2004 East Coast racing series.

[John Gilmour]

I another thread I posted a possible East Coast Series.

Available race dates for 2004.

Last week in April Miami (Alan Gelfand and friends) (Minor Race)
next week West Palm Beach (Major race)
1.5 -2 hour drive(have the Florida events away from Hurricane season- and give Northerners wives and excuse to head for the sun) (Mark Mcree and Keith Hollien and Bobby Mandarino)

Early May Georgia (Rick Stanziale)(Major Race)
(race for the following week?)


Late May New York (not too hot yet- low rainfall) (Bill Tway, Steve Olson-has NYC parks dept friend, I also might be able to help- through old NYC political connections)(Major race)

Next week New Jersey (Chris Stepanek, Noah Heinle) Possible commute by train these two races would be ideal for those without cars or who do not want the added expense of a rent a car.(Minor race)(also since Paris is the same weather and latitude as NYC/NJ we could make this a possible3rd sequential race date. The plane flight from NYC or Newark is very cheap about $230.)

June
The Hamptons- (Troy Smart, Myself, Ur13)I personally know we could host as many as 20 racers. (minor race)

Early July Martha's Vineyard Massachusetts
Next week Nantucket Massachusetts $15-35 10 minute airline flight- ('Dem islands mon- sunny and light breezes). (any suggestions? I might have the ability to fly some people over on a friends plane- a current racer in training) (major or minor depending on sign up)

August Maine or New Hampshire (Terence Kirby, Stevie O'Hara)(coastal- only) (major race)
Next week Vermont??? (minor race)

September Da farm Connecticut (Terence Kirby, Bill Tway)(Major race)
next week Boston 2.5 hour drive(all the College kids are back) Sunny weather clear skies. (Major race)

late October
Washington DC (GBJ, Brian Parsons, Curt Kimble) (major race)
next week Virginia (folliage? -an attempt for us Northerners to stretch the summer/fall a little more) (major or minor race)

How are people with this proposed scheduling? Perhaps the October race could be the end of the DC summer Finale?

If there are any race organizers that feel they could use one of the dates or suggest another possible schedule please do so in this thread.

I put potential race organizers or helpful skaters for each area in parenthesis- hopefully I did not exclude anyone just trying to see who might be interested.

The idea of a mjor and minors race is more atune to either the venue- a good venue is more likely to get a Major rating or how long a race has been held. Ie races with 2 or more years of history can qualify as Majors if signup for the previous year has been good and racers experiences favorable.

It is good to have the Minors race first so that people can show up and practice before the major race. The idea is to encourage good racers from out of town to come early and practice with the locals.

For areas that have both races as majors or minors- Each year the weeks could switch if the two promoters in each region agreed. So one year the Jersey race might come before NYC race or vice versa.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: John Gilmour on 2003-04-22 13:31 ]</font>

[John Gilmour]

Also- the Largest hill in the center of Boston- the hill going up to the Statehouse on the Souther side of the Boston Common- is due for repaving and was scarrified last fall- recently they have raised the height of the manhole covers so it should be repaved soon.

Currently this would be one of the best possible venues to promote slalom skateboarding.

Mostly because
1. Boston has the new Longboard skater demographic of college students and longboard sales are good here.
2. It is in the center of the city- with lots of available shops and restaurants and bathrooms located all along the hill.
3. It is a Subway ride from a Major airport. No car required.
4. Boston has the largest number of hotel rooms in the world all acessible in one complex.
5. There are many flights per day into Boston.
6. Boston is an easy destination for European racers and the town size is similar to that of European cities.
7. Boston has many Media schools that would be willing to cover the event and produce a video.
8. Boston is designed for starving college students budgets- it is an inexpensive place to visit.
9. The mean average age in Boston is 19 with the women significantly outnumbering the men in the Colleges and Universities.
10.Boston has a highly athletic population.

and we're wicked smaaaahrt.

[Wesley Tucker]

If you're so smart, why do you live in Boston? Hmmmm?

Just one point: I noticed on your proposed East Coast Series schedule you forgot Rick Stanziale's Geergia State Championships. Last year his race was on August 31 and this year on the 30th. I have no reason to assume Rick wouldn't attempt another race August 29, 2004.

