ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

[Pat Chewning]

ISSA MAJOR event the weekend of July 18. CSA: lots of work to do on this, let's all help Gareth put on a stellar event.

Info here: http://www.slalomskateboarder.com/ISSA/2008-Contest-Sanction/USA-OR-JUL18.pdf

[Jack Smith]

So how many National Championships will be held in the US this year?

The race in Morro Bay will now be called the International Championships of Skateboard Racing...damn that was easy.
_________________
Jack Smith
www.theskateboardersjournal.com
www.lowesyndrome.org

[Pat Chewning]

[Jack Smith]

That the ISSA does not take the title of an event into consideration is unbelievable. I like the ISSA's one exception being the World's, and what exactly gives the ISSA the right to make that exception?

Is it the big sanction fee organizers pay the ISSA? No
Is it the big payday the ISSA provides the winner of the "World Rankings"? No

I find it almost laughable that the title of the race (World's) that I produced between 2001 and 2005 is now controlled by the ISSA. I was never even given the courtesy of a simple email or phone call asking how I felt about this. At least Donald Campbell approached me with the idea of moving the World's to Europe, which I fully supported. Marion Karr also called and let me know of the DHB's intention to lobby for the 2007 Worlds, I also fully supported the DHB's efforts. I guess all the ISSA had to do was tag ISSA on to "World Championships" and that made it legitimate.

Though the titles of the Hood River race and the Morro Bay race aren't exactly the same, they are close enough to cause confusion amongst racers and potential sponsors. By allowing two races with such similar titles, both events perceived status will be diluted. My race will suffer even more due to the fact that the Hood race has been granted Main status.

I also changed the dates of my event to accommodate the Hood River race. I was asked to do this by the organizers of Hood so that their race could be included in the Gorge Games. Since I felt the inclusion of the event in the Gorge Games would be beneficial to slalom I readily agreed.

Since I can call my event whatever I wish, it will now be known as the 2008 International Championships of Skateboard Racing.
_________________
Jack Smith
www.theskateboardersjournal.com
www.lowesyndrome.org

[Jani Soderhall]

The exact labelling of each event may not be a current ISSA responsibility, but common sense tells us we should work together making sure we have only one Worlds, European and also National championships a year.

In Europe we typically give Major status to the European Championships every second year when the Worlds is in the US. Thus having two events called European Championships would be an unfortunate situation.

US Nationals and North American Nationals may be different by definition, but could certainly cause some confusion for participants. Let's hope the events are properly announced in the calendar and their respective topic threads, so racers know what to expect. That, at least, is part of the ISSA strategy behind common rules and World Ranking status handling.

Let's hope both events will be successful and attact a maximum of participants!

/Jani