2003 Cascade Slalom Series

Slalom Skateboarding in the Pacific Northwest U.S.A.

Moderators: Gareth Roe, Jonathan Harms, Ron Barbagallo, Lynn Kramer, Maria Carrasco, Russel Cantor

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Pat Chewning
Pat C.
Pat C.
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Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Portland Oregon

Post by Pat Chewning » Mon Mar 24, 2003 8:08 am

Good news:

1) Roe Racing is a new sponsor of the 2003 races being held in Portland OR and Vancouver WA.

2) The Portland Grass Roots Slalom Association is teaming up with the Cascade Slalom Association (also a Grass Roots chapter) to put together an expanded series of races in the Pacific Northwest.

3) It is likely that we will add 3 more races in the Seattle area to the 3 current races in the Portland area to form a full series.

4) There is agreement that we will use a race format which will enable all of the racers to have an equal (or nearly equal) number of runs, instead of the elimination brackets which grant more runs to the faster racers.

5) There is agreement that all of the contestants will have chances (e.g. Raffle Tickets) to receive the prizes donated by the sponsors -- instead of the prizes being awarded according to finish placement.

6) There is agreement that most races will have a "beginner racer" course and an "experienced racer" course.

7) The latest up-to-date information on the race series will be located on the Portland Grass Roots Slalom website: http://www.pgrass.00sports.com

Gareth Roe, Michael Dong, and I ran some cones between rain showers today in Seattle. -- fun, but too wet. We were spontaneously joined by several other skaters (new to slalom, but with experience doing tricks) who were "Olieing" over the cones if they couldn't make the turns.

-- Pat Chewning

Gareth Roe
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Post by Gareth Roe » Mon Mar 24, 2003 9:43 am

Pat-
Thanks for coming up and riding with us! Sorry the weather didn't hold out for an all day session. Looking forward to teaming up with the Portland/Vancouver guys to put on a great slalom racing series in the coming months!

Everyone - Keep checking here for race information and a clander of race dates!

Cheers!
Gareth

Pat Chewning
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Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Portland Oregon

Post by Pat Chewning » Sat Apr 26, 2003 4:02 am

RAIN DELAY: April 26 race will now be held on APRIL 27th.

We have had the rainiest March and April on record in 50 years, and that's a lot for us in the NW. Rained every day in March, and just about every day in April. This is why Michael Dong practices in the "Bat Cave".

We are moving the race from a day with about 60% chance of rain to one with "only" 30% chance of rain. For those of you unfamiliar with the NW forecasts, this means it will rain 30% of the day, rather than a 30% chance of rain in a 24-hr period!

Hope to see you there!

More info at: http://www.pgrass.00sports.com

Gareth Roe
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Post by Gareth Roe » Tue Apr 29, 2003 4:44 am

Thanks to Pat Chewning, Dave Mitchell and the rest of the guys from the <b>Portland Grass Roots Slalom Association</b> for putting on a great little race yesterday! The weather was amazing and was unseasonably hot for the Pacific Northwest in April. It was great to see everyone charging the hill and having a great time.

All the Open Class Racers on the FCR Circuit, watch out for the Lovelands! Both Dan and his wife Sarah where on fire yesterday - WOW! Both are serious contenders for the podiums at any race this season! Of course, in this warm-up for the Gathering next weekend, Michael Dong was smoking! No one came close to catching him all day. His qualifying times were over two seconds faster than the rest of the field.

After a grueling morning of six qualifying runs and a very, very nice "Ladder" bracket system that kept everyone racing up to the very end, here is how it finished up when the day was over.

1. Michael Dong 19.350
2. Paul Howard 20.450
3. Dan Hughes 21.032
4. Corey Moy 20.657
5. Dan Loveland 21.466
6. Gareth Roe 21.403
7. Pat Chewning 24.091
8. Dave Mitchell 24.358
9. Joe Beck 24.429
10. Dave Anderson 25.465
11. Matthew Anderson 24.278
12. Aaron Burkes 25.116
13. Sarah Loveland 24.368
14. Wayne Smythe 27.487
15. Scott Moore 29.706
16. Hayden Woodard DQ

Special thanks to Melanie and <b>Daddies Board Shop, Curve Longboards, Polliwogs</B>, and <b>Pleasure Tool Bearings</B> for donating a ton of prizes (Comet deck, Gravity complete, Abec 11 Flashbacks, t-shirts, videos, bearings, Curve Longboard butt-board, Polliwog pool deck and tons of stickers) - seems like almost everyone left with something!

