English Version: The Guajataca Downhill was a much bigger event this year, fueled by mass Island-wide media coverage, and adding the catalyst of the top IGSA Pro and Captain of the Team Green, Scott (Scoot) Smith, the event drew an estimated 1,500 spectators at the main curves near the finish line, and another estimated 2,000 spectators along the 2.3 km race route. Several other thousands attended from their comfort of their homes, thanks to a live broadcast via internet facilitated by Nenito Molinari (a local techno-cat) and the great people at silverfishlonboarding.com. The event also drew 110 racers from all over the Island, and. Colombia, Italy, the USA (Florida), and Vancouver Canada were represented at the event. Thanks to town mayor, the Honorable Heriberto Velez, the most critical part of the course was paved fresh just before the races, providing for a smooth surface and faster speeds.
A small army of staff volunteers from the Pirate Surf Club and the town of Quebradillas struck a delicate balance between the large crowd, angry residents, emergency services, and racers, to maintain control of the race route and enable the heats in all age groups to take place and flow in an event that lasted well over 6 hours. The racing excitement never stopped, as heats kept on forming and pouring down the Guajataca Downhill with full police escort every time. The wipe-outs were spectacular with racers paying dearly for any slight mistake made during course. The Vera Ambulance paramedics stayed busy for the duration of the races.
The adventure for this really started for us here in Miami. Working behind the scene really takes a lot of work and time Jan 22 Scoot arrives in Miami being from south you know that southern hospitality thing… And a skater 7 days a week it was important that Scoot had a chance to skate while he was here in Miami. Miami is like No other place that I have skated in all reality it is long board heaven we have over 25 garages all different in less than 2sq miles All you got to do is park and ride… No driving So we set up a session for Scoot that lasted from 8pm til about 2am then it was off to South Beach for one garage then dinner and drinks. About 4 am we called a night and set home. Scoot was already on borrowed time coming from Canada and it was time to call it a night. On Friday due to my responsibilities with this event my day started at 8 am. Scoot slept til 1pm.
It took us all day to get all prizes, promotional materials and do the suite case shuffle to try and save money due to weight restrictions at the airport. We ended up with only 1 extra bag between the group of 5. The only drag about going to Aguadilla is that the only flights are the red eye. We arrived at 3 in the morning. Passengers clapped when the plane landed and we were greeted by a crew of 10 people holding a sign that said “welcome to Puerto Rico scoot for the Guajataca Downhill race. From there we were all separated to different cars I rode with Hector ( tito el Pajaro) Valle we headed for the hotel (Paradero vista mar) to drop off our stuff and check in while driving there hector hands me itinerary for the weekend AS follows….
This is the final installment of Malakai Kingston's reports from the floor of January's ASR, but not the conclusion of our coverage of products, developments, weirdness and "stuff" that we gathered over the ten days that contained Surf Expo and the ASR show. Dig in and enjoy...
Shutting It Down
The reality is that a great deal of work goes into a show. The logistics of it are staggering and the orchestration of the vendors is no less mind boggling than the 2008 Olympics. However, when the show is less than half the size it usually is because Quicksilver and all its representatives pull out, then things get a bit more simple. With less floor to stomp, you find yourself digging for scraps and standing in the same places over and over wishing you could think of something new to say.
I was given a task only to realize the booth I was looking for, a regular of almost 3 years, was not even there at ASR and I spent at least 30 minutes looking for them. Where is my mind? Do you really want to know? Read on!
It's the West Coast's big trade show for surf, skate, fashion and more, and it's going on right now in San Diego. The skate contests and parts of the show are open to the public, but we're here to give you a peek behind the curtain on the rest of it. There's more to come, but here's a scroll through two days worth of it, brought to you by our man on the move, Malakai Kingston...
SHOWTIME!
ASR JAN. 09
There is something in the relm of endurance racing to think that many people just got from convention to convention hawking their wares and slinging their swill. Show after show, single serving soaps and pockets full of cards. Everything running together bleeding and merging faces look the same and wares the more so. I for one, while being quasi prepared for SurfEx was not in any way prepared for ASR. Who was I supposed to meet, who was going to be there? Had I made all the contacts I needed to pre show? What was I even looking for at the show? I usually knew these things prepared weeks in advance through a slew of phone calls, text messages, e-mails and bathroom graffiti. Compared to what I was about to get involved in, Surf Expo seemed like a well choreographed breakdance routine performed by ferrets. ASR? The proverbial table full of hermit crabs. I had no idea what I was getting into, I knew the list of ways I was prepared left me knowing I had no idea what was going on.
This time though, I only knew 3 things. I had a badge, a camera, and a show to cover.
Events & Coverage 
