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SLALOM!
Morro Bay 2002 Slalom World Championships
Oct 11/12/13, by Attila Aszodi
If one single year was ever to be judged by the amount of progress and momentum of a simple 70's pastime that was re- introduced just a little over 2 years ago, 2002 would certainly rank as the most memorable and it will.

The recent FCR slalom world championships which were held over a 3-day weekend on October 11/12/13 in Morro Bay and Avila Beach, California was the follow up to last years very successful world championship which was also held in downtown Morro Bay and orchestrated by racing veteran Jack Smith of Los Osos.

This year, legendary racing powerhouse FCR, Fat City Racing's Don O'Shei, John Krisik and Jack Smith took last years official global reintroduction to competitive slalom racing to yet another level by forming the TLP , Tri Lateral Partners and announcing an 8-Race FCR tour leading up to the grand finale in Morro Bay and Avila Beach.

Although the setting in Morro Bay 2002 was similar to the previous year, it obvious that much had changed; The tremendous variety of new slalom products, unheard of lat year, the much broader age range of competitors, the amount of racers (over 100!!!), TV crew and cameras on cranes and dollies, the much improved level of skill and speed !!!
It was obvious that slalom had truly spread nationally and sparked worldwide interest. Racers from England, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Trinidad could be found here.

Slalom and skateboarding legends such as Henry Hester, who just a little over a year ago got a slalom wakeup call from me, showing up in race condition., Steve Olson, Dave Hackett, Duane Peters, John Hutson (finishing top 5 on the GS), Jamie Hart, Cliff Coleman an many others who back in the day inspired the skateboarding world showed up in top shape to reinspire and blow away spectating and competing minds.

Friday’s qualifying race was held at Avila Beach; 16 racers in each category would move on to Saturdays & Sundays official races to compete against the top 16 ranked FCR point leaders. The hybrid style and fairly symmetrical course, set by last years world champ Gary Cross, was displayed at a steep and freshly paved and super smooth hill which ran parallel to the beach providing a spectacular view.

Speeds ran in the mid 20's and the choice of wheels was a large setup- namely Turner Avalon’s and Abec11 Flashbacks. The well designed race proven 4 foot starting ramps worked flawlessly and provided even first timers with plenty of confidence and speed rolling out of the gates. Overall, the course was easy and not very technical so nobody would feel at a disadvantage. A perfect day to meet everybody, talk to some of the spectators and study your potential rivals technique.
Saturday’s GS race was held at the same location. The course was more technical and pretty sketchy on the top with some very wide and compressed offsets; It took most racers most of their practice to figure out which line to take into the course and also which setup to ride. A perfect line into the course would insure good speed throughout the course. A bad line basically meant either scrubbing your speed and sliding and snailing through the reste of the hill or dque'ing!

The Swiss arrival to this race was highly anticipated as it was them who shuffled up the top 10 spots last year.

And although they; especially Maurus Strobel and Chris Hart did look promising during the qualifying runs, Saturday was a different story and their lack of practice on US style courses/hills and lack of improved slalom gear was painfully evident. Their long wheel based skinny boards weren't designed to pump this type of course which required less soft board pumping but more involvement of the hips/knees and arms on stiffer boards. Saturday's GS course showed how much the US skaters had improved and progressed in one year and the European skaters (except for a few who made it to other FCR Races) well,... didn't!

The usual suspects did their damage. SSS Teammate Barrett Deck aka Chicken would finish 3rd against FCR overall series points leader Paul Dunn finishing 4th. The finals were decided between Badlands Ick Sticks saboteur Charlie Ransom and last years world champ Gary Cross, with Charlie taking the world title for the Pro GS division. Racing legend JohnHutson, 49, finishing 5th showed everybody how it’s done and that slalom indeed is not just a physical but mostly a mental challenge!

The open division was dominated by Fibreflex Racing. Paul Price (Fibrelfex), who had won most of the races on the FCR tour this season battling Michael Dong for 3rd & 4th. Fibrelfex’s 16 year old Siale Saili, a natural with a super smooth surf style and almost no practice showed everybody why the name Fibreflex is in the history books and will remain there by taking 1st place against Clayton Scott.
The women's division was decided by racing veteran Terri Brown-Benko against Sharon Sidlo; Terri taking the gold. Other top 4 finalists  included Sandy Kirby and Judy Oyama.

Sharon's recent 2nd place finish in Switzerland also proves that the US female slalomers are definitely an international force to be reckoned with.

The boys racing was probably the most exiting to watch, technically these kids are already at a point where many of the adult racers haven't arrived yet. Watching them compete  erases any doubts about the future of the sport. Turner Team kid Dylan Gordon took first, followed by a close 2nd by Swiss Marvin Kory, then Josh Byrd and Russell Weber.

The tight slalom event was held in Morro Bay on Sunday. The road and course were quite different from Saturdays venue; The race as last year was set on Main street in Downtown Morro Bay -the course much tighter but not as fast as the GS- this particular event showed how much racing had progressed in the past year;

A year ago there were perhaps only a dozen slalomers who displayed total dominance- forward to this year and you realized that middle of the open bracket was already on par with last years top pro performances.

This was every bodies race, a fairly simple course which required the ability to pump like hell and one more thing; you had to fly like a bat out of hell out of those gates or perhaps more appropriately "A chicken out of a cage"!
For the Pro division is was Chicken's day, no doubt- all year long he’s been hovering around the top 3 spots, only missing that top spot by hundredth of seconds each time. Not Sunday, on the day everybody rode their short boards for the 6 ft tight stingers, Barrett pulls out his 36" Pocket Pistol longboard and attacks the course with ultimate prowess and determination, never flinching or showing any signs of distraction. Paul Dunn micro surgical precision was consistent as always but was simply overpowered by the SSS captain.

Gary Cross, who made a late comeback in the regular season took 3rd, Maysey 4th respectively. But overall the big enchilada went to Chicken winning the combined world championship. A very happy moment for camp SSS indeed!

The open tight was finished off by Fibreflex teammate Paul Price whom we will most likely see in the Pros this coming season- his consistent finesse and calm hard to match by even most pros, an expected and fairly easy (looking) win. Clayton Scott was the big surprise on both days finishing 2nd. Michael Dong and Badlands skate veteran Curt Kimbel mixed it up for 3rd & 4th. I susepect that we’ll see at least 2 racers out of this batch going pro next season.

The womens race was once again decided by Terri Brown and Sharon Sidlo, Terri being the technically more experienced and refined racer winning 1st and 1st overall.

The success and turnout of the 2nd slalom world championships in Morro Bay is testament to the hard work FCR and the sponsors have put out all year long to get organizd slalom racing to this level. It is safe to say that with this type of large turnout, so many new slalom products out and frequent exposure on EXPN - slalom has sealed itslelf as a permanent sport which keeps growing strong and pushing the envelope regarding skills, technology and thrills. The race schedule for the 2003 is already in the works and should be well in place as you read this issue.
© Concrete Wave magazine:
Reprinted with authorization from Michael Brooke, Editor, Concrete Wave.
http://skate-club.net/concretewavemag/

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