Pat, can't wait to do it again! Once we get our hill situation figured out here in Seattle, we will certainly reciprocate! Pictures coming once I get my camera back - Doh!
Cheers!
Gareth


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Gareth Roe on 2003-04-28 22:46 ]</font>

Pat Chewning
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Location: Portland Oregon

Post by Pat Chewning » Wed Apr 30, 2003 4:13 am

For a 1st-time race, we did OK. We have a few improvements up our sleeves for next time, so I hope that we have a bigger turnout. I suspect that the questionable weather on Saturday, and our switch to Sunday may have decreased the attendance.

I should mention that the race fee was $0, that's right, $0 !! And I hope to continue that for the rest of the series. This is only possible because we ask for the racers themselves to help run the race -- and they did. Everyone pitched in to set the course, set up two timing systems (both of them had problems until we got it sorted out). All the racers did "conehead" duty. We also had a great impromptu volunteer "Ginger" who did all of the starting and recording of times.

We blocked off the street under the Washington County, Oregon "block party" rules. This allows us to use a small portion of a road by contacting all of the affected residents (mostly businesses), and providing a map to the sheriff's office. No fee, no insurance, no permit, no hassle. I hope this continues for our future races.

Speaking of "smoking" through the course, there should be a great video of Gareth doing a high-speed foot-drag stop with clouds of blue/black smoke coming off his shoe! Then he does the one-foot hop yelling "ooowww! ooowww!" ... very entertaining.

I'm looking forward to the next race, and of course going faster ... so watch out!

-- Pat

Pat Chewning
Pat C.
Pat C.
Posts: 1400
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Portland Oregon

Post by Pat Chewning » Tue Jun 03, 2003 7:34 am

The next race in the Portland Grass Roots 2003 series will be the "Mid Summer Burn". It is moving to Sunday June 29th at the request of our sponsors and a number of our racers who cannot be there on Saturday June 28th.

What it is:

June 29th, Sunday 10:00 AM
A more challenging, tighter slalom race course than last time.
Site: Beaverton Oregon (167th and Cornell Rd)
Entry Fee: $0 -- donations accepted
NEW: Computerized timing/scoring system
NEW: A dedicated race set-up crew will prepare the timing/scoring/course well before 10:00 so we will start on time.
NEW: Trophies for the top 3 places
NEW: Increased odds of winning (Michael Dong will be out of the country)
PRIZES, PRIZES, PRIZES: Will be raffled off -- no need to win the race to get a prize!

For the latest information: http://www.pgrass.00sports.com

Pat Chewning
Pat C.
Pat C.
Posts: 1400
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Portland Oregon

Post by Pat Chewning » Wed Aug 20, 2003 8:33 am

The final race of the NW season is coming up. Everyone is getting faster and better, so this promises to be a very competitive event.

NOTE: DATE AND LOCATION CHANGE DUE TO RAIN

Date: Sept 6 2003 (Saturday)

Time: 11:30 course open for practice, and racing starts very soon after 11:30 (Hint: be there early and lend a hand in setting up).

Event: Dual Hybrid Slalom (3 Qual runs; Then 6 "ladder" final runs in head-to-head format). EVERYONE gets 9 runs

Location: USA, Washington, Vancouver, Salmon Creek Park-and-Ride. From I5 go to intersection with I205. Exit onty Hw99. Go as far N on Hwy 99 to get as close as possible to the actual intersection of I205 and I5

MAP: http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?em ... bwDRw%253d

Entry Fee: $0 nadda, zip, zilch, zero, goose-egg, none, (Donations accepted for timing equipment improvements).

Advanced Sign up requested on NCDSA.com (see events calendar).

Racing! Trophies! Prizes! (Prizes given via raffle)

Trophies, prizes, bragging, speeches and excuses will be done immediately after the race at the nearby McMinneman's Road House (children OK).

Thanks to our sponsors:
Daddies Board Shop
Pleasure Tool Bearings
Gravity Sports
Polliwog
Bogus Sportswear
Curve Skateboards
Columbia Sportswear



More info: pchewn@comcastDOTnet



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Pat Chewning on 2003-09-05 21:38 ]</font>

Gareth Roe
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Location: Seattle, Washington
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Post by Gareth Roe » Mon Sep 08, 2003 7:15 pm

Special Thanks to Pat Chewning and the rest of the Portland guys for putting on a great race this last weekend in Vancouver, WA. Despite the best efforts of the local security patrols and the City of Vancouver Police Department - we raced! (Note: the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Department was very helpful, didn't agree with the security patrol's conclusions and even had dispatch looking for alternative sites for us to race on! - THANKS!)

Michael D. set a great 50 cone tight course that had lots of the cones set right at 6 feet on center. He threw in a nice "Gilmourian Curve" and a couple of step-overs for good measure and then finished it off with a tight 6 cone stinger section.

