مَسَاءَ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ، فِي وَسَطِ الْقَاهِرَةِ، يَلْتَقِي شَبَابٌ فِي شَارِعٍ صَغِيرٍ. فِي أَرْجُلِهِمْ أَحْذِيَةٌ غَرِيبَةٌ لَهَا عَجَلَاتٌ. هِيَ أَحْذِيَةُ التَّزَلُّجِ، وَهَذِهِ الرِّيَاضَةُ جَدِيدَةٌ فِي مِصْرَ. أُسَامَة سَمِير مُدَرِّبُ تَزَلُّجٍ، وَعُمْرُهُ سِتٌّ وَعِشْرُونَ سَنَةً. بَدَأَ هَذِهِ الرِّيَاضَةَ قَبْلَ سَنَتَيْنِ. يَقُولُ: فِي أَوَّلِ مَرَّةٍ، كُنَّا عِشْرِينَ شَخْصًا تَقْرِيبًا. وَيَقُولُ: نُعَلِّمُ النَّاسَ كَيْفَ يَقَعُونَ، حَتَّى لَا يَتَأَذَّوْا كَثِيرًا. وَيَلْبَسُ اللَّاعِبُونَ أَشْيَاءَ لِلْحِمَايَةِ عَلَى الرُّكْبَتَيْنِ وَالْمِرْفَقَيْنِ. وَالدَّوْرَةُ شَهْرٌ وَنِصْفٌ. فِيهَا يَتَعَلَّمُ الْمُبْتَدِئُ كَيْفَ يَقِفُ، وَيَمْشِي، وَيَجْرِي. مُصْطَفَى مَحْمُود عُمْرُهُ ثَلَاثٌ وَعِشْرُونَ سَنَةً، وَهُوَ مُبْتَدِئٌ. يَقُولُ: هَذِهِ ثَانِي مَرَّةٍ أَلْبَسُ فِيهَا الْحِذَاءَ. اشْتَرَيْتُهُ أَمْسِ، وَلَبِسْتُهُ فِي الْبَيْتِ. أَنَا أَتَحَرَّكُ قَلِيلًا فَقَطْ، وَأُرِيدُ أَنْ أَتَعَلَّمَ أَكْثَرَ. وَأَنَا لَا أَعْرِفُ نَاسًا كَثِيرِينَ هُنَا. وَتَقُولُ تُقَى مَجْدِي، وَهِيَ مُدَرِّبَةٌ أَيْضًا: نَشْعُرُ بِالْحُرِّيَّةِ. تَعَرَّفَتْ تُقَى عَلَى نَاسٍ، ثُمَّ كَوَّنَتْ مَجْمُوعَةً لِلتَّزَلُّجِ.
On Friday evening, in the centre of Cairo, young people meet in a small street. On their feet are strange shoes with wheels. They are skates, and this sport is new in Egypt. Osama Samir is a skating coach, and he is twenty-six years old. He started this sport two years ago. He says: the first time, we were about twenty people. And he says: we teach people how to fall, so that they do not get badly hurt. And the skaters wear things to protect their knees and elbows. And the course is a month and a half. On it, a beginner learns how to stand, walk and run. Mustafa Mahmoud is twenty-three years old, and he is a beginner. He says: this is the second time I am wearing the shoes. I bought them yesterday, and I wore them at home. I can only move a little, and I want to learn more. And I don’t know many people here. And Toqa Magdy, who is a coach too, says: we feel free. Toqa got to know people, then she formed a skating group.