Features
The Opening Ceremony for the 2008 Senior World Roller Figure Skating Championship in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei had a flavor of it's own. Partly because of the spread of gourmet local food that greeted spectators at the door and also because of the contemporary exhibition that followed the traditional FIRS parade of countries and official speeches.
The music had a groove, the performers were young and the crowd was lively. A display that used hip-hop dance Taiwan style, inline jam skating and rhythmical gymnastics kept the crowd alert and really excited the young people in the audience - and there were tons of them. The opening show was wrapped up with inline skating exhibitions by one of the female members of Chinese Taipei's World Team and a very talented young boy who will certainly be a World Team member for the inline event in a few seasons.
When the festivities were all done, athletes, coaches and officials ended up united in goals with their spirits lifted, some toes still tapping and ready to tackle the next bend in the hard road that got them here.