The longboarding world has been host to some board makers and designers that burn ever so brightly and then, for various reasons, are done. Jeff Bozi's boards are legendary for cutting edge design and an intense infusion of stoke, and then --poof!-- Jeff was done and moved on to other things. Alex Luxat pushed materials and design to new heights, creating a virtually mythological status in the pantheon of longboard and slalom deck construction, and then --wham!-- he's off to much greener pastures. Of course, there's also a certain longboard company out of New Jersey that rocked the world with wild designs, a Ben Schroeder sponsorship and then a train wreck of a demise that still has longtime 'fish readers shudder --and we still aren't using the name. Now comes what appears to be the latest flameout, described here:
The Rise and Fall of Chicago Longboards
After a long, drawn-out wait and much speculation, it has come time to acknowledge the fact that, save a miracle, Chicagolongboards.com has gone the way of the dodo. The speedboard giant of the Midwest has unceremoniously disappeared off the face of the earth. Although the end of CLB has sparked a great deal of hostility and harsh words regarding questionable business practices, there can be little argument that Julian Nicks’ work will be missed by riders in the US and around the globe.
Happy New Year, from the whole crew at Silverfish Longboarding.com! It's going to be a great year for skateboarding and skateboarders. Welcome to 2008! There are some new things you'll find at the 'Fish and you're gonna be stoked when you check them out! This isn't about new servers (amen), but the ongoing evolution of the forums and functionality of your website. You'll see some new formats and functions in the Gear Reviews sections, you'll be able to take photos found in the Galleries or Forums and post them anywhere else and you'll see three big evolutions in the forums: a ripping new Buy/Sell format, the institution of "reputation" and the long-awaited Regional Forums..
From everyone in the Silverfish Crew, to everyone in the Silverfish community, here's wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas! Spend time with your family, have a great day and shut off your computer! Take your parents outside and teach them to ride your longboard, or just head inside and guzzle as much hot cider, cold eggnog and scotch from your Dad's bar as you can handle! Tomorrow morning, jump into the forums and tell us all what you scored from the 'rents for Christmas or Chanukah and then...go skate. If you see this article on Wednesday, that's what we're doing!
On November 18, the All Girl Skate Jam went down at the Girl Scouts of America San Diego/Imperial Council headquarters in San Diego, CA. Patty Segovia-Krause gathered up 17 professional and amateur skateboarding women to teach about 150 Girl Scouts how to skate.
All Girls Skate Jam Rips It With
The Girls Scouts
Over 60 complete decks, helmets, pads, and swag were donated by Vans, Powell, Arbor, Birdhouse, Flip, Tracker, Khiro, OS3, 187, McGill’s Skateshop, Sk8kings, and La Costa Boys Racing. Girls as young as 5 were divided into groups, according to age and skill level. Basic skills were taught, such as pushing, stopping, and navigating through cones (the American Slalom Skateboard Association insurance ensured that slalom was showcased at the event). The more advanced girls learned ollies and basic street/freestyle tricks. Nobody was seriously hurt, and everyone had a great time.
The best way to print these rules is by using your printer driver to make a booklet (2 pages per sheet, landscape paper, fold in middle). This will print all 16 pages on 4 sheets of paper, 1/2 sheet per page, so it can be folded in a booklet form. If your printer cannot handle printing in booklet form, then you can conventionally print the rules on either 8 sheets (duplex -- one page on each side), or 16 sheets (simplex -- one page per sheet of paper).
Contest organizers and racers are encouraged by ISSA to become familiar with these rules, as ISSA sanctioned events must be run using them. (Minor exceptions as indicated on the contest sanction application are allowed.)
General News 
