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Day one of theIGSA North American Championshipsis over. The Qualifying rounds and followed multiple free-ride and practice runs by all classes. Seismic's Corner of Death claimed its share of the Gravity Bikes, Standup DH and Classic Luge riders, but the crashes in the StreetLuge class were awesome! Everyone got up and walked away, including Brent DeKeyser, who snapped a plywood sheet in half, after plowing through haybales to get at it.
Look in the Silverfish Galleries for over 800 photos from the day... and check out IGSA's report, below:
Noah Sakamoto turned in a blistering second qualifying run today to take the number one starting position for tomorrows Seismic Downhill Skateboard race at the IGSA North American Championships. John Rogers took the second spot followed by Brent DeKeyser in third. Nathan Lang led a contingent of Canadian skaters who occupied the next five spots. Lang qualified fourth, followed by Thomas Edstrand in fifth, Cody Tisdale in sixth, Kevin Reimer in seventh, and Scott Smith in eighth. Paul Carroll of the USA was ninth and another Canadian, Steve Lange, rounded out the top ten. A total of 26 skateboarders made qualifying runs today.
Edstrand, Tisdale and Reimer actually sat in the first thru third positions after the first qualifying run by Edstrand and Tisdale elected not to take a second run and had to sit and watch themselves get bumped down the grid in the second run. Sakamoto's run was amazing as he was able to carry an enormous amount of speed through the trecherous Seismic Corner. The ninety-degree high speed turn saw a huge number of crashes today as it tested the skill of every skater. Even reigning IGSA World Cup Champion had a big taste of the straw. Fortunately every skater was able to walk away today with little more than a bump or bruise.
The action starts tomorrow with morning warm up runs beginning at 9:00am. The Seismic Downhill Skateboard Race is scheduled to start at 12:00 noon. Admission to the park is $7.00 per carload. Admission to the event is free. For more information on the event or the IGSA, please visit www.gravity-sports.com.
The IGSA North American Championships will be held November 18-19, 2006 at Frank G. Bonelli Park in San Dimas, California.Come to the Los Angeles foothills to race and spectate with competitors from across the globe, each out to grab some glory under what we hope will be sunny Southern California skies.Downhill skateboard racers from Europe and Canada are registered to race against along present and past IGSA World Cup and World Champions, nearly guaranteeing a field of well over the 30+ skaters that competed in the races at Bonelli on November 4th.Seismic Skate Systems just stepped up to sponsor the DH Skateboarding class, to the tune of $500 and packs of their new 85mm SpeedVent wheels for the podium! That's not all: Garland Restoration will sponsor the Gravity Bike class with a $500 purse! Expect to see the luge and inline skate fields expand, too!
After a six-month break for summer, the European Circuit and the Demons of Downhill in Ohio, the IGSA returned on November 4th to Bonelli Regional Park in the San Dimas foothills, outside of Los Angeles, California for the fifth round of the IGSA California Downhill Series. Under clear, blue skies and warm, November weather, a huge turnout of racers hit the hill, both to resume battles postponed by the break and to prepare for the State Championships, coming two weeks hence. With 31 skaters in standup DH, 17 streetlugers, a competitive inline class and the gravity bikes in attendance, it was all the organizers could do to get practice, heats, semis and finals done before dark.
The racing was on the “standard” Via Verde course, and the racers’ speeds were enhanced by an absence of the traditional headwinds on the hill. The standup DH skateboarders regularly passed the Silverfish Longboarding radar trap at over 40mph, with a few coming past at 44mph. Many inliners, streetluges and gravity bikes recorded speeds over 50mph in the mid-hill trap, and Fermin Rodriguez rode up to finish a semi-heat with 53mph at the line! With higher speeds, some new equipment and new skaters on the hill, close racing and beautiful weather also hosted more wrecks than we’d seen so far all season on Via Verde.
On October 20-21 the IGSA World Cup Series made its annual trip to Bainbridge, Ohio for the Demons of Downhill. Competitors came from throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland to challenge the 1.3 mile race course that winds its way down "Jester Hill". The Downhill Skateboarding class was dominated by a contingent of three Swedish riders who were routinely recording speeds of 67.7mph (109kph) down a narrow course that featured a series of sweeping turns, blind corners and rollercoaster type up and down sections. In Street Luge and Classic Luge, it was a group of veteran American racers who controlled the event.
Friday was practice day at the Demons of Downhill. The course was still wet from a storm that hit the area on Thursday but, by noon, the track was mostly dry. All of the competitors were instructed to take it easy on the first practice run but, right from the beginning, it was apparent that the Swedish downhill skateboard team of Fredrik Lindstrom, Olle Van Keppel and Mathias Goransson meant business. While the other riders were all foot-braking through the chicane section these three riders were only air-braking! By the end of the day, they were taking the section full speed and never breaking their tuck. It was amazing watching 16 year old Van Keppel in particular, as he balanced on his front foot and steered his board with only the big toe of his back foot in excess of 65mph!
In both Street Luge and Classic Luge, it was the veterans John Fryer, Dave Auld, David Dean, and defending champion Mike McIntyre who seemed to be laying down the fast times. In Downhill Inline, defending IGSA World Cup Champion Scott Peer and veteran Warren Focke had some new competition with a group of three Canadian racers from Montreal having made the trip to Ohio. McIntyre also took some blistering runs on his gravity bike. Fortunately, the rain stayed away the entire afternoon and every rider was able to take a lot of practice runs.
Excellent course au col d’Hautacam les 16 et 17 septembre 2006 pour la finale du championnat de France. Hautacam est situé près de Lourdes, dans les Pyrénées.
L’événement était organisé par le Bordeaux Longkate Club (BLC), qui organisait un freeride sur ce spot depuis deux ans. Pour cette première en compétition, le temps n’a pas aidé l’organisation puisque tout s’est fait en une journée !
IGSA Coverage 
