On a roll, with Swiss help

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Swiss national Steidle Kurt, on a leisure trip to Kerala three years ago, was fascinated at the sight of a few youngsters making squiggly movements on roller skates on the roadside in Kochi.

His excitement had an insightful reason — back home the 68-year-old had been involved with roller sports for more than two-and-a-half decades.

Kurt could recall the acceptance of roller skating as a popular amateur event in his home country and felt he had to do something for the kids here who had impressed him with their commitment despite the lack of proper gear.

He approached Abdul Kalam, the person training the kids and put forward a proposal, which was too generous to be denied. The Swiss told him that he was extremely pleased and was willing to sponsor all the necessary equipment for the kids’ training.

The foreigner kept his word and after he left, a parcel arrived, containing shoes, blades and skates, all of high quality — a surprise gift for Kalam and his trainees. He also came down on a few occasions to impart some specialised training.

Kurt, who is now in Kochi for a week-long training spell, believes that over the years there has been great progress in sport here and according to him a few of these kids will develop into fine roller skaters from India some 15 years down the line.

“It was just a coincidence that I met Kalam and the kids, after talking to them and seeing them skate, I felt they needed support. It gave me immense pleasure to do something for them,” said Kurt.

He said there was a vast difference in the sport here compared to what it is in Europe where roller skating, speed skating and artistic skating are passionately competed at various levels.

Kurt made it clear that his intention was to help the kids get a proper base in the sport so that they would be able to promote it themselves later on.

“In Switzerland, roller skating was in a similar situation in the mid-eighties, but we formed several clubs, learned and trained youngsters and one of those clubs produced world champions Alain Gloor and Nadine Gloor,” he said.

“There is still a long way to go for the roller skaters in Kerala as well as in other states, but the kids, from what I have seen, are hard working. I’ve seen a few talented young lads such as Arfas, they just need some motivation to make an impact and they surely will do that,” he added.