Most notable was the level to which everyone has improved over the season. This was no beginner course by any stretch of the imagination and everyone was making it through the cones with confidence! The times ranged from Michael's blistering 15.9 second run to the high 20's and low 30's. Most of the pack was right in the 19, 20 and 21 second range. There were only a handful of clean runs all day - Everyone was charging!! Another great feature of this race is the bracket format that allows EVERYONE to race right up to the end. No one gets sent home early. If you win your bracket, you move up a notch. If you lose your bracket, you move down a spot. No one gets knocked out.

After the race we retreated to the local watering hole, McMenamins for a great meal and some brews along with the award ceremony and raffle drawing. Pat provided some great trophies for the first, second and third place finishers and there were tons of great raffle prizes from Columbia Sportswear, Pleasure Tool Bearings, Curve Longboards and others.
Dave Mitchell went home with a very nice Curve Longboard Complete (Abec 11 Flywheels, Randal Trucks).

Michael, being the great sportsman that he is, dropped out right before the last round and let Paul Howard and I battle it out for first and second place. Paul ran faster and cleaner than I did and ended up winning – GREAT Job Paul. Maybe Pat can post all the results as I can’t remember them all off the top of my head. Also, someone post some pictures of that great hill and the wonderful group of racers.

First – Paul Howard, Corvallis, Oregon
Second – Gareth Roe, Seattle, WA
Third – Steven Daddow – Australia

It was great seeing Steven Daddow show up at our little race. Steven is traveling around the world competing in every downhill or slalom event he can make. He is excited to get back to Australia and see if he can get slalom races going “Down-under.” Steven, you have the support of RoeRacing if you need it!

We missed the Daddies crew. It was Saturday and the shop was open and they could not attend. Business before pleasure I guess! Dan and Melanie have been very instrumental in getting slalom racing on the map. They carry a huge range of slalom-specific equipment and have been one of the main sponsors of the Portland Grass Roots series. Thanks Daddies!

Thanks again to Pat for the hard work and dedication for putting on a great race series!

See you all soon!
Gareth

Pat Chewning
Pat C.
Pat C.
Posts: 1400
Joined: Mon Sep 16, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Portland Oregon

Post by Pat Chewning » Mon Sep 08, 2003 10:15 pm

Yes, the final race of the season was quite a nomadic affair. We were all set to race on June 6th (Saturday) on 167th Ave in Beaverton. Then "Krispie Kreme" donuts opened a new shop (one of the first in Oregon), and car-fulls of donut-crazed people were detoured onto the race hill.

So I went door-to-door in my neighborhood and got permission from the residents to run down Yorktown Drive -- still scheduled for Sunday June 7th. I submitted this to the county for a "block party" permit -- they denied it! (A first for me).

The weatherman then predicted rain on Sunday anyway (first rain in about 1-1/2 months). This prediction looked very likely because it didn't change for several days. So we decided to race on Saturday. This started another brand-new search for a site. (YES, it did rain on Sunday).

We started out at the Vancouver Park-and-Ride on Saturday morning. We swept off a runnable surface, set up the cones and timing system and were about to get started when Barney Fife (rent-a-cop security) showed up with a list of "Criminal Activities" not allowed on the property. The list included skateboarding. Between sips from his large coffee cup (filled with wiskey?) he was telling us to leave.

Then not one, not two, but three county sheriff deputies arrived. The first deputy, Linda Hayes was very willing to let us stay, but the property was not county, but state-owned with security outsourced to Barney Fife and company. Linda contacted dispatch and suggested several other sites for us to run on.

We convoyed over to Mill Plain Blvd, which has a new section of road just completed and resurfaced, which is presently closed to traffic. We had set up there and run the first Qualifying rounds when another rent-a-cop showed up who represented the building development. Soon after we were joined by the Vancouver city police. After much discussion of who actually owned the road (City, County, Developer?), the city policeman called his supervisor who said "OK" to run for this time.

I was about to throw in the towel and call it quits. In addition to the law enforcement hassles, I had been a victim of vehicular sodomy (rear-ended) on the way to the 1st skate location.

Many thanks to Michael Dong for course setting (twice), Gareth Roe for timing equipment setup (twice), all of our sponsors, and lots of positive energy from the skaters to keep plugging away until we could pull a race off.

The final standings were:

PRO
1st -- Michael Dong

OPEN
1st Paul Howard
2nd Gareth Roe
3rd Stephen Daddow
4th Pat Chewning
5th Dave Anderson
6th Matthew Anderson
7th John Stryker
8th Dave Mitchell
9th Mark Sellman
10th Thor Janda
11th Carey
12th Aaron Burks
13th Joshua Burt
14th Scott Moore
15th Adam B
16th Severin

NOTE: Robin McGuirk was in 14th place and had to drop out after the 1st final round.

Each racer ran 8 runs (two Qual runs, and two runs each in 3 final rounds).



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Pat Chewning on 2003-09-08 16:47 ]</font>

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