Help with differences and similarites!?

Question

What r the differenees between roller skating and ice skating?

Answer 1

It would help if you were a little more specific as to what exactly you wanted. Do you want to know about equipment? Technique? Speed, figure/artistic, hockey? Terminology? Competitive opportunities? International governance?

The answer to your question could fill a book!

Well, it COULD fill a book.

Technique is very different in roller versus ice skating. Blades often skitter across the ice from side to side making it hard to gain purchase when you push, you're likely to fall forward. On roller skates (quad only) you're far more likely to fall backwards since the wheels don't move side to side very easily, but have a nasty way of rolling out from under you.

Jumping technique is even more different, particularly landing. On ice, you're supposed to land essentially on your toe-pick and rock back onto the blade and flow out of the jump. On roller skates, landing on the toe stop is very bad technique (called "toe-stopping a jump") and is something you'd get marked down for. You're supposed to land essentially flat footed.

Equipment also varies. There are inline and quad roller skates. Speed, hockey and figure skates. While they often use the same boots as ice skates, the fitting requirements are quite different. For quad roller skates, you need more flexibility in the upper because you have to really press an edge to get the skate to move in a curve. For inlines, you need more stability as you would with an ice skate. On roller skates, your ankles never really get to be strong like they do on ice because you never have to hold yourself up on a narrow blade (unless you inline skate).

Roller skating is not an Olympic sport, but it is in the Pan Am Games and has a variety of other international competitions. The US has some good skaters, but international roller skating competition is by and large dominated by the Italians (who are mostly also-rans in the ice world).

As for ways in which ice skating and roller skating is the same... there are many similar elements. Ice skating has the toe loop; artistic roller has the Mapses (pronounced Mapes); they are the same jump. The rest of the basic jumps are also the same: axel, loop, half-loop (called "Euler" pronounced "oiler" in roller), Lutz, Salchow and so forth. Edge spins are the same (roller does not have "back" and "forward" pivot spins as such). The various different one and two foot turns are the same: 3-turns, rockers, counters, brackets, though the difficulty varies.

Technique for back crossovers is largely the same on both ice and roller. Forward skating, the technique is very different. It doesn't much translate from ice to roller. So you get me, who is very good on roller skates stumbling around going forwards on ice, but with very powerful back crossovers on ice.

One thing roller and ice has in common is Tara Lipinski. Tara was a national champion in artistic roller (Juvenile which is age based, not test based; with a heel camel--something that's impossible on ice) long before she ever set foot on ice.

That's the short version. Ice and roller are very different and very alike. It depends exactly what you're asking about. I'd be glad to give you specifics, but I'm not sure what exactly you want.

Answer 2

Roller skating:  skating on the ground/floor surface http://www.clevelandseniors.com/photos/s...

Ice skating:  skating on ice surface  http://www.ai.mit.edu/lab/olympics/04/im...

But there are indoor rinks for both (rollers can be done outside, ice skating can be done outside seasonally).

Roller skating:  boot and wheels http://content.answers.com/main/content/...

Ice skating:  boot and blades  http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbim...

Both have boots that need to be broken in.

Roller skating:  first recorded of use in 1743, patented about 1760

http://www.skateland.com/rshis.html

Ice skating:   Could have started as early as 10,000 BC in Europe.  

http://www3.vjc.edu/academics/students/j...

Roller skating:  Warmer

Ice skating:  Colder

Roller skating:  Not an Olympic event

Ice skating:  An Olympic sport

Roller skating:  Bigger impact upon falling

Ice skating:  There's an impact upon falling, but at least you have a chance to slide out of it.  

Both have regional, national, and world competitions and similar categories like freestyle, dance, pairs.  

Both have jumps, spins, turns (but technique is different).

Both can give you injuries.  

Wikipedia is not the most reliable source, but it's good for a general overview:

Roller skating: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_skat...

Ice skating:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_skating

Gosh, there's tons more stuff!!!  But that's my list to start!

Answer 3

I agree with bits and pieces of both of the other posts.  However, for any of us to answer your question, we need a little more information.