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
thanks for clearing that up. I was more looking at it the other way for the helmets as a lot of brands have gone to the trouble of testing (imagine all the $$$ of helmets wasted) and to not enforce the rule almost seems rude
Sakamoto i agree, we shouldn't change or mix disciplines. It should just be skateboarding.. if you want to compete on Luge or Buttboard at a world cup level, then go to an IGSA race... simple. Would save on those luggage fees you're concerned with also..
Settle down Andy, I'm just floating an idea, not speaking for the IDF.
But there isn't much substance to your objection, cos today's classic luge would be perfectly eligible as a "luge" under my proposal. No need for two sets of anything.
And I don't have respect for the current definition of classic luge. I think it's stupid to try and limit the equipment to something from a particular historical period, and I'd say the same thing if there was "classic skateboard" category where people had to ride clay wheels or whatever. That could be interesting as a novelty, but it's hardly worthy of being included at the top level of the sport.
But aside from the ridiculous rules that try and preserve the style of equipment from a particular era, I prefer classic luge because it's so much more accessible - the decks are cheaper, and, most importantly, unlike a streetluge you can throw one in the boot of a car and go ride your local hills easily. And so I'm trying to preserve these good bits of classic luge (basically the dimensions of the deck) and remove the other restrictions (wheels size etc.), and call the result "luge" and be done with it.
And while I'm at it, I'd get rid of the stupid hand paddling start and allow people to have a kick start, just like skateboarding, and then lower themselves down once they got up to speed. It'd bring a bit of athleticism to the sport and remove the awkward spectacle of a bunch of fat middle-aged men paddling with their hands.
Andy, there will not be an IGSA next year for obvious reasons, the entire board of the IGSA has resigned and the events have gone with them. The IGSA has done nothing for luge in 12 years bar keep the sport of life support. they have done no radical surgery to give the sport a relevant and vibrant future, they have let it die a slow death because they didn't have the balls to make changes.
You should get with the program Andy, the IDF is the future and a bright future it will be. The target market is not you Andy because you contribute nothing to the sport bar your endless winging and negativity. There are no radical changes planned for this year but make no mistake the IDF will look to fix luge from its current perennial state of decay. This is a positive thing for Luge Andy, somebody its trying to help your sport. Nobody wants to see fat old men winning World Cups, they want to see young athletes at the top of their game. Just like skateboarding old men can do it but they should not be winning the World Cups via a set of rules that discourage athleticism.
Bugs, I agree that there should be some loosening of the rules for Classic. I'd like to see the boards a little wider and the wheels bigger (say 77mm). Standup starts would be good too, but current buttboards meet the requirements (mostly) to be classed as luges. To restrict the actual luge class would be counterproductive, I think, as there has been a lot of development go into luges over the past few years and to pull them back would be akin to preventing skaters from using precision trucks or composite decks. Classic luge is a great class for crossover riders from skateboarding to get into the supine classes cheaply and easily, but once there quite a few get hooked and I think you'll see a few investing in sleds and racing all 3 classes in the near future. Interesting times ahead (;-)>
The bottom line is two classes for luge is one too many. One has to go. The one that remains should use a luge that can fit in a car boot. Everything else is a minor detail.
bugs you hit the nail on the head, I think if we can get the race format to Stand up and Luge and nothing else then it might be a viable way to keep luge alive, i do think that having 2 class's for the sports that are not as popular is some what backwards, Hopefully the IDF keeps luge around it would be sad to see it go.
Robbo, you are entitled to your opinion, and thats cool, I don't have an issue with your comments. As to whether I've done anything for the sport, or any of the disciplines in gravity sport, that would be for others to say, not me.
The forming of the IDF, and subsequent announcement, I'm assuming is the "program" you're talking about, an underprepared program which was announced too early with only a miniscule understanding of the support of the other disciplines towards one another...why, because your view of gravity sports is only through the eyes of a skateboarder who works in a shop, not the the eyes of gravity riders in general. It's been shown that Australia has the worst level of political hate when compared to the rest of the World, but the World is now realising that the bullshit perpetuated by some Australian skaters, ie, lugers hate skaters, is exactly that, complete bullshit. Even some of the very core IDF crew had no idea what the truth was when it came to the Australian scene in particular, but they do now.
I make no excuse for being old, and still wanting to roll with my friends, regardless of discipline. I stand with a bunch of extremely special people, everytime I roll, and half of them are skateboarders.
I guess the best thing I could say to Robbo is this: Don't piss down peoples backs and tell them it's raining, they may just turn around and bite your arse.....
Whats even funnier, is everytime you guys, ie, the core ASRA guys, get cornered, you rely on personal attacks on the forums, OR, emails sent which no-one sees, to either try and intimidate people or manipulate the people reading the forums. If your "program" was built on a foundation of integrity and TRUE concern for pushing gravity sports, you wouldn't be in the situation your in, reading my response to your forum post.
Your "program", and you, need to grow some balls and either announce IDF is skateboard only, or all three disciplines, and either way, stop trying to fuck up the rest of the gravity disciplines to suit your own desires.
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