Alcalá View 1995 12.2

Getting Pumped about Vert Skating By Jill Wagner It was a Saturday in late August when Theresa Andersen trav- eled to Huntington

Benetit Briefs

University and State Employees Credit Union is available to the USO commu- nity effective Sept. 1. Both university employees and students qualify for member- ship. USE offers a complete range of banking services, including checking and sav- ings accounts, credit cards, ATM access, personal loans, home mortgages and auto loans. The nearest location to USO is on Linda Vista Road next to Mission Federal Credit Union. Membership information is available in human resources. Benefits general informa- tion meetings will be held 10:30 to 11 :30 a.m., Nov. 1, (Spanish speaking presenta- tion) and 11 :30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Nov. 2, in UC Forum B. The presentations will explain medical and dental insurance coverage for 1996. The Benefits Fair is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Nov. 3, in the UC Forum. This year's fair is a week earlier than in previous years due to the inauguration events taking place the sec- ond week of November. The fair is an opportunity for employees to talk to the insurance representatives, register for drawings and receive free gifts and infor- mative handouts. Open enrollment will be held in Salomon Lecture Hall 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Nov. 14 through Nov. 17. During open enrollment, employees can change their health coverage and set up health and/or dependent care (child care) reimbursement accounts for 1996. Selections made in November will become effective Jan. 1, 1996. Watch for open enrollment information through campus mail in late October. - Vicki Coscia

Beach to skate in her fi rst formal in-line competi- tion. The nex t day she was crowned the women's national champion vert skater. Vert is in-line skating lingo for vertical, mean- ing Andersen, ass istant manager in the print shop, spends more time in the air than on the eight whee ls of her Rollerblade skates. She and three other women competed in the National

An airborne Theresa Andersen performs a tricky grab at the National In-line Skate Series championships.

skate before landing or peri"orming a hand- stand -like move while twisting the body around to land fac ing forward on the ramp. The 25 -year-old daredev il recently began practicing a back fli p and plans to have it petfected by nex t year's competition. There's always something new to try in vert skating and the adrenaline rush from doing something no one else has done is hard to beat, Andersen says, her face light- ing up with exc itement. That sort of elat ion was ev ident fo llowing her championship run on the half-pipe, which was captured on film by PRIME Sports. During the Sept. 12 telev ision airing of the compet ition , a grinning and surprised Andersen - in full skater's regalia, includ- ing baggy shorts, tank top, helmet, knee and elbow pads and wrist guards - managed to tell an interviewer simply: "It fee ls really neat ! I'm shocked I won ." Back at home, Andersen and her hus- band, Eric, look fo rward to Sa turday morn- ing trips from their El Cajon home to a YMCA skate park in Escondido. There they join other skaters to practice technique and tricks. Andersen especially likes working with the kids who hang out at the park, who are eager for some advice from the more experienced skaters. It's the people and the chance to teach kids and promote the sport that keeps Andersen pumped about ve rt skating.

In-line Skate Series championships Aug. 20 and the judges deemed the newcomer the mos t impressive half-pipe skater. The half-pipe is a rounded wooden ramp with two sides rising as high as 11 feet from the ground , Andersen explains. Tricks are perfo rmed near the top of either side and judges are particularly impressed by the amount of air a skater can put between her- se lf and the ramp. "I go for a lot of air because that's one of my stronges t po ints and many of the female skaters can 't get high air," Andersen says. Her average rise above the top of the pipe is fo ur feet. Andersen's strong legs help her ga in speed when pumping to the top of the ramp and a weekly workout with her husband and other male skaters provides examples of good technique fo r catching air, she says. The average male skater rises six fee t above the top of the pipe. Admittedly, practices can be rough. "You never know when you're go ing to slam, " Andersen says, using more of the skater lingo to exp lain that, with one wrong move, you can crash at any moment. The soft ball she played while growing up didn't exactly prepare her fo r vert skating but she was the youngest of fo ur children , which helped build toughness, Andersen adds with a laugh . Many of the tricks are performed in the air and include the compe titor grabbing a