This long weekend, one of the city’s fastest growing sports gets its day when the Ottawa Inline Skating Club holds its annual festival.
Hundreds of people are expected to come from as far as Montreal, Toronto and the U.S. for races of distances from 2K to a triple crown event, which includes consecutive marathon, half marathon and 10K races.
While inline skating is most popular in Europe, Canada is catching up quickly, considering that it’s not an Olympic sport, said club member Claire Lepage.
“It doesn’t get the exposure that ice skating and speed skating get,” she said. “But it’s definitely a growing sport here. Every Sunday Bike Day, we see more and more inline skaters. Now there are just as many skaters as there are cyclists.”
The sport attracts people of all ages, as well as speed skaters and hockey players, Lepage said.
Held on the Rockcliffe Parkway, the festival, which begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, features a 2K, 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon and triple crown event.
Participants can register online or on site Sunday.
