Students Hit Road in Cross-Country Skate for Funds

WASHINGTON —  High school groups visit the nation’s capital all the time, but not many Rollerblade home.

To Seattle.

“It is like one of those things where we all said, ‘This is a great idea. Let’s go for it,’ ” said Amanda Kirk, 15, a student at Chief Sealth High School in Seattle.

Five Rollerblading teens and seven adults in their support team set out on the cross-country trip from in front of the White House on Friday to raise money for their school and raise awareness of young people’s abilities.

They intend to cover as many as 240 miles a day, alternating in 90-minute shifts, day and night for an estimated three weeks.

The teens will cover the day hours, stopping at campgrounds while the adults skate through the night and then drive to catch up the next morning.

They’ve charted a 3,039-mile course over less-traveled roads and highways through Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington.

“The principal and vice principal were skeptical. They never thought it would happen. That’s what is making it worthwhile. We’re proving to them we can do it,” Kirk said.

The idea was born in an experimental class, “Sports and Events and Marketing,” intended to teach educational and marketing skills.