And of course, we'll have further debate over whether or not Ricky Byrd's Mississippi Luna Slalom Jam in April is an "East Coast" event or not. I think it is, and as we all know, that's all that really matters!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Wesley Tucker on 2003-04-21 18:02 ]</font>

[Wes Eastridge]

I’ve come up with the following list of optimal areas for racing during specific times of the year, based on what I know and what I suspect. With exception of WV’s BridgeDay or Boston July 4th, it makes no exception for contests that are already established. It just makes sense to me for 2004 to go this way:

January - Mississippi and Florida (Kona banked/park slalom).
February - Florida (any other place that’s usually around 70f in the winter?).
March - Mississippi or Georgia.
April - Mississippi or Georgia.
May - Anyplace Mid-Atlantic (VA to NYC). St.Louis.
June - Mid-Atlantic earlier, then DaLake, or anyplace good in NY.
July - DaLake, and anyplace good that’s north of NYC (and even though it was a scorcher last time - Boston on the 4th!).
August - DaFarm (Vista NY) and anyplace else north that is good, then Mid-Atlantic later.
September - Anyplace Mid-Atlantic.
October - Anyplace Mid-Atlantic. WV (the rain last year was a freak of nature).
November - Southern Mid-Atlantic (Gaithursburg to southern VA). Georgia.
December - Georgia.

And while StLouis might not be east coast, I think they can pull it off well by then and would like to attend at least one race there.

[John Gilmour]

I am not sure if skateboarding should be a 12 month season. Also it can be really cold in Florida during the winter months. I do think it would be a drag to fly down to Florida for 30-40 degree weather- it was this cold this winter.

Realistically we want to have a race series that allows people to get in practice before actual racing starts.

In the FCR western conference they have had two races go off already and yet this Wednesday in the NorthEast they are predicting snow showers. So it is not reasonable to expect skaters from colder climates to be able to practice for a race while there is still snow on the ground. But as FCR is essentially a Wesern Conference it is fine for FCR ranking for Western skaters rankings.

We on the East Coast need our own ranking system and of course we need to define a racing season. Of course we can have racing "out of season" but the results from those races should not go towards an East Coast ranking because not all racers would be able to participate at a high level.

So for a Season I would suggest May at the Earliest to October 15th as the latest. That would enable northern skaters as far as Canada at least a few weeks of practice before the first competition for points.

Having a race in say Early December in Florida...while still warm there, means that Northern skaters have not been skating since October 20th or so and are hence out of practice.

Baseball has its season as does Hockey. If we really want to rank the East Coast skaters for qualifiers- it is important to make sure everything is as fair as possible.

I hope that we will see some Midwest action developing as well.

No one ever thought this sport would grow this quickly to have this many competitions so quickly.

Now the most important thing is to have these competitions near a large spectator draw for possible crossover.


I am considering having a slalom competiton in Boston's Boston Common.

Possible "piggyback events" that will be held in the Boston Commons which are a source for spectators are.

The scooperbowl- a sampling of over 100 brands of ice cream.

The Chowderfest A sampling of Boston's best clam chowders.

The Hempfest- a legalize marijuana day.
We would have many students present- and many would be spectators....even if if they see trails as we go by.

The Walk for Hunger (ironically scheduled after the Hempfest).

[John Gilmour]

Wesley- I did not Put Georgia in there because of the time of the year the contest was held. August in Georgia might not be as appealing as say (I'm guessing) April in Georgia.

The above list certainly isn't meant to be permanent. What I would like to see is an online dialog of the promoters and a sensible series hash out with local weather that is conducive for spectators and racers as well as logical travel itineraries that reduce travel and hotel and car expenses.

IMHO that means back to back weekend racing where applicable and racing in 60-70 degree weather. Any colder and spectators likely won't want to hang around- any hotter and spectators will be at the beach. When it is 60-70 degrees out- people are bike riding. skating, walking etc. When it is 100 degrees out many people are inside in airconditioning.

Georgia should be included just like Florida. So Georgia....what dates would you like? What is your best weather window?

[Rick Stanziale]

April and September are historically the lowest rainfall totals in Georgia.

April also plays host to bicyclings Twilight Criterium here in Athens, along with 30,000 spectators.

They've expressed an interest in nesting a slalom race inside the Criterium, so put me down for late next April.