8 Years And Couting- 8 years happens really fast

8 Years And Couting- 8 years happens really fast: Today’s Trivia Question is brought to you by SpeedSkateWorld.com

What is the reason for Peter’s Inline Racing Web Page/ SpeedSkateWorld.com’s creation back in 1999?

a) After having a few beers, I left the bar with my friend Jason and went to my university’s computer lab- I had nothing to do so I started to mess around with the computer and PIRWP/ SSW was born.
b) I had too many pictures of races and of dogs but nowhere to post them; hence PIRWP/ SSW was created
c) The website was built as a tool for me to post really cool pictures of me with my hairy chest (which is not hairy anymore) so that I court all the wonderful single skating women- sorry ladies, but I now I have my special lady!
d) SSW/ PIRWP was erected as a tool for me to get attention and sponsors
e) I desperately wanted to be a skater-reporter person
f) American skating companies chose to secretly fund a website to promote the north American market
g) I needed to make money
h) I needed to challenge the Inline Planet and PatinCarrera’s market share; they were too strong at the time
i) My cat was pissing me off
j) I was planning on creating a pornographic website, and this creating SSW/ PIRWP is the first step

I won't tell you which one is correct-

8 years happens really fast, especially at the speed of skating.

The last 8 years have seen many things change in my life; I finished university, completed teacher’s college, and switched from being a lifeguard to being an elementary school teacher. I had a few girlfriends- some wonderful and some just downright nasty. I lost some family members and I wrote many songs.

In my skating life, I’ve seen competitors and athletes come to, stay in, and leave the sport for all sorts of reasons, some reasons I understand and some I consider petty excuses. I have seen the Toronto Inline Skating Club change venues numerous times while still remaining a wonderful and very relevant organization dedicated to the sport. I have seen many people use resources like TISC to share what they know about skating, I have experienced the political side of the sport.

I have traveled to many exotic places to skate: Ecuador, Los Angeles, Florida, Colombia, Argentina, Belgium, Italy, Korea, China, Venezuela, and Bermuda just to name a few. I’ve been on multiple ridiculous road trips with great friends and taken many stupid and many awesome pictures.

Skating has changed a great deal since 1999; we’ve witnessed claps come and go, wheels increase in size and go down in number, skates get more colourful and better fitting, the internet become a great resource in sharing news, results, reports, pictures, videos, and information. The world inline cup has grown a great deal, Asia has become a world racing super power, things like tracks and rules have slowly becoming more standardized, and the standards are being raised in the races and distances are changing. Minnesota has seen huge marathons and some classic races and magazines have disappeared. Inline skaters have switched to ice and ice skaters have switched to inline; some now only do one, some keep doing both and some do well at both; how, I don’t know!

I gained the understanding that it is volunteers who are the life and breath of the sport, and those volunteers are far and few between. I’ve volunteered; I have organized races, events, functions, coached, competed, trained, been on boards of directors, web-mastered, and even edited a magazine. I’ve put myself in significant debt, locked myself into living in the basement of my mother’s house all for the sake of doing what I do.

Some people might question how and why, at this point in my life, I am trying to be both an elite athlete and at the same time, share what I try to share via my website.

The truth is that I love to skate and race, and I want to use my website to share my experiences, to share what I can so that those who read my site can understand my perspective: Skating is a wonderful way to be fit & healthy and to meet people & travel.

I am a huge fan of skating- I don’t know how long I will continue to maintain my site, but I think (and hope) that at the very least, PIRWP/ SSW is a testament that I was here; it is an affirmation that our sport is strong and vibrant and worth every stride that is skated; it is an homage to all the hours we spend training, volunteering, hoping, watching, thinking, and sacrificing & giving to skating; it is a small piece of the rich history that we are in the midst of creating and developing; it is the legacy that I leave behind- to accompany the medals and top placements that I am currently training many hours and hurting my body for.

8 years happens really fast, doesn’t it?