Shorecrest’s Berger is artist on roller skates

EVERETT

When Kylee Berger talks about her sport, there is sometimes confusion.

When she says skating, many folks think ice skating. Then if she says roller skating, people assume she means in-line speedskating or even roller derby, as if this petite lass is the type to circle a rink throwing elbows and shoulders.

No, the sport is officially known as artistic roller skating. And if that doesn’t ring a bell, then think figure skating on wheels, not blades.

The two are surely similar, though roller skaters will tell you — quickly and without prompting — that what they do is definitely the more difficult of the two, though no less athletic or elegant.

“Roller skating is unique,” said the 17-year-old Berger, a senior-to-be at Shoreline’s Shorecrest High School. “A lot of people do ice skating and everyone knows about it, but what we do is something that not everyone knows about.”

Her sport’s lack of exposure can be “kind of frustrating,” she admitted. “I wish it got more attention. In European countries, it’s so popular. Everyone knows about it and they get a lot of publicity. Over there, people are famous for what they do in roller skating.

“But I don’t do this for (fame). I don’t really care about the benefits, obviously, or else I’d be in ice skating. But I just love this so much. I have to be here. It’s basically my life.”

Likewise, 27-year-old Josh Rhoads of Woodinville and formerly of Mill Creek says “it’s really hard to explain (roller skating) to people. They ask, ‘Are you an ice skater? Are you on roller blades? Do you do ramps?’

“And then when I tell them, a lot of people say, ‘Well, why don’t you switch to ice?’ But for some reason, this is the sport I love. I’ve been involved in it for so long and I’m too deep into it to turn around,” he said.

OK, so maybe you’ve never heard of Berger and Rhoads, let alone artistic roller skating, though the sport has a small, but faithful following. And it also has some stars, among them Berger and Rhoads.

They are members of the Everett Expressions Artistic Skating Club, which works out most days at the Everett Skate Deck on the south side of town. The club is for skaters of all ages — there are little tykes all the way up to a middle-ager or two — and it prepares them to compete in regional and national competitions, as well as international events for elite skaters like Berger and Rhoads.

Rhoads and many of his teammates will compete at the USA Roller Sports Speed and Figure Skating National Championships in Omaha, Neb., July 22-Aug. 5.

At stake in Omaha will be berths on the U.S. team to the World Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, from Oct. 27-Nov. 11.

“This is,” Rhoads said with understatement, “a real serious season for us.”

Another skater bound for nationals is 35-year-old Trace Hansen of Mukilteo, an Everett police officer who has been skating since he was a small child. Hansen, who has gone to worlds the past three years with Berger in pairs, plans to make this his farewell event. He is leaving the Everett area next month to move to Indiana, where he will own and operate — what else? — a skating rink.

The Everett Expressions are led by coach Anna Carrier, who grew up in Ferndale, but got her start in the sport at the Marysville Skating Club and went on to be a world champion. After retiring from competition in the 1980s, she started coaching and has been with the Everett Expressions for the past 18 years.

Someday, she said, athletes like Berger, Rhoads and Hansen will be able to compete in artistic roller skating at the Olympics. Roller sports, which include speedskating and roller hockey, are being considered for the 2012 Summer Games, she said, though it may take more time for all to be approved by the International Olympic Committee.

Also, roller skaters always have the option of switching to ice skating, as Tara Lipinski did on her way to an Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the 1998 Winter Games.

“If Kylee or Josh wanted to go over to ice, they could,” Carrier said. “But they have such a passion for roller.”

Rhoads placed 22nd at worlds two years ago, was eighth last year, “and this year he has a great opportunity to get on the podium” as a top-three finisher, Carrier said. As for Berger, she added, “I think Kylee is on the verge of excellence.”

Rhoads, who is engaged to Berger’s older sister Erin — they’re planning an August wedding — has been fortunate to see much of the world through skating. He has been to Italy (an international power in artistic roller skating) about a dozen times, and has also traveled to Spain, Germany, Portugal, Japan, Australia and Columbia with Brazil coming up.

“For me,” he said, “those have just been life experiences.”

International competitions have also been the highlight for Berger.

“I have so many new friends from all over the world because of roller skating,” she said. “I talk to them all the time and it’s great. And also the feeling of going out there (to compete), of having everyone watching, and then all the little kids coming around you afterward, wanting autographs and pictures. Moments like that are enough to keep me going.”

Rich Myhre writes for The Herald in Everett.