters.
  
  
• Speed skating uses inline skates for the majority of their important competitive events, but a few quad racers remain active.
  
  
• Outdoor recreational skaters are usually more comfortable on inline skates, but some quad skaters use outdoor wheels or special quads with an oversized frame and skate smooth surfaces.
  
  
• Indoor rink recreational skaters use both styles of skates in most facilities.
  
  
• Jam skaters and roller derby enthusiasts prefer to use quad speed skates.
  
  
• Roller hockey has divisions for both quad and inline hockey skates.
  
  
• Aggressive and freestyle slalom skaters primarily use inline skates with a special wheel and frame configuration for each of these sports.

Quad roller skates and inline skates are both used in most countries for many activities. There are even a large number of roller sports enthusiasts and coaches who use a combination of quad and inline equipment for various purposes. With a mixture of equipment use like this, we can expect both inline and quad skates will stay around for a while.

Is your skating world divided? Take this inline vs. quad poll to express how you feel about quad roller skating in a world that has seen a lot of growth in inline sports.