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Tasha began roller skating in earnest at the age of 12 at the Anacosita Park Roller Skating Pavilion with her mother and brother. As a student in Washington, DC public schools, she had the wonderful opportunity to take dance and figure roller skating, at National Roller Rink on Kalorama Road, as apart of her school curriculum. This exposure combined with skating recreationally at local rinks helped to solidify roller skating as a personal passion. At age 15 she became a performance skater with the Wheels of Fortune, a skating troupe based out of Alexandria Roller Rink in Alexandria, VA. As a member of the Wheels of Fortune, she specialized in group and couples routines. The group performed in many events such as: the re-opening celebration of Union Station (Washington, DC), the National Celebration of the 200th Birthday of the US Constitution (Philadelphia, PA), the Radio City Music Halls Production of Coke-a-Cola 100th Birthday Celebration (Atlanta, GA), the Alexandria Water Front Festival (Alexandria, VA), the “Taste of the Town” (Washington DC), the reopening of the Old Post Office Pavilion (Washington, DC), the Grand Opening of Shake and Bake Roller Rink (Baltimore, MD), and four consecutive National Cherry Blossom Parades (Washington, DC), just to name a few. The Wheels of Fortune were highlighted in the nationally shown TV Show “PM Magazine” and 10 Days of Christmas promotion for Channel 5 in Washington, DC. Her experiences as a skater with the Wheels of Fortune broaden her perspective about the significance of roller skating. In 1989, she married her skating partner Norbert Klusmann; a champion couples skater and one of the founding members of Wheels of Fortune. During the next few years Tasha and Norbert were committed to raising a family, they were blessed with two children, a daughter and a son. In 1999 Tasha incorporated her time for family, concern for the community, and her skate passion to take over Our Family Skate Association (OFSA), a community based organization that was started by her mother in the early1980’s to support roller skating at the Anacostia Park Skating Pavilion. Under Tasha’s direction OFSA has expanded its annual event calendar to embrace a broader spectrum of the community. She has also developed several projects that embody the organizations mission to educate the general public on the health/ social benefits of roller skating while preserving and promoting the rich history of roller skating in the African American community. One such project is the National African American Roller Skating Archives Project (NAARSAP) at Howard University’s Moorland Spingarn Research Center, which is amassing a collection of items documenting roller skating in African American communities from across the country. Tasha has become recognized as an advocate for roller skating. Her tirelessly pursuit to make the public aware of the recreational, health, and cultural-social benefits of skating for families and youth has garnered much attention. She was featured in 2004 on Channel 5 Morning News Show (Washington, DC) with Holly Morris. The same year she was a guest on the Channel 9 Morning news to discuss roller skating in Washington, DC. Tasha and her husband were featured in “8 Wheels and Some Soul Brotha Music” a video documentary spotlighting roller skating from a black perspective. Tasha, her husband, and their children participated as extras, in Fox’s feature film “Roll Bounce” which was filmed in Chicago during the summer 2004; the film will be released in September of 2005. Since 1993, Tasha has worked with adults with developmental disabilities in the Washington metropolitan area. In her profession, she advocates for the rights of individuals with disabilities to have access to training and employment opportunities. She saw a need in the Washington D.C. area to establish a venue where persons with disabilities could experience the joys of skating, consequently, through OFSA she now coordinates the “Extra Special All Skate,” a roller skating event where individuals with developmental disabilities are able to skate with the assistance of “Skate Buddies.” She is currently working to bring attention to the dire need for a skating facility in the Nation's Capital, one that will offer classes, encourage physical fitness, and provide a wholesome environment for inter-generational recreation for residents of the Washington Metropolitan Area. With the consideration of roller skating as a 2012 Olympic sport, Tasha and OSFA envision a program to prepare local youth to participate, particularly Washington’s most economically challenged. Tasha believes that roller-skating can be utilized as a conduit to build healthier communities and, thus stronger families, thus, her passion in her direction of OSFA to promote “Family, Fitness, & Fun…Roller Skating and so much more.” For more information on OFSA or to contact Tasha Klusmann: OFSA |
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