The Pandemic
It’s been a tough year as COVID-19 took lives, canceled plans and filled folks here in the Rio Grande Valley and all over the world with uncertainty.
Before I get into talking about skating , I want to extend my condolences to anyone who has lost a loved one or a friend during these trying months. I also feel for those who have lost income and are living through an extended period of hardship. My heart is with all of you and I hope that we will see better days sometime in the near future. I think the hardest part of everything is not knowing when life will return to what we remember.
We at RGV Roller have lost a lot this spring and summer when in regards to plans and visions of growing our programs.
But that’s the type of loss you can recover from and build again, some losses are permanent. We’ve lost over 1,000 souls in Hidalgo County and almost 2,000 in the Valley. The real pain is in the families who are trying to heal. My heart is with them.
Do your part: wear your mask and stay home as much as possible. We encourage everyone to find a new hobby, a new show or heck! a new pair of skates?
—–
Skatin’ through the pandemic
If you already own a pair of inline or roller skates, you know that it’s fairly easy to stick to social distance recommendations while skating.
Once we strap-on (or lace-up), the pavement is our slice of freedom. It’s a time we can put on headphones and zone out during one of the most hectic times in recent history.
In my opinion, the biggest struggle is just finding a secluded spot. With more families enjoying the outdoors usually at the exact same time: sundown), trails have been overcrowded. While the virus seems to be less transmissible outdoors, running, biking and skating can potentially pose some risk due to heavy breathing and other exercisers traveling in opposite directions.
The risks are definitely a bummer to me because I was really enjoying the Hidalgo County Precinct 2 trail in San Juan/Pharr.
The true gems of skating are parking lots and areas with smooth surfaces. Because I live in Mission, I’ve been able to frequent the Mission Events Center during the evenings. I’m not always alone out there, but there is enough space and paved ground to keep social distancing guidelines.
Meeting up with friends to skate is definitely possible if you travel in separate cars and keep a distance.
Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of wearing a mask while skating, so I’ll often skate with my partner or my friend who has been staying home for weeks. When I’ve skated at the UTRGV campus, I have rocked my mask and it wasn’t the worst experience.
If you have skates, or a bike, a scooter, or just a thing with a wheel, I encourage you to go outside and get moving. Collectively, the RGV and the world has been going through a lot with the pandemic and other crises and we deserve these moments to feel free and energized, to learn new skills or to just have some sweaty summer fun.
Your body and your mind will thank you!
RGV Roller’s pause
Due to the ongoing pandemic, RGV Roller has put the brakes on in-person events until further notice. We’d love to come together and skate, but as the uncertainty of the contagious virus drags on, we recognize the harms these get-togethers would cause our community under the current circumstances. We are willing to wait until we are certain we have all mitigated and prevented the spread of the virus to keep everyone safe and healthy.
The skating rink at McAllen Sports Park has been closed for some time by the city of McAllen, so we’ve been using this time to plan and strategize for our eventual return.
However long this planning takes, this doesn’t mean we don’t want to interact with local skaters and create new skaters in the process. Stay tuned and we’ll find a way to get more folks rolling!
-Nate
