Latest news with #rollerskating
ABC News
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
A young skater caught in a police crackdown is back in the spotlight, 50 years later
For Jean Hopcraft, this was all quite familiar. The interview, the camera crew and the questions about the rollerskates. The 69-year-old has been living a quiet and hidden life in Melbourne's inner suburbs. But in the late 1970s, she was turning heads. Almost 50 years later, her dormant fame has returned after an old video of her went viral. Loading Instagram content The ABC republishes archival stories on social media to revisit the best stories about Australians from the past. Over the past few weeks, more than a million people have watched a social media post showing a young Jean rollerskating through Melbourne. While many dream of having the kind of fame brought on by the likes of TikTok and Instagram, Jean was not after that at all. "It's bizarre that they've clicked on it," she said. "Who would have thought anybody would be interested in somebody on rollerskates from all those years ago?" Rolling to fame In 1977, ABC reporter Terry McMahon interviewed a young woman who was quite popular on the city streets of Melbourne. She travelled around on rollerskates despite an active police crackdown that saw officers confiscating them from those they caught. Skateboards and rollerskates were regarded as a public nuisance at that time. Jean was 21 when she was interviewed about her rollerskating by the ABC in the late 1970s. ( ABC archive ) Jean was a 21-year-old college student whose studies and work revolved around the CBD, and a pair of rollerskates was her chosen mode of transport for 14 years. With worn-out skates strapped onto the feet and her best outfit on, she zoomed past pedestrians, catching attention as she glided. McMahon: What about when you're out on the street? Do people stare? Jean Hopcraft: Yeah, they stare most of the time, but I don't take any notice of them. McMahon: What about police? Jean Hopcraft: No problems. Few years ago, with the skateboards, they clamped down, told me to take them off. But I put them on when I got around the corner … I won't give them away yet. Looking back, she never expected her playful antics to turn her into a public figure. "There was quite a bit of press because I [skated] for a long time, so they were very familiar with this girl just skating around the city," Jean said. "Little snippets in the paper … newspapers reaching out to me. "I just became part of the fabric of Melbourne." This was the first time Jean watched the TV story produced by the ABC in 1977. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) About the same time, Jean also featured on a daytime current affairs television program presented by Mickie de Stoop, which featured stories of pioneering women. Yet underneath the energetic but nonchalant persona portrayed in printed columns and black-and-white photographs, Jean faced significant societal drawbacks. Not fitting the mould The 1970s were a very different time for women. It was a period when career options were slim and freedom of expression, especially by clothing, could be frowned upon. "I actually wanted to be a painter, a decorator like my dad but, in those days, women weren't allowed to do those sorts of jobs," Jean said. "It was deemed not suitable for women." Roller skating was a cheap and easy mode of transport for young Jean Hopcroft. ( Supplied ) Rollerskating was a cheap and easy mode of transport for a young Jean Hopcraft. (Supplied) Despite a police crackdown, Jean was spotted roller skating in popular spots in Melbourne's CBD. ( Supplied/ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) Despite a police crackdown, Jean was spotted rollerskating in popular spots in Melbourne's CBD. (Supplied/ABC News: Danielle Bonica) The local newspaper writes about Jean travelling through the city on a pair of roller skates. ( Supplied ) The local newspaper writes about Jean travelling through the city on her rollerskates. (Supplied) Instead, she studied fashion and textile at the Emily McPherson College, which was known for its cookery and dressmaking courses. Even within university walls, Jean didn't always stick to the status quo. The queer community was her clique, and she wasn't afraid to break a few college rules — including the skating. "I guess you'd call me a freak … because I didn't fit the mould," Jean said. "Women couldn't wear trousers way back then. We had to get a petition together to see if women could wear pants and trousers. "I got pulled over at school and almost expelled because they didn't like the idea of a woman skating. "I stood up for what I believed." 