The sight of 23 teams struggling over loose rock, mud and dirt tracks with ski poles and skates with outsized wheels is more comical than sporting and unsurprisingly was largely edited out of the television feed. Mothersill, a veteran inline skater, had been optimistic about the off-road skating, but the accumulated effort of the last three days proved almost too much.

In-line skaters aren't stuck to smooth pavement anymore. This summer they can take on dirt trails — or potholed streets — with all-terrain skates by Rollerblade and Roces. To give off-road skating a boost, Rollerblade has teamed up with ski resorts to lure skaters to the slopes, where they can try out the clunky, big-wheeled blades. Despite the all-out campaign, some retailers doubt off-road skating will break out of a niche market. For now the only extreme thing about the sport is its price. At up to $ 500 a pair, says a Colorado shop owner, "its appeal is strictly to danger-loving executives."

Skater will have almost free reign in the Willunga Council area after the council decided not to introduce no skating zones. The council opted to sit back and see how the State Government's skating laws, introduced next month, affect its area. It says it will then introduce no go zones if needed. …

Although Willunga council did not have a lot of skaters in its area, the council was looking at catering for them, Mr Bradshaw said. He said one possibility was an "off road" skating facility.