Voting is now open. Cast your ballot here:

[url]https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4oWPLrEgUMOl1Yme97sTdz170B97lwbVeuWJW-e8RBjpjnA/viewform[/url]

Who Can Vote?

• Competitors who raced at least one ISSA-sanctioned Prime (or higher) event during the 2025 season
• Those who became paid Members in the latter half of 2025

Please remember:

• One vote per eligible member
• Ballots will be verified — non-member votes will not be counted
• Voting closes at 11:59 PM CET on March 2

If you still need to join, use this link:

[url]https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ISSAslalom[/url]

Include your name, racer or supporter status, email, and phone with your payment.

Your participation matters. Thank you for supporting ISSA and our global slalom community.

[b]Candidate Statement - Petr Matouš
[/b]

I have been involved in skate slalom since the age of 10, and this year I am entering my 20th competitive season. Over the years, my role has naturally evolved from athlete to organizer and developer of the sport.

[b]Experience & Background[/b]
Multiple podium finishes at World and European Championships in both Junior and PRO categories

Since 2014, active co-organizer of international skate slalom events (2x Worlds), later becoming one of the main organizers

Founder of Skate ’n’ Chill CAMP, which celebrates its 12th anniversary this year and focuses on developing young riders

Founder of a dedicated slalom equipment shop, created to make proper gear more accessible to riders and support their progression

Skate slalom has shaped my life for nearly two decades, and I have experienced the sport from multiple perspectives: athlete, organizer, coach, and entrepreneur.

[b]My vision for ISSA is clear and focused:[/b] to actively support and secure the long-term development of skate slalom.

The current state of our community requires honesty and courage. If we want skate slalom to survive and grow, incremental changes are no longer enough. We need to take clear and sometimes radical steps.

[b]The highest priority for ISSA should be:[/b]

Recruiting and developing young riders

Strong and consistent marketing of skate slalom

Building meaningful cooperation with organizations such as WSG

Without a new generation of riders, the sport will inevitably stagnate and lose its attractiveness year by year. This is not criticism—it is reality.

As a member of the ISSA leadership, I would strive to make the association more effective, more visible, and more action-oriented, with a strong focus on growth, accessibility, and long-term sustainability of skate slalom worldwide.

[b]Campaign Statement: Scott Kamins for ISSA Board of Directors
[/b]

[u]Commitment. Innovation. Representation.
[/u]
Slalom has been a constant in my life for the past 15 years—not just as a racer, but as a builder, organizer, and advocate for the people who make this sport thrive. I’m running for the ISSA Board of Directors because I believe deeply in a simple idea: when racers feel heard and organizers feel supported, the entire sport grows stronger.

I’ve experienced slalom from every angle—standing on the start line, running events, working through rankings data late at night—and that perspective shapes how I approach leadership. My goal is to help bridge the gap between the technical side of ISSA operations and the real-world experience of racers and organizers who show up every event to make this sport happen.

[u]Experience & Proven Leadership[/u]
I don’t just participate in slalom—I actively work to strengthen its foundation:

[b]15 Years of Competition:[/b] A decade and a half of racing has given me a clear understanding of the challenges, motivations, and needs of racers at every level, especially Am riders.

[b]Event Leadership:[/b] This year marks the 5th anniversary of the Home Town Classic, an event I’m proud to host, grow, and continuously improve for racers and volunteers alike.

[b]Ranking System Innovation:[/b] I designed and built the new Excel-based ISSA ranking system from the ground up, leading the reconstruction of the 2025 points structure. This hands-on work gave me an in-depth understanding of how our rankings function—and how to make them more transparent, accurate, and fair for everyone.

[b]Community Building:[/b] As the founder of the Wiggle Warriors and an honorary member of the Texas Outlaws, I’ve worked to foster team culture and ensure Amateur racers have representation, visibility, and a voice.


[u]My Vision for ISSA[/u]
If elected, I will focus on four key areas to modernize and grow our sport:

[b]Streamlined Race Operations:[/b] Reducing the administrative burden on organizers through clearer documentation, better tools, and more intuitive results-entry systems.

[b]Stronger Promotion:[/b] Elevating slalom’s visibility through targeted promotion, smarter use of social media, and storytelling that highlights our racers and events.

[b]True Representation:[/b] Being a consistent, engaged voice for Amateur racers—bringing their ideas, concerns, and feedback directly into board discussions.

[b]Growth & Mentorship:[/b] Lowering barriers for new racers and providing hands-on support for those interested in hosting events for the first time.

Slalom succeeds when its systems work smoothly and its community feels valued. I’m ready to bring my experience, energy, and dedication to the ISSA Board - and to work hard on behalf of racers, organizers, and the global slalom community.

