Channeling Positive Energy via Roller Skates

Roller-skating is a regular activity among children in a kampung in Semarang, Central Java. Once the object of opposition, roller-skating offers an exciting activity and many benefits for the kampung’s residents today.

KOMPAS/KRISTI D UTAMI

Children practice roller-skating on Jalan Batan Timur Raya, Miroto Village, Central Semarang District, Semarang City, Friday (9/9/2022). Dozens of children in the village practice roller skating under the guidance of former roller skating athletes in the city of Semarang.

Dozens of children gathered on Friday afternoon (9/9/2022) at a house on Jl. Batan Timur Raya in Miroto subdistrict, Central Semarang district, Semarang. The children, aged between 3 and 12 years, wore blue shirts bearing the word "Batira", the acronym for their kampung, Batan Timur Raya. The children all had roller skates on their feet.

Soon, a woman armed with a stopwatch came out of the house. After setting the stopwatch, Harini (51) asked two children to close the kampung’s streets. The children were so excited, four of them rushed to close the access road to Batan Timur Raya using wooden and iron barriers.

After confirming that the streets were safe and there were no vehicles passing by, the children were invited to pray and then do a series of warm-up exercises. A few minutes later, one by one, the children started skating to and fro, their faces full of joy.

"Made, lower your back again! Kezia, open your feet a little more!" Hartini said, giving directions.

Other residents grew interested and came out of their houses to sit on the terrace. Their eyes sparkling, they followed the children as they skated here and there. Many tried to capture the moment with their mobile phones.

The festive atmosphere of the roller-skating activity is actually not new in Batan Timur Raya. Since last year, the local children have been skating regularly with Hartini’s guidance. The kampung’s children always look forward to the activity, which is held every Friday, Sunday and Monday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

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Hartini founded the Batira roller-skating group in August 2021. The former Central Java roller-skating athlete had grown concerned at the time about the many children in the kampung who were roller-skating without any guidance.

"The training that I give is free, without any fees. Children who want to practice just need to come to my house, just bring themselves and their skates. The training material is the same as the training material [I use to] teach at [professional] roller-skating clubs," said Hartini, who also coaches with the Semarang Roller-Skating Association.

The training is free because not all families in the kampung can afford to pay for their children to learn how to roller-skate. Besides, the equipment is also not cheap.

Roller skates from the beginner to intermediate levels cost between Rp 200,000 and Rp 750,000. Helmets run from Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000 each, while kneepads and elbow pads cost between Rp 100,000 and Rp 300,000 per pair.

KOMPAS/KRISTI D UTAMI

Children practice roller-skating at the Jatidiri Sports Building Complex, Semarang City, Central Java, Saturday (10/9/2022). Roller skates are still in demand by a number of children in the city of Semarang. Some of them join the roller skating club in order to train well.

Opposition

At first, parents were opposed to Hartini's idea to teach children how to roller-skate. They were concerned that their children would be so tired from roller-skating that they couldn’t focus on learning. Hartini then decided to hold training sessions once a week on Friday evenings.

"I emphasized to the children and their parents that those who hadn’t learned to recite the Quran are not allowed to join the training. As a result, the children became enthusiastic about learning to recite the Quran, so they could practice roller-skating sooner. This ultimately led parents to ask that the roller-skating sessions be expanded to three times a week," she said.

The children can not only be healthy and roller-skate, but their attitudes and morals are also developed.

The children must speak well during practice. "The children can not only be healthy and roller-skate, but their attitudes and morals are also developed," said Hartini, who has been roller-skating since 1978.

Batira has held several open tournaments since 2021. Hartini has personally funded the events, with some donations from the kampung’s residents. The aim of these events is to provide children with experience in competing against skaters from other areas. Batira has sent its skaters to a number of city-level competitions in Semarang, as well as to provincial-level competitions in Central Java.

Various benefits

"I am happy that I can practice roller-skating here. It's nice to be able to meet and play with many friends," said Keiza Azzahra (5), who is a member of the Batira Roller-Skating Group. Since joining Batira about a year ago, Keiza has fallen many times, scraping her elbows, chin, and knees. Nevertheless, the kindergarten student from Central Semarang did not give up on roller-skating.

Another young member of the group, Lusifa Ayu Ardani (12), also likes practicing roller-skating in Batira, as she can learn a lot under Hartini’s direction.

"Before, I learned on my own, [and] the important thing was to move. Here, everything is taught, from the basics to the correct techniques. This is important for me because I aspire to become a roller-skating athlete," said Lusifa.

The parents of the children who are learning to roller-skate in the kampung have felt the various benefits of the activity. Anisa (32), for example, feels that her son has grown healthier and stronger since started participating regularly in the roller-skating sessions. Before, her son used to play with his gadgets during his leisure time, but now the majority of his free time was spent to practice roller-skating.

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“Even though he can’t train with his Batira friends all the time, my son still practices alone at home every day. Since he has become busy with roller skating, he has started to forget about his cellphone," Anisa said with a big smile.

Anisa also received a report from her son’s teacher that he had become much more focused on his lessons at school since he started roller-skating.

During their roller-skating sessions, they are told to focus on following the instructions from their coach, and this habit eventually carried over into the classroom.

There is hope that the subdistrict-level training sessions will help produce a new generation of young roller-skating athletes. But more importantly, roller-skating has offered a positive activity that allows the kampung’s children to channel their energy.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.