'Classic Jean' Over the phone from New York, Jean and her husband Peter Hoyland's daughter, Eliza Hoyland, wasn't surprised about her mother's sudden return to stardom back home. "She's a very interesting person, my mum," Eliza said. The ABC post was the first time Eliza found out her mother had ever been interviewed by the news outlet. "I'm watching and I'm like, 'What in the world is this?'" "I think I watched it like 20 times in a row." Eliza Hoyland said she is in awe of Jean, who she thinks is the "best mum ever". ( Supplied: Eliza Hoyland ) For Eliza, a huge chunk of her mum's youth has been like scattered puzzle pieces waiting to be put together. She said Jean had always assured the family that "there'll be nothing about her" on the internet. "I googled her and this photo of her came up in her rollerblading look, and she's in this leopard skin suit," she said. "My mum is very private and very timid, but then she has this huge life that [Dad and I] are always trying to creep in [on]." One of Eliza's absolute joys was watching Jean rollerskate during a birthday celebration in 2023. In 2023, Jean put her rollerskates back on in a rink in New York. ( Supplied: Eliza Hoyland ) At the Rockefeller Center, the rollerskater flaunted her self-taught skills like she never left the rink. For Jean, it was all muscle memory. "She was zooming around the rink and doing laps on my friends and like, 'Get out of the way!'" Eliza recalled. "It's classic Jean. She's an icon." Peter Hoyland said he's met strangers who recognise Jean from the viral clip. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) Peter Hoyland, whose career in the music industry has introduced him to several notable artists, said it had been "fun" and "fantastic" to meet people buzzing about his wife's renewed popularity. "I said, "Now you're the most famous person that I know,'" Peter said. A friend even warned the couple about the possibility of Jean becoming an internet meme. "Yes, I'm waiting for that," Peter said. Jean Hopcraft enjoys reading books and gardening in her inner Melbourne home. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica ) Jean will soon turn 70 and is now living a quieter life, enjoying her retirement. She gardens, travels to the US to visit her daughter, and reminisces about her earlier days on her trusty skates. "I didn't care," she said. "I couldn't afford a car. I had my own ideas of what was right and wrong." Always in awe of her mother and the hidden stories of her past, Eliza described Jean as a "wonderful human" with an amazing story waiting to be told. "She's always going to be standing up for herself and the people around her," she said. "I was just like, 'You haven't changed a bit. Yes, you might only wear black now, but you really are exactly the same.'"
ABC News
21-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
End of an era as Bunbury rollerskating rink set to close
Finances and challenges with remote management are forcing one of Western Australia's last remaining purpose-built rollerskating rinks to close its doors. Bunbury's The Rink opened in 1999 and has since churned out some of Australia's best skaters, including the country's top male artistic skater Andrew Beattie. However, co-owners Susan Brooks and Ozzy Kilgallon, who both live in Perth, have announced the business will close on June 30. The building in Davenport, Bunbury's industrial area, is being advertised as "a great investment opportunity" with offers now being accepted. The announcement of the venue's closure is already being felt across Bunbury, particularly for those who compete in the sport. Denice Seymour, recently named WA's 2025 State Champion in the Masters Ladies Figures division, has been skating at the Bunbury venue since it opened 26 years ago. Her daughter, son and granddaughter have all skated there as well. "Having The Rink here in Bunbury was the best thing because I wasn't missing out on what I absolutely loved doing," Seymour said. Seymour will compete in the 2025 Australian Roller Sports National Artistic Championships in July. However, she was fearful the Bunbury rink closure would mark the start of the end of her career. "I've been trying to picture my life without skating and I don't know, it's hard," Seymour said. "It concerns me for the future of skating here because where are people going to go? The venue opened 26 years ago when Susan Brooks, an artistic skating coach, saw an opportunity to transform an old indoor volleyball centre. She co-owns the Bunbury venue with Ozzy Kilgallon, who also runs the Morley Rollerdrome in Perth. He told the ABC "changing circumstances" led to the decision to sell the building. "Finances were one factor, but the other one was having management from here was proving more difficult than expected," Mr Kilgallon said. "We weren't going forward, we weren't going backwards, but down the track, rates come in, insurance goes up and if we couldn't keep it affordable for families, it couldn't exist. "In the end, we decided it's in our best interest to sell the building, and The Rink business goes along with that." June 29 will be the venue's final public skate session, with the Artistic Skating Club to continue using the site until it is purchased. Mr Kilgallon said he could not thank the community enough for their support over the last 26 years.
