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Volume I Issue I
 
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An Unforgettable Weekend of Roller Skating and More

Friday, February 14th

Friday Afternoon - The Arrival
It was a cold day in Delaware but things were about to heat up for the weekend. This year's Adrenalin Awards set a new precedence in our skate world. Everything was coming together as G-Man and I awaited the arrival of our guests. Skaters checked in at the Wyndam, Hotel in Wilmington, DE from many cities and received the best welcome we could give as they settled in the hospitality suite.

First on the scene was the crew from Flint, MI, and they along with the rest of our guests who checked in the host hotel, received a Valentine's Day treat from SkateGroove and G-man. Columbus, O-HI-O came in next with about fifty or more skaters including the Columbus Finest on Wheels and Easy Rollers, followed by its sister city, Cincinnati with the 'Nati Skate Train bringing up the caboose. Nikki picked up Essie, Donahue (Atlanta) and Player Mike (Kansas City, MO) at the Philadelphia Airport. Wow, that little SUV was loaded down with luggage! They almost had to strap Mike to the top of the truck.

Skaters braved the chilly temperatures and immediately went to Market Street to take advantage of the tax-free shopping in Delaware. Market Street contains many small "Mom and Pop" type retail outlets that sell clothing, beauty products, food and footwear. One sneaker shop had plenty of Timberlands and Air Force Ones on sale starting at $39.99! When Kevin Edmonds of Flint was told about the sales, he decided to ditch the rest of his crew to go shopping so they couldn't stop him from overspending. Of course, everyone had a craving for Cheesteaks from a nearby deli.

Friday Evening - Lights, Camera, Action
The photographers and videographers set up their gear to record the first ever Adrenalin Awards Ceremony. The tables were decorated with roller skating figurine candleholders, each hand-made by by Hezikiah of Skate Xpressions.

Cameras were rolling as the night of elegance began. Skaters descended down the corridor leading to the Grand Ballroom in anticipation of what was to come. The Bodyguard was there to interview nominees and other guests as they strutted their beautiful gowns and magnificent evening attire. In a few moments, history would be made when the first-ever Adrenalin Award winners would be announced.

Each guest was greeted by the hostesses of the evening; Andrea, Vashti, and Rochelle of the Tri-Skate Divas and Khannie Butler of Silver and Gold, Unlimited. Everyone looked fabulous and you hardly recognized some skaters who were dressed up and simply glowing. The guests were seated, dinner was served and the ceremony began.

The Awards Ceremony

The emcees for the evening were Cocoa Brown of BET's Comic View and our very own skate brother from the A-T-L, The Bodyguard. Together their chemistry was a masterful blend of comedic talents that kept the audience laughing the entire evening.

Cocoa really put it on several skaters who fell prey to her impromptu but good-natured comments about their attire. According to Ms. Brown, Chicago was "pimped out" in their iridescent suits, Mr. Pearl (Columbus) was adorned in his pearly whites, and the most memorable outfit of the evening was worn by none other than SkateGroove's Nikki Bowens. Nikki's dress was lined with feathers that seemed to have a mind of their own. Cocoa stated it reminded her of a pigeon while the Bodyguard echoed in with bird sounds in the background. Nikki was ever gracious and adorable as she proudly modeled the ensemble for the audience, leaving a trail of feathers all over the floor and later throughout the corridors, elevators and lobby area. Mitchell Irving of Skatemasters USA plucked her for a souvenir feather.

Skaters from the audience were selected to participate in the ceremony by announcing the names of the nominees and winners of each category. They were given an envelope with the nominees for each category listed on the outside and the names of the winners printed on a card inside. They all did an excellent job and we thank them for being brave enough to go up and speak.

Midway through the awards ceremony, the Tri-Skate Divas gave an outstanding gospel/ dance performance to "I Need You To Survive" by Hezekiah Walker. This act was a tribute to the skaters who have passed during the last few years. I named a few lost souls and read an eulogy submitted by Skatemasters USA, expressing their feelings for the loss of their club member. The Diva's performance brought the audience to their feet and gave a new meaning to "Skater's Love" as the event coordinators walked to each table and greeted the guests with a hug and a smile. By the end of the performance, the guests were fellowshipping with one another as they spread joy.

One category of winners we must mention is the Best Female Skater award. We had a tie. The winners are Linda Corley of the Wizards on Wheels, (Philadelphia) and Stormy Cubb of the Arkansas Federation of Skater's Ruff Roller's Inc. (Little Rock) by way of St. Louis. We would like to congratulate both of these ladies for their outstanding performances on the hardwood. Prior to the event, we were worried that Stormy would not be able to make the event due to all of the family arrangements she had to make, but being the true skater that she is, she had the will and she made a way. She went through a lot to get there and to get back. Stormy has always been very supportive of SkateGroove.com's events and a lot of others as well and we thank her for her continued presence.

Most of the winners were present to receive their awards and for those who were not, skaters accepted on their behalf. Norman Carr of Cincinnati, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, wanted to be there but he was still recovering from his injuries.

Castle Skateland, recipient of the award for Favorite Rink was presented with their trophy on Sunday, February 23 at their facility.

The staff and management of Castle Skateland want to THANK all the "Skaters" for their support and votes for choosing -CASTLE SKATELAND in Loveland, Ohio-"FAVORITE RINK" in association with the ADRENALIN AWARDS 2003. *********** "LET"S ROLL !"

 

Lois Harper-Dixon, Owner/Manager
Don Dixon, Manager

The Grand Decision
After all the winners were announced, some of the guests asked if there was a session that night because they wanted to skate. So the question was addressed to the entire audience, "Would you like to stay here and dance or would you like to go to the rink and skate?" The crowd made their decision. They wanted both! The dance party got started immediately following the awards and of course Player Mike didn't waste anytime teaching us the Kansas City Stroll while DJ Wiz and DJ SNS exhibited their equally brilliant talents on the turntables, serving up the best formula of music for the evening.

The After Party
The weekend's agenda did not call for skating after the awards ceremony but many felt the urge to roll. Die hard skaters could not pass up the generous invitation extended to them from Garry "G-Man" Corporal, General Manager of the Elsmere Skating Center and Skate Store, to get their roll on following the dance party. "This is simply fantastic", skaters exclaimed. "I feel like I may need to join a 12-step program for curing the passion that ails us." It was 1:30 a.m. when the partygoers entered the building and did not stop rolling until 4:00 in the morning. True rollers never turn down the chance to skate! Our motto is "Have Skates Will Roll!"

Next Page

Written by: Desi
Edited by: Nikki and Khannie
Photos by: Dori Smith, Robin Evans and Ric Hinton

March/April 2003
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