The roller-skating teams at schools in Thrissur, which have several children as members, are in the last round of their practice for taking part in the Republic Day parade in Thrissur town.

The roller-skating teams had enthralled the crowd by playing Dandia dance during last year’s parade. This time around, they will be showcasing different skills like round and round, split, full split, reverse, jumping, sitting and yoga postures, according to their trainers. As many as 150 skaters from different schools are expected to take part in the parade on Saturday, trainer Chandrasekaran Thoppil says.





He said that the major attraction of the show would be that most of the participants would be small kids. “They will be skating on both the normal roller shoes and also on the advanced inline shoes, which needs more practice and skills to roll on,” says physical education instructor at Gurukulam Public School Venginissery, Asha Das.

Nearly 150 skaters from Nirmala Matha Convent School at Eyyal and Gurukulam School along with other schools will be part of the parade, said Mayor Ajitha Vijayan.

The skating clubs which started functioning in the town in the mid 80s are now active in CBSE schools, where the students need to mandatorily opt for a game of sports in physical training. “Students who like bit of adventure are opting for skating. The training continues until they learn skills like jumping and round and round,” says Thayyil Shajilal, a veteran in the field of skating in Thrissur.