ABC News
01-06-2025
- General
- ABC News
How Perth's king and queen of skating keep rolling back the years
When Peter and Barbara Rye get into their rollerskates, they move in a kind of unison that only comes after five decades of marriage — three of them on wheels. Now aged in their seventies, the pair first fell in love with rollerskating when they competed in a couples' dance event in the 1990s, a time when the category was overflowing with skaters. But the event has since died out. In fact, Peter and Barbara were the only couple in the rink at the state championships in Perth this year. Despite the challenges, the couple have maintained the same commitment to the sport as they have to each other, in the hope artistic rollerskating can be revived. Peter and Barbara picked up the skates by chance when they were in their forties, and have been hooked ever since. Despite their age, the couple trains about three times a week. "You can trip each other up and we do sometimes have falls," Barbara said. The joy of coming up with choreography and keeping the beat of the music has kept the pair engaged in the sport, even if there isn't much competition. "It's still fun. It's still rewarding to go out there and compete, to push yourself," Peter said. "So many people our age sort of just vegetate rather than push yourself and keep achieving. "Even if sometimes you can't achieve what you used to be able to achieve." When rollerskating first hit Australia in the 1980s, it was a booming sport for social and competitive skaters. But participation declined over the following decades, as trends moved on and more options entered the market. "Couples skating like [us] have really gone out of fashion, there are very few left now," Barbara said. "It's a real shame that the young skaters aren't still doing it because they can do so much more than we can now." Many of Peter and Barbara's peers have either given up the sport or died, but for those still committed to rollerskating, the competitions have become an opportunity to reminisce. "The national championships isn't so much a competition as a reunion," Peter said. "It's unfortunately becoming less and less so as our friends have faded away one way or the other." The couple are now an anomaly in Perth. But they don't mind standing out from the crowd and have no intention of slowing down while they are both willing and able to keep skating. "You get some quite amazing feedback from the audience when we skate at competitions because we are quite unique," Peter said. The fluctuation of rollerskating's popularity, particularly in a social capacity, has often been tied to popular culture. Barbara said that cycle has kept her hopeful that up-and-coming skaters will start walking through the doors again. "We've had ups and downs, but it's never stayed that way," she said. Morley Rollerdrome owner Ozzy Kilgallon said the end goal was to get rollerskating to the Olympics. "World sports are best when you watch on TV and then you can go and do it … it's accessible," he said. "If they can get rollerskating to the Olympics, like skateboarding did, everyone will want to try it and that's a good thing. "That will keep us going."
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Nottingham rollerskating venue closure will have 'huge impact'
The owner of a unique Nottingham entertainment venue says it is "incredibly sad" it is being forced to close due to planning rollerskating arena, in Lenton, was set up nine years ago and has hosted parties, theme nights and skating there was an understanding that when nearby land was developed for housing, the venue would need to be soundproofed, something Joy Cotton says is confirming the closure on social media, Ms Cotton said the public reaction "really hit home how much of a huge impact this is going to have". Ms Cotton said she set up Skateland after her then teenage son struggled to find anywhere convenient to practice his has since grown into a popular venue which is partly run by when they looked into the cost of soundproofing the venue it came to "hundreds of thousands" of business has been given a deadline of 31 July to vacate the building but clearance work means they will close on 6 July."It is incredibly sad," said Ms Cotton."We only told staff and volunteers on Monday and then we shared it on our socials to let customers know."The amount of people who have reached out to us is amazing."It has really hit home how much of a huge impact this is going to have for some people."It's really going to affect their well being, because this is somewhere they come together with their friends and there is nowhere else they can come and do this." Affordable fun She confirmed the team would like to continue elsewhere but they need a suitable building at the right price."We'd love to move to another venue but that is easier said than done," she said."We need about 8,000 sq ft, parking and no houses nearby and those tend to get snapped up quickly."People have been saying 'Oh it was so cheap, you could have charged more'."But one of our key principles was to keep skating affordable for Nottingham."There are so many events or venues that people struggle to afford so we wanted to make sure this was for everybody."Ms Cotton said the next few weeks were going to be busy with planning final events and putting items into storage."I'm not sure when it will hit home it's not there anymore," she said.