[b]Dan Gesmer - Candidate Statement
[/b]

I started skateboarding in 1976 – if I’ve got my math right, that’s half a century ago! I was a pro flatland freestyle skateboarder starting in the late 1980s, with a bag of tricks inspired by slalom-style pumping. One of my career highlights was introducing my childhood hero, 1970s freestyle icon Russ Howell, at his induction into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame, in 2017.

I’ve actively supported slalom racing since 1986 (40 years ago), when I volunteered to help run the Slalom event at the TransWorld Skateboarding Championships in Vancouver, Canada. Slalom legend Henry Hester connected me with ISSA founder Jani Soderhall around 1988, and we’ve been good friends and frequent collaborators ever since.

Starting in the late 1980s, I’ve designed, engineered, and manufactured a wide variety of high-end race-oriented products under the Seismic brand. Those products have helped win dozens of national and world racing championships, and set almost every world speed and distance record on the books.

My company’s very first product was a truck specifically engineered for sharp turns and powerful pumping. My first industry partnership was in the early 1990s with the late Bob Turner, one of the pioneers of hi-tech slalom deck manufacturing in the 1970s. Seismic has also been producing regulation slalom cones for nearly 25 years, and as far as I know we’re currently the world’s only source for them.

As a corollary, I have many decades-old connections throughout the skateboard industry – convenient to be able to call upon to help support the needs of organizations like the ISSA.

Since the 1990s, my company has sponsored dozens of elite slalom events around the world, including Title-sponsoring several U.S. national championships.

Relatedly, I personally developed the Excel spreadsheet that has been used for the past 20+ years to manage timing data at virtually all elite slalom races worldwide. This entailed probably several hundred hours of programming, troubleshooting, and refining the spreadsheet while serving as Timing Manager onsite at many dozens of events throughout the world during the first decade of the modern slalom renaissance.

I served on the ISSA Board for a few years during that same period, roughly 2008 - 2010. One of my focuses back then was to help align the ISSA with the IGSA (the main downhill racing organization of that era), so that the two skateboard racing disciplines could pool efforts and help one another grow together.

In other words, I’m just getting started. ;-)

Moving forward, my priorities as a member of the current ISSA Board would be to encourage agendas including (but not limited to) the following:
• Improved communications via website, social media, and e-newsletters.
• Improved outreach to younger generations, to attract wider participation.
• Development of regional event series, oriented to youth and novices without big travel budgets, that feed into national and international events.
• Pursuit of sponsorships and media relationships outside the skateboard manufacturing industry.
• Improved tracking / tabulation of race results, with up-to-date rankings made transparently available as fast as possible after each event.
• Consideration of alternate racing formats that might appeal more to younger generations.
• Examination of potential improvements to the race timing tech currently in use.
• Exploration of potential synergies with other skate-racing disciplines such as Downhill.

Other relevant skillsets:
• I have a wealth of experience as a writer and editor – with credits in leading newspapers including the New York Times, and in numerous specialty magazines including Concrete Wave and Slalom!
• I’m fluent with WordPress, the backend software that has been proposed for a new ISSA website.
• I’m cooperative, polite, and diplomatic. But when it comes to the greater good, I will never mince words about problems that need to be addressed.

Thanks for your consideration, and please do choose whomever you think will best serve the future of slalom skateboard racing internationally.

As previously announced, we will hold an election to fill the open seat on our ISSA Board of Directors. The election will be conducted via Google Forms and voting will commence on our about February 20, 2026. Only members of the ISSA are eligible to vote - so please be sure you have a current membership or obtain one - prior to voting. Non-members votes will not be counted.

👥 Candidates are:
• Dan Gesmer
• Scott Kamins
• Petr Matous

[size=150]Please see the candidates statements posted in this topic thread.
[/size]

🗓️ Voting Timeline
The voting portal will open for a 10-day period, with a target start date of February 20.
✔️ One vote per eligible member

✅ Voting Eligibility
You are eligible to vote if you are:
• A current competitor who participated in at least one ISSA-sanctioned event (Prime or higher) during the 2025 season*
• A current ISSA Board of Directors member
• Became a paid Member in the latter half of 2025
*Note: Sanction fees for Prime (or higher) events automatically include ISSA membership for racing participants for that season year.

💳 Not a member yet?
A paid ISSA Membership is available for $15 USD and must be submitted BEFORE voting to be eligible.
To join:
• Send payment via PayPal
• Include your name, whether you are a racer or supporter, plus your email and phone
🔗 PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ISSAslalom

Kind Regards,
Maria Carrasco
President - ISSA/World Skate Slalom