Published: July 31, 2008 5:00 PM
Updated: July 31, 2008 8:39 PM
Local skateboarder Katie Neilson enjoys all forms of the sport, but she’s particularly interested in downhill skateboarding (also known as longboarding) these days due to the adrenaline rush from its speed.
“I’ve been raised on speed, going fast and aggression, so this was a natural fit,” she told The Times.
Neilson has only been downhill skateboarding for a couple of years, but she’s planning to take her talents to the international stage next month with a road trip to California to compete in several events, film videos and train on some of North America’s top courses.
She’ll be travelling with fellow downhill skateboarder Haven Anderson, a North Vancouver native. To raise money for their trip, they’re holding a bikini car wash all day tomorrow, complete with raffles, T-shirts and other events. The fundraiser will take place at Langley’s The Rendezvous Pub, located at 20620 56th Avenue.
Neilson said the fundraiser is important for her and Anderson, as they get some commercial sponsorship for equipment and clothing, but need to raise money for travelling expenses.
“It’s for me and Haven, to make sure we have enough money to go and get around,” she said. “There’s really no monetary funding in the sport...We need as much as we can get.”
Neilson said she’s lucky to receive some commercial sponsorship through San Diego-based Sector 9 Skateboards, a company that sells skateboards and apparel across North America through the Fluid Skate and Snowboard shops, as many downhill skateboarders have to pay for all their own equipment and apparel.
“We have racing leathers and stuff that costs thousands of dollars,” she said. “I’m very fortunate with the sponsorship situation.”
Neilson said downhill skateboarding takes a tremendous toll on equipment as well.
“This set of wheels will burn out in two runs down a race and it costs $79,” she said, adding that downhill trucks can cost up to $300.
Despite the extensive costs, Neilson said downhill skateboarding is on the rise.
“The sport is growing, it’s getting bigger,” she said.
Neilson said part of the increase in downhill skateboarding’s popularity is from the people and corporations who see how exciting it can be, and then decide to get involved or sponsor riders.
“People are like, ‘What the hell are these kids doing? This is way cooler than badminton, so why the hell are we sponsoring badminton?’” she said.
Neilson said there are still relatively few women in the sport, though.
“We’re at a race and there’s like 200 racers, and six of them are women,” she said. “They look at us like we’re crazy, saying ‘What are you doing going down that hill? Put a dress on!’”
Neilson said she expects that to change after female riders experience more success.
“Soon enough, there’s going to be some girls on the podium.”
Neilson and Anderson will be training up and down the West Coast for a month in preparation for the biggest event of their trip, the renowned Maryhill Festival of Speed. The festival, which is the home of this year’s International Gravity Sports Association World Championships, is promoted as “a five day celebration of speed, skill and loose definitions of personal safety”. It takes place Aug.27-31 on the famed Maryhill Loops Road in Goldendale, Washington, and features all kinds of death-defying sports from downhill skateboarding to street luge.
“It’s a legend,” Neilson said.
Neilson said she only got into downhill skateboarding recently.
“Up until last year, I never even knew it existed,” she said, adding that she’d always had an interest in other forms of skateboarding, though.
“Any time there was a skateboard, I was fascinated by it,” she said.
Neilson said the mindset of downhill skateboarders is quite a change from the mindset of street skateboarding.
“It’s so different you can’t even compare the two of them,” she said. “The kids who do this have no interest in doing a kickflip. They just want to see if they can do 100 [km/h] on the hill they were doing 95 on.”
Neilson said there’s lots of physical exertion involved.
“It’s just a matter of keeping your legs in shape, because at that speed, your legs can’t buckle under you,” she said.
Neilson said one of her friends has a tattoo that perfectly sums up the sport: “Faster and faster until the thrill of speed overcomes the thrill of death.”
Neilson said she’s personally hit a top speed of 98 km/h, but some downhill skateboarders have recorded speeds of 127.3 km/h. She said she isn’t too concerned about the risks of going that fast.
“You do get worried, but the thrill is kind of part of it,” she said.
However, Neilson said that there’s plenty of mental discernment involved to know which risks to take and which to avoid.
“There’s pushing the envelope going faster, and then there’s being stupid,” she said. “You very, very much have to trust your gut.”
See langleytimes.com for a video of Neilson skateboarding down a local hill.
Katie Neilson in bc local news
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