How to Cross-Step Turn on In-Line Skates

Turn fast and smooth at high speed on your in-line skates by learning to cross your outside foot over your inside foot as you carve through a turn.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• In-line Skate Axles
• In-line Skate Spacers
• In-line Skate Wheels
• In-line Skates
• In-line Skating Gear
• In-line Skating Helmets
• In-line Skating Protective Gear Sets
• Wrist Guards

1. Skate at a moderately fast rate. As you improve your cross-step turn, you will be able to perform this technique at any speed.

2. Keep your weight forward and over your skates at all times.

3. Bend your knees slightly, and lean into a turn. Continue leaning and carving on your turn until you have completed it.

4. Stagger your skates so that the skate on the inside of the turn is a little forward of your outside skate.

5. Lift your outside skate, and swing it forward and around your inside skate.

6. Set your outside skate down in front and slightly inside of your inside skate. This is your cross-step. Use it to tighten the turn.

7. Lift your inside skate, and place it forward of your outside skate.

8. Cross-step again.

9. Repeat until your turn is complete.

Tips & Warnings

• You should be able to increase your speed doing a cross-step turn.
• Bend at the waist to keep your weight forward.
• Do a slower, wider cross-step turn to start out, and then work on tightening the turn and doing it faster. Watch speed skating on TV for a great example of how the cross-step turn should look.
• Always wear wrist guards, helmet and knee pads when in-line skating. If you lose your balance, your feet cannot save you, and the pavement you will meet.

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on 8/8/2006 Even better, skate backward, make crossovers backward to spice up your style. You first need to feel comfortable with riding backward.
Then try to lean to a corner and crossover backward.

on 11/22/2005 Cross stepping is better known by speed skaters as a crossover, because one foot crosses over the other. I can tell you that crossing over is the best thing you can do on skates to increase speed and maintain stability on corners.