Here's an update for us on the skate scene in Northern Virginia, turf for the NoVa Bombers and former home of both Silverfishes founder and Malakai Kingston.  The skating is great, the skaters are stoked and Justin Metcalf wrote in to tell us how things are going...

SCENE REPORT: NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Northern Virginia is home to one of the fastest growing residential areas in the US, the power leaders of Washington DC, and some of the worst traffic in the nation.  With the stress and hostility these features bring, one would not expect to find a thriving and rapidly growing skate scene here as well.  However, Northern Virginia is home to one of the strongest skate crews on the East Coast.

I was first introduced to the NOVA longboarding scene last spring after following a friend to a session on a local hill.  I was hooked almost immediately after seeing the guys fly around the corner at the bottom of the hill.  After a few more sessions of following the other guys around, I bought my first board last summer.  I haven’t looked back since.  The skate scene in Northern Virginia is truly one of a kind with a group of happy and supportive guys (and girls) that manage to grow and have an awesome time despite hills that pale in comparison to much of the country and a local atmosphere that is largely unsupportive of skating.  Northern Virginia is home to some of the most talented riders on the East Coast and one of the most lively skate scenes in the US.

The NOVA Bombers consist of a collection of riders whose interests range from park to slalom to sliding to DH.  They come from all walks of life and all age groups.  There’s Andres who could be the next Adam Colton, Brendan who’s working to revitalize the NOVA slalom scene, Michael who drives down from Maryland all the time to skate with us and many many others all skating and having fun together.  No one person, hill or discipline defines this crew and sessions vary as often as the weather.  One day someone will want to go hit the ditches over by Route 50 and the next we’ll be driving out to the Mountains for some speed boarding.  Whoever is there and whatever we do, everyone has fun.

Recently, the skate scene in Northern Virginia has exploded, largely as a result of the Saturday night sessions hosted by East Coast Skate Shop and Kracked Skulls Longboards.  Every Saturday night at 9 o’clock skaters from all over the area converge on East Coast Skate Shop in downtown Fairfax for a night of garage bombs, sliding, DH, and general fun.  Sessions generally begin at the parking garage on the GMU campus where we are greeted by a friendly security guard.  After a few hours tearing up the garage we’ll decide on what we’re in the mood for and go from there, sometimes heading out to a local drafting hill and other times going out to a slide hill.  The session will last late into the night with the last riders heading home often well after midnight.  The best part of the Saturday night sessions is that they draw a crowd of riders ranging from people just checking out longboarding for the first time to riders who are looking for ways to compete in Europe and Canada.  Everyone is welcome and everyone has fun.

Outside the Saturday night sessions, the NOVA Bombers consist of a core group of riders that travel and ride together.  Sessions will often originate from a simple phone call to go hit up a local spot and can balloon into several riders skating many different hills all day.  A favorite spot, and the site of the NOVA race last November is Beacon Hill.  Average speeds range in the mid 40’s (mph)

with a sweeping left and a long run out.  Other hills in the area offer more challenging turns and long drafting stretches.  Despite runs that don’t stand up in comparison with what some locations offer, Northern Virginia has bred a crew of riders that are major contenders at every event they attend.  Most notable of whom is Anthony Flis who took 2^nd at Green Mountain Madness in Ascutney this past June.

NOVA has always been active in the longboarding scene and a recent string of events has helped to augment this activism.  The NOVA race in November being the first of these events, others include the Pie Bomb which was held this past May.  Beginning with a session in the afternoon, the Pie Bomb culminated in a massive garage session in downtown Reston in the evening.  A group of about 25 riders met in parking lot and then proceeded to tear up several nearby garages over the course of the evening.  The highlight was the ride through the heart of Reston Town Center down a road open only to pedestrians.  The evening brought together riders from all over the area and was a real display of the vivacity of the NOVA skate scene.

Look out for future events and some serious contenders from the NOVA area in the very near future.  To get in touch with the NOVA Bombers email nova.bombers@gmail.com or drop a line in the Northern Virginia thread in the Skate Crews forum on the 'Fish.

Thanks, Stinee!  How's the skate scene in your town? Take some pics and tell us about it.  If you've got the stoke and enough words & pics, we'll tell the world about what you've got going!