Greased lightning

Local athletes excel in the growing sport of speed skating

By John Denny

The Clackamas Review, Jul 8, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Milwaukie 12-year-old Dante Meade is fast making a name for himself as a competitive speed skater.

Craig Mitchelldyer / Clackamas Review

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PORTLAND – Things are looking up for the speed skating team at Oaks Park Roller Rink.

“We’ve moved up from the sixth strongest region in the nation last year to this year we’re the third strongest region,” said Derek Meade, a 38-year-old Milwaukie speed-skating enthusiast who coaches the team.

Meade is a big reason things are looking up for the Oaks Skating Club team. He’s been a part of competitive speed skating since he first took up the sport close to 30 years ago, and he’s got credentials.

At age 28, Meade set a quads (four wheels) national record in the short-track Classic Indoor Men’s division for 1,500 meters. That record still stands today.

He’s qualified for national competition in inline or quad speed skating in all but five seasons since he first took up competitive roller skating in the early 1980’s.

And he’s studied under the best in the country, accepting invitations to the Olympic Training Center three times in the early 1990’s.

“In my younger days I skated [on roller skates] against some of the top ice-skating speed skaters,” said Meade. “I skated against Olympic silver medalist Derek Parra several times.

“A lot of the Olympic skaters start out on roller skates because it’s cheaper.”

“He’s still pretty good for his age,” said Oaks head professional George Kolibaba, who coached Meade in the early 1980’s. “He’s always been self-motivated and dedicated, which is hard to come by these days. He’s always worked hard and taken it seriously.”

Meade says of his early motivation, “I loved to show off and I loved to go fast.”

His early quest for speed has led to an unbridled passion for the sport.

“We’re doing our best to promote the sport,” Meade said. “If we get enough people to participate, it could become an Olympic sport.”

Meade coached Oaks Park speed skaters from 1996 through 2002, and the team flourished. But a job took him to Louisiana. He returned to the area and resumed coaching the team two years ago.

“We missed him a lot,” said Kolibaba. “Derek has a real good rapport with all ages. We’re pleased he’s back. The club’s thriving again.”

During Meade’s absence, speed skating club participation dwindled to a dozen skaters. The number increased to 30 upon his return.

And club members held their own at this year’s USA Roller Sports Northwest Regional Inline Speedskating Championships, claiming two regional titles and 10 runner-up finishes.

Meade had his own share of success at this year’s nationals, contributing to runner-up finishes in four events: masters (age 35-and-up) men’s inline, masters two-man relay, masters two-man mixed relay, and masters four-man relay.

Unfortunately Meade will have to wait another year before he competes at the nationals. In mid-May, a week after the regionals, he took a spill while practicing and broke his collarbone.

But Meade has still been hard at it since the accident, training his teammates for this year’s nationals, which begin Sunday in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Derek isn’t the first Meade to take a liking to roller skating. His father, Curt Meade, age 68, retired from a successful competitive career in 2,000 but still skates recreationally. The elder Meade was a national qualifier in all four competitive roller skating disciplines: figures, dance, freestyle and speed.

And Derek has three sons who skate competitively: Devin, age 10; Dante, 12; and Dominique, 13.

Dante, a recent graduate of Wichita Elementary School, will be in Lincoln next week competing in his first speedskating national. Dante qualified by placing third in the Novice Elementary Boys division at regionals.

“All three of my boys put on the plastic skates from the day they could walk,” Derek Meade said.

Dante takes after his dad.

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