ASRA - Australian Skateboard Racing Association

New Future for Downhill Skateboarding

Welcome to the new future of downhill skateboarding. Over the last five years ASRA has run both World Cup and World Championship downhill events under the banner of the IGSA. While we have had many successes in this relationship we have also had many struggles in the way we believe the international scene should be headed.

At this time and with the growth in our sport, ASRA needs to affiliate with a group that is more closely aligned with the democratic and accountability structures of a real international sporting association. We could no longer adhere to an international company that had complete control over our sport without any accountability to its stakeholders. Without our voices being heard we continued to battle from the inside to reform and modernize a body that refused to change. This has made it very difficult and very expensive for us to give our sport the dynamic and exciting future it deserves. Considering ASRA has had so much skin in the game over the last five years we felt it imperative that Australian voices are heard at the board level of a legitimate internationally elected body - a federation more closely aligned with the structure and principles that govern ASRA. The Australian Skateboard Racing Association has now aligned with a new international structure under the banner of the International Downhill Federation (IDF).

We have come to a stage in our sports development where ASRA believes our sport at an international level must become more rider focused. It must support and give voice to event organisers, and it must be fully accountable and transparent both in decision making and financially. This new structure will create a body elected by its members, a legitimate association that responds to its stakeholders and gives voice to its riders. This will not be a one-man show, but a body elected by the riders, event organisers and other stakeholders that have put so much into this sport. It will promote events that can stand on their own two feet and support new growth in our sport. It will be a body looking to innovate, respond, and change to develop our sport into the exciting product we all know it is. With this ASRA has joined with the IDF to take World Cup racing to a new level.

Australia's two World Cup events at Mt Keira and Bathurst will now move to this new structure and form a core part of the 2013 World Cup circuit under the IDF. We are super excited about the future of Downhill Skateboarding both in Australia and internationally and believe the IDF is the positive next stage to the sports development.

There are many more details to be worked out but I can promise you this; ASRA with the IDF are working hard to take downhill skateboarding to a new level of growth and accountability internationally and we look forward to an awesome year of racing in 2013

Views: 6198

Tags: IDF, International Downhill Federation


Premium Member
Comment by Daniel Witchey on November 12, 2012 at 21:41

such a great story! so stoked with IDF good on you guys!! 


Premium Member
Comment by Dave M on November 14, 2012 at 9:09

As a nonprofessional skater or luger this change really has no effect on me what soever and it should be left for the true professionals to decide on. Negative old lugers should be constructive or shut up as there is no room for it in the future

What is good about it is if ASRA and the rest of the international interests can bring the same amount of professionalism to all the events as we have seen at Newtons and especially Kiera.

The idea of axing luge and classic luge makes perfect sense when you look at the amount of professional riders competing in all disciples. The numbers of professional skaters far outweigh those in the lay down disciples and the huge number of young aspiring talent in the stand-up with prospects of continuing on with a career is far greater than that of luge whom I would be surprised have any.

A new revamped version of luge should be welcomed and inclusion at World class events and be looked on as a bonus. You could through a blanket over the truly pros, the rest of us are only there for fun.

Classic luge is fun, cheaper, and in my opinion more entertaining than Streetluge but the simple entry level control theory about it has failed to bring new talent into the sport as it was intended to do. Bring on a new class I say.

If we want to keep luge on an international level maybe we need to stop alienating ourselves from the young with high and mighty attitudes and supply them with the new super mini luges to compete in the new competition when permitted. It is young blood that will determine if it lives or dies out as we age.

Competing or not I will be their again. Hopefully riding but if not as a volunteer.

Good luck to all involved in your new venture.


Premium Member
Comment by Grits on November 18, 2012 at 11:09

I dunno about everyone else but i love riding with standup riders, and whilst most lugers don't race downhill we certainly love a cruisy push on our longboards, and the odd mellow hill bomb, right?

The whole idea about combining luge classes to create a hybrid luge isn't new. We've been doing it in qld for over a year or so now. To me it seems that asra combining luge classes is so standups get more track time. Fair enough there's more standup riders than lugers. And if we can "fit them in the boot of our car" that means asra has less logistic problems to handle at events. I know from btb the logistics required for large quantities of luges - its not a bad thing we know how to deal with it. Now i might be looking at this from a different point of view, but that's what it sounds like to me.

As for the whole "hybrid luge may entice young riders" idea. I don't think it will. Young people these days want things "now" and "on the go". That's why online shopping works so well for them. They want to talk to their mates, get some advice, and then buy it that night and next day or two it's built and ready to roll. Or they follow the trends, otangs one season, rad or cults the next, ect. They aren't set in their ways, and i'd say there's a percentage of them that once they get their car forget all about their longboard.

They don't want to design a luge, go to the metal shop and pay a lot to get it made or build it themselves. Younger people want to buy it straight off the shelf, referrals sometimes work (ring sparks, sturge, daz, or phil ect.) but most of the time it falls into the too hard basket. I'm sure if a website had a known classic luge in their online shop they would sell. I know five mile longboards makes one, but its not listed openly on their website and they are not very well known in australia compared to sparks or manowar boards.

Classic luge all began from guys sitting down on their standup boards, it was only the introduction of the darren lot shaped board that made classic luge look how it is now. So the fact that there are pros out there riding lying down on their standup boards is nothing new, and it is quite easy to do. I say change the classic rules, and leave luge how it is. If you don't want two classes of luge at an event just run classic but with more open rules so standups can just use their standup boards.

As for the whole IDF thing, I'm just waiting and am undecided. I'll go to whatever races i can, held by whoever holds them. I don't think a countries association should align themselves with just one global body, but then i don't know enough about what has really happened for everyone to jump ship.

My other thought is does it really matter who the global body is? I understand the quality of races dropped in the past year, and running a good well flowing event is a skill which it takes some organisers time to get the hang of. But what else does a global body really do? and please answer me because i'd like to know. To me it seems they charge a fee for an event to be sanctioned in a series. They set the rules so globally riders have a standard (which is fair) but they also need to be open to changing rules too, and listening to the body of riders the rules effect no matter how big or small they are.

I look forward to seeing what the IDF has to offer, as well as what the IGSA has to offer for 2013. Change is a good thing and it will help things grow even if there is one step back and two steps forward. Cheers


ASRA Admin
Comment by Bugs on November 26, 2012 at 18:00

Announcement: The birth of the IDF website. Slithering into the world like a newborn babe, covered in blood and screaming its lungs out. Behold!

Click it: IDF, the website


Premium Member
Comment by Andrew Evans on November 28, 2012 at 20:36

I hate to be annoying but...
I wish to race Keira and Bathurst next year.
Would the new/old Predator Helmets be passed as ok?    
I just don't want to spend my money, and someone say no, I CAN'T RACE.


Premium Member
Comment by matti rae on November 28, 2012 at 20:52

not a big thing but mine and the other matthew rae's world cup points got added together on the IDF rankings, id post there but my profile is still waiting approval...


ASRA Admin
Comment by Bugs on November 29, 2012 at 6:03
Andrew, this is not a definitive answer, but i think your predator will be OK.

Matti, can't do much about the points, but they'll all be wiped and go back to zero for 2013, so it's not to serious. You have to become a financial member of the IDF before your website signin is approved.

Premium Member
Comment by matti rae on December 1, 2012 at 10:57

no worries, alright ill need to find $30 somewhere then....hahah

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