ROLLER SKIING PERTH

Foreword, interview & photography by Peter Green

Wedged between ocean and desert, Perth is one of the most isolated cities in the world. It’s blessed with sandy beaches, green parks, and a river shining like a jewel in the sun. Perth is the capital of Western Australia and it’s a dynamic city that balances its natural beauty with a cosmopolitan lifestyle. Perth is the sunniest capital city in Australia, if not the world, and its people are as beautiful as the blue skies overhead. Summer are hot and winters are mild thanks to its mediterranean climate.
It’s a place blessed with a natural beauty, where you can enjoy time on the Swan River, spend the afternoon at a winery, take a drive into the bushland where you can see kangaroos and cockatoos, or take the ferry to Rottnest Island, famous for its smiling quokkas. Perth is safe, friendly, clean and easy to get around.

While not a place you would immediately think, or think at all, as a destination for roller skiing, Perth has a lot to offer and without the city planners realising it, Perth is tailor-made for roller skiing. With its extensive network of high quality walking and bike paths, which criss-cross the city and extend up and down the coastline, there is a wide variety of terrain to encounter, to suit all skill and fitness levels.

We caught up with Hannes Holly from Roller Ski Downunder. Hannes has carved out a living with a fitness and roller skiing business in Perth. After spending a weekend and experiencing what Perth has to offer, we can say Perth should definately be on your list of locations to visit.

Can you tell us about about where you come from and how you got into skiing?

I grew up in a small village in the Austrian Alps. I was a downhill skier for most of my life. I saw cross country skiing in the winter and roller skating in the summer but it wasn’t something that I did until later in my life.

What bought you to Australia?

I met my now wife in Austria and she is from Perth. So we decided to come and live in Perth for a couple of years. Back in Austria I was teaching golf and knew someone through the Austrian golf scene that their brother runs a golf club over here in Perth, so I had a pathway to start work here as a golf instructor so we decided to come over looking to stay for a couple of years and see how it goes and then obviously we got stuck.

When did you take up roller skiing?

I had tried roller skiing previously in Austria but it was a long time ago. It was not until I moved to Perth that I missed skiing and so I, there was no dry slope skiing or anything like that here, so I just wanted something I can do in my new environment that feeds my passion for skiing. I was already using cross skates and I know people were roller skiing over on the east coast of Australia, but no I had not seen anyone do it in Perth until I suddenly saw couple of ladies skiing in Perth and I thought maybe I should get roller skis instead.

How did you go from teaching golf to teaching roller skiing?

I taught golf for about five years and during that time I got some cross skates and started using them on the rougher trails which was the perfect way to combine my passion for mountain biking and skiing. The the golf instructing turned into golf fitness and that in turn developed into a full blown fitness business which I still do. in 2010 we did the first business which was called Cross Skating Australia and as I was already doing nordic walking with my fitness business we combined the cross skiing and nordic walking. In 2011 I introduced roller skiing and I started Roller Ski Downunder.

What makes Perth a great place for roller skiing?

Perth has a lot of things which make it a great roller skiing destination. First of all there is a large network of quality trails throughout the city and up and down the coast line. The terrain is flat with undulations but there are also some hills to the east of the city which you can test yourself on. And also the weather is great most times of the year. We have a warm, dry climate here in Perth and it’s sunny for most of the year, so its a great place to come for a holiday and do some training.

Who are your main clients?

The sport is unfortunately flatlining, Australia wise, but that is because there is no promotion being done. Most of the clients I have now are families who are going on an overseas ski holiday and 80% are going on an Alpine ski holiday but they use roller skis for the family to get to know the skate step and and the snow plow for slowing down, so we have become a bit of a warm up exercise fro ski holidays rather than using roller skis as a main sport.
Kids are a big parts of what we do. Every time we do a clinic we get a big uptake because its something new. Its a lot of play, so we do basketball games and tennis games on roller skis, stuff like that. But it’s not easy its not something kids will naturally then continue. It’s not like inline skating, the poles and the skis are tricky.
The third type of client I see are a lot of runners, triathletes, ultra marathon runners - roller skiing makes sense in the endurance sector how its a level 1, 2 zone training that long distance training, they see a valid point to it because they can get aerobic fitness without impact on the legs and that’s where I think the future is in roller skiing and aiming for endurance sports athletes.

Where can people find you?

I can find on my website www.rollerskidownunder.com.au or via Instagram and Facebook.