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Headline archive 2008
These are the headlines of www.SlalomSkateboarder.com as they appeared in 2008.
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[June 24, 2008 By Jonathan Harms]
This was the third year for the Sun Prairie Wiggle War, and once again Tom "Mangels" Mangelsdorf put on a fun, friendly race. The weather was beautiful, the courses were fun, the locals were gracious and friendly; the whole event had a great Midwestern small-town vibe. As in previous years, Mangels donated all proceeds from the event to the Sun Prairie Colonial Club activity center for senior citizens.
This year's race had a small number of competitors, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm one bit. In fact, a handful of new racers added a real kick to the event. Bobby Thomas drove up from Cincinnati, OH, Mike Atkinson came from nearby De Forest, WI after seeing Mangels plugging the race on the local TV news morning show, and new racers Jamaal Abusshiwa, Palidon Langer and a couple of their buddies (whose names I've unfortunately forgotten) added their stoke to the proceedings as well. Junior racers Bryce Benz, Collin Beavers, Kevin Bucher and Nicholas Wewitzer rode both the TS and the GS with determination and style. And Katie Mangelsdorf, the only female racer, showed a lot of guts and improvement over last year, racing tight slalom in the open division and even finishing the downhill race upright! Maybe next year we can prevail upon Burt Beavers' wife Jodie (Jody?) to race and/or get Madison local Elise to make an appearance.
Saturday's race was a dual-lane, 40-cone tight slalom, with cones set at 6' on center on a very slight slope. Tom's custom-made slanted start ramps launched racers into the course and were easy for both new racers and experienced racers to ride down. Junior riders raced a single-lane, approximately 20-cone course with a slightly wider spacing and no start ramps. As in previous years, Tod Oles really took the time to coach and encourage the junior riders.
After qualifying, the 13 open division racers were split into a 4-person A group and a 9-person B group. After several exciting elimination rounds, the B group was won by Bobby Thomas, followed by Jamaal Abusshiwa and Mike Atkinson.
In the A group, Oles, Stephen Lavin, Mangels and Harms squared off in two short but intense elimination rounds. In the consolation round, "Topsider" Lavin, riding his new Gecko deck and shod in his signature boat shoes, took 3rd place over race organizer Mangelsdorf. In the championship round, Harms and Oles needed only two close races to decide the winner. (I say "only" two races to contrast with last year's event, in which timer malfunctions required the same two riders to race at least eight times to determine the winner.) Oles had superior closing speed, but Harms managed to get ahead early on a short-wheelbase deck and claimed the victory.
Saturday's TS racing was followed by a fun downhill race at the site of last year's GS course. Here, a few more local longboarders showed up to ride and hang out. The day's activities were capped by a BBQ feast at Mangels' house.
Sunday's giant slalom race took place on a curving, moderately sloped hill in a residential neighborhood. The 800-foot (250-meter) single-lane course started out quickly and then flattened out near the bottom. Racers needed a combination of pumping and tucking skills to beat the mid-course headwinds. Juniors push-started and raced the bottom two-thirds of the course, while the Open riders ramp-started and raced the whole thing. All racers got four runs each. In the junior division, Minnesota's Collin Beavers took 1st, followed by Nicholas Wewitzer, Kevin Bucher and Bryce Benz. In the Open division, Harms, Oles and Dave "Pops" Larson had the fastest times. Once again, "Coach" Oles helped several other riders by lending them his boards and advising them on setup and technique. Under Tod's guidance, Mike Atkinson went from not making the course to riding it clean, and longboarder Jamaal Abusshiwa improved his times by several seconds on a 25-to-30-second course.
The top three racers on both Saturday and Sunday received medals, and Mangels even provided a few swag items paid for out of his own pocket.
So despite the relatively small number in attendance, the race was a great success. The beautiful weather, laid-back vibe, the combination of young and old, experienced and inexperienced racers made it a very pleasant experience.
Many thanks to Tom, Doreen, Amy and Katie Mangelsdorf for their warmth and hospitality. I sure plan to be back next year.
Jonathan's photos from this year's Sun Prairie Wiggle War can be viewed at http://community.webshots.com/user/harmsjb.
[April 28, 2008]
Boulder, Colorado - Seismic Skate Systems, a 15-year-old Boulder-based manufacturer of high-performance boards, wheels and trucks, is pleased to introduce wheels poured with a revolutionary new urethane compound, code named "Black Ops".
"It's a racer's dream, the perfect combination of grip, speed, and super rebound with no compromises," said Seismic Wheels Team Member and 2003 World Slalom Champion Kenny Mollica.
According to Team Member Gary Fluitt, the 2004 World Slalom Champion and 2007 World Slalom Champion Runner-Up, "the new formula has a surprising combination of grip and rebound like I've never felt before. These grip so well that I run out of road before I can get them to slide. The roll feels superior, too."
Traditional urethane formulations wrestle with an inherent tension between traction and bounce. Crank up either one and you trade off some of the other.
Now you can have it all! Seismic Black Ops!" urethane offers more grip and rebound together, in the same formula, than the skateboard world has ever seen before.
"It's like a new page in racing history," Mollica added. "These wheels are smooth, fast, and grippy through hard turns with no mush. Lightweight cores and cool colors, too!"
Said Neal Piper, the world's foremost urethane wheel engineer and owner of the renowned California factory where Seismic wheels are poured, "Black Ops is the result of years of experience in precise polyurethane formulating and unique processing. Starting with a great base of top level science, a huge ration of sweat and skill from many actively competing testers drove this super-tuned racing formula to a new standard of World Class performance."
