Glamorgan Artistic Roller Dance Skating Club
My skating career began on holiday from Wolverhampton to Rhyl in the summer of 1947 when I was 10 years old. Both my parents had skated previously many years before. The open air rink was opening during that period and my father dashed home to get their boots and skates, (with aluminium wheels) to show their prowess on the floor. I was confined, with strap on skates to "mugs alley" where learners clung to the hand rails, petrified.
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Ken (Byrne) and his partner Jean and Don & Joan (Stirling) were champions and gave wondrous exhibitions to open the rink. I was smitten.
I practiced hard, the roller chasse the hardest of steps, especially on rink skates; my father was floor manager and taught all us youngsters the bronze dances, the Barn Dance, the Two Step and the Spreadeagle Waltz. When I was better at these, I was given my first Invicta Skates, but until I passed my test cricket boots had to suffice! I must have looked like a sparrow in big boots.
I passed in feb 1948 at Levenshulme Manchester. Skating skirts were worn just above the knee and men competing in competitions or tests had to wear black tights! Very Sexy! Young boys wore short trousers. The only guy who looked okay in tights was Ken!!
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1950 saw us in Llandudno, another open air rink. Bill and Vi Drummond opened it. A wonderful couple, Bill only had one eye, and very often, if Vi was on his blind side would get crushed into the barrier. Skating outdoors
Skating History with Sheilah Davies and Tony Vodden
Sheilah Davies - Skating in Past Years
was very unpredictable. Sunny it was glorious, Windy - well you sped down one side and battled against the wind the other. Wet - well one waited for it to stop, helped squeegee the floor and manouvered between wet patches hoping not to slip.
By now I had got my Silver dance whence apart from dances one did two minutes pair skating, and my bronze pairs which required two and a half minutes. These I took at Birmingham, a vast rink, with Stan Hill. A fine skater and judge. Then floor was so big we had to skate a double serpentine pattern to some dances to fill the floor.
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Music was now starting to improve, prior to that we used a lot of Harry Davidsons Old Tyme Dance Music. For pairs and Free skating one could use most orchestral music, but if it was too long, we marked it with chalk at one point and another one towards the end to get a good finish. You needed someone reliable to do this, or they just faded it out.
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Wheels were also improving wooden ones appeared, beech, then multiple wood. The trouble being if one did not skate properly you'd get "flats" so grinding was needed to get the "flat" bit out or buy new ones. All wheels were just plain ball bearings, if a wheel came off ball bearings went everywhere.
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One year later, when I was 13 I went to Birch Park Manchester to take my gold with Austin Armstrong. A hard taskmaster! All those dances and a four minutes pair's program.
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By now proper skating music was appearing Potomac organ strict tempo dance music. It was exciting when every couple of month's new tunes were delivered. During these times Cyril Beastall edited and printed "Roller Skating" magazine. A monthly edition, with updated news, photographs competition and test results and news from all the many clubs. It was smashing and it seemed to keep all the skating fraternity together, including the speed and hockey sections. Men no longer wore tights and dresses were getting shorter. Thank goodness.
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1951 and we were off to Cardiff. Dad was to manage the Embassy owned by Thompson and Baker who also owned Wakefield rink, and the Casino at Rochester. Cardiff floor was unusual as it was triangular with the points cut off, but it was a beautiful maple floor. Visiting skaters found it a puzzle, but with help soon sorted it out. Competition was strong and the Welsh Championships were born attracting lots of competitors.
It was here I took all my other medal tests between teaching others. At 15 I became Professional. Passed my Bronze Silver and Gold dance Instructors test, Bronze and Silver figures Instructors test.
To pass the tests you had to qualify first by teaching at least 6 pupils to pass in that grade. Then you had to skate all dances to point five above the normal pass figure, then came interrogation by the five judges which could last a few hours, especially for Gold.
I believe I have the only Gold instructors medal ever struck, and am very proud of that. The only other two people to have passed this were Sammy Samuels and Jack Fanthorpe.
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In 1956 I went to Great Yarmouth for a season with Ted Norton and whilst there we won the Professional Dance Championship. I returned to Cardiff to get married.
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Skating was still fairly popular but fading. Rinks were closing down, and what a pity. They were great fun and one made many friends.
I miss that, but look back with great fondness at my skating life.
Sheilah
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Tony Vodden
Tony Vodden caught the roller skating bug age 15 in his home town Manchester. Initially a successful speed skater, holding the British record for fastest indoor mile for many years. Following this he started pairs skating and gained a Silver medal in the British Nationals in the 1950's.
The Welsh Skating Club
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The Welsh Skating Club began in 1976 when Tony and his wife Susan moved to Cardiff from Manchester. Being passionate about his sport Tony, wasn't content with the fact that there were no skating clubs in South Wales and started his own! He found another skating enthusiast to help Pauline Page, Gold Medalist in Roller Dance.
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Initially the Welsh Club traveled around using centres all over South Wales including Swansea, Bridgend, Tredegar, Bargoed, Rhondda and Ystrad Mynach.
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The first Welsh National Championships, a passion of Tony and Paulines were held in Sophia Gardens in February 1979, after months of planning and organisation, sadly Tony passed away just weeks before the Championships. The Welsh Club continued with Pauline and settled at Ystrad Mynach, which became its home for twenty years before struggling numbers and increasing costs meant the club had to stop in 2001.