Profiles of women skaters, August, 2006

Retirement, wow! It has been a very hard thing for me to do, not race that is. I got hurt at a Red Bull race and messed up my neck and broke my leg. Then a few years later, I went down hard again twisting my neck. I had it xrayed and the doc told me my neck could not take many more hard hits or blows. He went on to say that I needed to stop racing skateboards, and it’s kind of funny, he told me I was already too old to ride skateboards… so I retired then for the first time. I was feeling great and riding again within 3 weeks. I raced again the next year and had a ball but the crashes where again taking their toll on my body. I had real pain to contend with. I started a new job that couldn’t give me time off to go to races, and hell… I just turn 42 so I figured it’s time to stop for sure.

Where was that dream that Original was building anyway? The fluid carving flow of one moment into the next, the gratifying sound of urethane wheels wearing down ever so slightly, and a touch of wind in the hair. Ditch the hassles of work. Past escapes had led to a chance encounter with Acadia National Park in Maine. Investigation yielded Cadillac Mountain a sweet dream of 1,532 vertical feet of pregnant pavement. The time was right.

Christie Aleixo is a skateboarder, in the true sense of the word. She rides not for fame or money. She rides for the love of a piece of wood with 4 wheels attached to it. If this seems like something normal in a place where there is an abundance of wealth and prosperity, it means much more when you speak of a country such as Brazil, where the land of opportunity is a place very far away. Here, you have to be a warrior in the true sense of the word. Every day is a battle and if Christie were to have a rank, she would be a general. She’s a single mother, an independent woman, intelligent, beautiful and kind. At the same time as there are many words to describe her, no words are sufficient. All that needs to be said is that skateboarding runs through her veins. Skate NA VEIA.

North Carolina’s DownHillBillies have quickly established a solid reputation for putting on a first class skateboarding event. There are many reasons for the DownHillBillie’s success but two of the key reasons are they ensure they have excellent prerace planning and a solid team in place to execute their plans. This article focuses mostly on planning a slalom race, but the advice given here is applicable for planning all sorts of skate events including a downhill, slide, street or transition
contest.