Introduced in 2005 and 2006, Seismic 69mm Hot Spots and 77mm Speed Vents are now available in Black Ops urethane and a new high-contrast color scheme emphasizing orange, blue and purple. Other Seismic wheels will be available in the new formula later this season.
"There's all sorts of gimmick wheel shapes out there, but I find that the Hot Spots out of the box are the best shape on the market for slalom racing," Fluitt added. "I don't feel like I have to modify them in any way. In the new Black Ops formula, they're better than ever - just really reboundy and grippy."
In related news, the 77mm Speed Vent, used by downhill racer Erik Lundberg to earn the IGSA World #1 ranking last year, is now poured on the full version of Seismic's proprietary Energy Conversion core (also used for the 78mm Blast Waves and 85mm Speed Vents). The 77mm Speed Vent is nearly one-half ounce lighter than before, with rebound turbo-charged by the spring action of the core's outermost ring. Said multi-time World Slalom Champion Jason Mitchell, "I won one of the 2007 Ditch Slap events on 77mm Speed Vents, so I felt confident about the wheels going into the Indian School race [April 18, 2008]. But I was very surprised with the enhanced performance of the design and [Black Ops] formula. Seismic took a big wheel that was already great, and made it even better." At Indian School, Mollica added, the 77mm Speed Vents "were awesome. We all loved 'em. The core is the perfect size." Seismic founder/owner Dan Gesmer commented, "We're super excited about this progressive urethane chemistry. It's all about continuing the tradition of innovation we began in 1994 when we rolled out the original patented Seismic carving truck."
For further information and pricing, contact Seismic at 720-937-8948 or info@seismicskate.com, or visit www.seismicskate.com
Note: The Black Ops formula is only used for wheels 78A and harder. Seismic wheels softer than 78A, and all 3dm-brand wheels, are poured in the company's classic high-grip formula.
[March 25, 2008] From Staff Reports
The 2008 slalom racing season kicks off in a big way with the coming of spring. The 2008 Texas Cold Fusion Sizzler goes down March 29 and 30 in Austin, Texas. For the seventh straight year the Texas Outlaws put on this Prime event deep in the heart of Texas. Giant Slalom and dual hybrid racing fills the bill with some of the most fun nightlife available happening all over Austin after hours.
Johnny "Thriller" Miller is putting on a big race in a big way at Morro Bay, California. His April Fools Skate Race on April 5 promises to offer what can only be called the Mother Of All Start Ramps. Miller's Monster stands ten feet and will produce some incredible speeds at the top of the hill. Turri Road is a world-class hill and John O'Shei will be on hand to set a world-class GS course.
The Downhillbillies will hold their Beast Of The East Slalom Jam April 11 through the 13th with an outlaw race Thursday the 10th for everyone who can get into town. Billed as a "Giant Slalom Weekend," the DHBs have hills lined up from Mooresville to Winston Salem, North Carolina for all your big-turns pleasure. The hill in Mooresville is promised to rate about a 9 on the Pucker Factor while the site of the Worlds' GS, Bluegill, will host more racing on Saturday. Sunday will see the party move to the now-venerable Hobby Park hill for one of the DHB's classic jam sessions.
Also on the same weekend but a different continent will see the Pavel/G.O.G. Do-Or-Die Race held in Colonge AND Dusseldorf. Saturday will offer some tight and hybrid dual racing in Dusseldorf. On Sunday all the action heads over to Cologne for Pro and Open Giant Slalom. Not to be outdone by The Thriller Miller's monster in California, the G.O.G. crew promises and three-meter tall start ramp.
More transcontinental racing happens April 19th with events on both the East And West coasts. The Indian School Qualifier goes down in Albequerque. A course set in the legendary Indian School Ditch will be a chance for those without portfolio to get an invite to the Indian School Banked Slalom Race. At the same time in Atlanta, Woody's Halfpipe will host a hybrid slalom jam at the new DeKalb County Skateboard Park. John Karg reports the new park has a pristine new paved parking lot with plenty of slope and plenty of room. This will be both a race and an exhibition to conitnue fueling the growing slalom scene in Georgia and around the Southeast.
Finally, April slalom racing wraps up the weekend of the 25th in Greeley, Colorado for the UNC Spring Slalom Classic. Taking over from the U.S. Nationals run in Longmont, the COSS crew is putting together a full weekend of racing in the Rocky Mountain foothills. Dual Giant Slalom will be at the Windsor hill where the Nationals were run in 2006 and '07. Hybrid slalom will move to Greeley on Saturday and the tight slalom will be Sunday on the campus of the University Of North Colorado. There will be racing for all classes on CBark-set courses.
Whew. And that's just April. 2008 is already shaping up to be a banner year for international slalom skateboard racing!
[Feb 12, 2008] By Donald Campbell
Welcome to the 2008 season. Winter is still here and taking it's place, but that doesn't mean that skaters from all around Europe and America hold themselves back from traveling to new places, for getting together again and race. After finishing a very succesfull season last year, this season is awakening earlier than ever. Skaters from Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Greg Fadell from the U.S. and many more all came together for their first contest taking place in Cadwell, England. Cadwell is a motor race track with many steep hills and high-quality racing surface closed for a gravity sports weekend. Soapbox, longboarding, sliding, and Slalom was just a little part of the whole event. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and didn't apear to mind the cold weather at all. They were more busy being happy getting out their skatebards again and enjoying their first ride outside this year
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