INTRODUCIONIn the discipline of Physical Education was proposed us conduct an interview to a natural athlete from Algarve. We interviewed the roller-skater Carolina Silva, residing in Tavira.

INTERVIEW1 – How did you start to enjoy this kind of sport?

As long as I remember I enjoy practising sports. I think it was born with me.

2-How old were you when you started?I started when I was 3 years old.

Escola Básica 2.3 D. Manuel I – TaviraEducação Física – 9ºD

Trabalho de Grupo

3- Who was the responsible for your interest in roller-skating?

I don’t know, and my parents don’t remember either. They told me that one day I arrived from school and said “I want to go roller-skating” and they did not know that Tavira had roller-skating activity.

4-How many competitions did you enter in?

I entered in regional and national championships, national and international tournaments, in groups and also individually.

5- Which results did you get?I am regional champion for the two specialties of this sport (free and mandatory) since I was 6 years old. At age 8 I received my first medal for a national championship, second place in free and third in mandatory. I won 10 medals for national championships.

6- Can you tell us some of your experiences: bad and goodIn general this sport has always given me good experiences. The bad ones are the injuries, because apart from that there is nothing bad.

7- Are the competitions hard?Yes the competitions are very hard; there is always a group from 3 to 5 athletes that can win.

8- Are you friend of your colleagues/competitors? I have many friends in the sport.

9- How many days you train per week?

At the moment I am at the university in Lisbon and it is hard to manage the studies with the training, because of that I train a lot less. I Train when I can. Normally I train at the weekend, when the gyms have availability. Before I came to Lisbon I practiced every day from 14pm to 16pm, except during the weekend.

10-Do you have any special diet?

I have a very balanced diet, I watch what I eat. I try to eat every 3 hours and drink a lot of water. When I am training for the competitions my diet is very important. When I am on holidays I need to be careful so that I don’t gain any weight.

11- You see this sport more as a hobby or something more?

Rollerskatting is a hobby but also a way of life.

12-Do you practice any other sport?

Ever since I was a child I practised a lot of sport. Over the year I had to make some choices and roller-skating was my only choice.

13-Which were your best scores?

My best scores were second place in free and mandatory competitions in the Child and Initiate division, third place in free and second place in mandatory competitions in the Cadet division, Fifth place in free and fourth place in mandatory competitions in the Juvenile division, third place in free and fourth in mandatory competitions in the Junior division and third place in free competitions in the Senior division.

14-which competition you thought were the hardest?National competitions and the International Tournament were the hardest for me.

15-Who was your trainer?When I started roller-skatting my trainer was Tânia. Since I was 5 year old I train with Célia.

16-Do you have any idol in Roller-skatting? If yes, who?

When I started roller-skatting I had a big fascination for the academic and sport career of Manuel Magalhães, Dina Ribeiro, Liliana Andrade and Rita Falcão. In the present time I do not have any idol, there are

some athletes that I prefer to see roller-skatting. They are Débora Shei (worlds champion), Andreia Aracu (ranked in fourth in the worlds championship), Daniel Arriola (currently out of the competitions), Sara Venerucci e Danilo Decembrini (world champions) and Roberto Riva currently out of the competitions).

17-Did you always have the support of your friends and family?

My parents supported me since the beginning. I have much to thank them and I owe them my success in roller-skating. They have gone through many miles, many lost weekend s in gymnasiums, many money invested and much more. They suffer when I suffer, they cry when I cry, and they celebrate when I win. In my opinion they suffer a lot more then what they say and show.

My friends support me. Many times I had to choose between going out with my friends or practise and nor all of them understood my “obsession” for roller-skating, because my priorities were different.

18- What do you hope for in the future?For the future I would like to see my work and effort rewarded, continue to have good results.

19- Did you have any sponcer?No, I never had any sponcer. In roller.skating that is not usual.

20-For how long have you practised roller-skating?

I practise roller-skating for 17 year so far.

21- Do you ever think of quitting? If yes, why?

When our effort and hard works aren’t recognized I think “why am I still here?”, but when I look back and remember all the good things roller-skating has given me I don’t quit.

Wrote by:

Carolina Mangas

Maria Massapina

Soraia Dias