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
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Comment by Ville Hietala on November 6, 2012 at 17:44
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What about inline, gravity bikes with fairings and Teolo?
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Comment by William Stephenson on November 6, 2012 at 17:52
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Oh god, Andy just shut up and wind your neck it. You're making streetlugers and classic lugers look like moaning arseholes! I've come over to Australia and raced 3 times now and by the looks of things I might not get the opportunity again with this attitude.
"Streetluge and Classic Luge will be equal billing, rights and support, including prize money, as skateboarding" - of course we won't?! why should we?! when we're such a minority and don't make a difference. maybe we should be when we make up about 35-40% of entrances at events, at the moment it's 13% or if there's a decent sponsor for luge.
I am really sorry guys at ASRA, and really do hope that you'll allow luge to come along to your events as I would be itching to race again at some point!
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Comment by Robbo on November 6, 2012 at 18:05
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You might have to get on your skateboard at Keira but you will certainly get to roll your Luge at Bathurst mate. Always enjoy having you in town Will and that won't change now
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awwwwh dam, I'll get another haematoma on my ass....
Well it's a start, hopefully the attitude of the lugers will improve and as numbers grow a bit might also be able to do Keira, one day....
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Premium Member Comment by Kelly Carter on November 6, 2012 at 18:21 -
William wins the internet
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Comment by Michael English on November 6, 2012 at 18:41
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Buttboarding is actually one of the funnest forms of racing. Try it + it gets you more track time!!!
I buttboarded for the first time at bathurst and had a ball with yates kicking me in the head around forest elbow or watching him pull an el rolo through the dipper. Granted it's not as cool for spectators but as a GRAVITY RIDER its buckets of fun
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Premium Member Comment by Benbro on November 6, 2012 at 18:53 -
will,..andy cant damage the sport anymore, he has stood out over time to be the same hater,..there are bad eggs in every sport,..i dont think people even give him credit as a spokesman for your sport anymore,.his comments are invalid and non representing of the discipline,..hating all lugers based on his views would be small minded,and ridiculous,...respect where respect is due..
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Premium Member Comment by Brendan on November 6, 2012 at 21:12 -
As a luger and Bathurst local I'd like to add something a little positive here.
I happily paid rego fees just to ride Keira and newtons this year, not looking for prize money or special treatment, just epic good times with my pals. And that's what I got, and I copped no sh!t at either event. Keira was the best run and most positive event I've ever been to, and I'm pretty shattered to hear it may not be an option for us next year. Knowing how many lugers there are in oz, the numbers that rego'd was disappointing to say the least. We will lose our place if we don't grab the rides when they pop up.
Seriously this online shitfighting has gotta end, ya gotta pull ya head in with the negativity Andy, IDF has been around for a week and this is where we've come to already.
And by the way we're not all fat old men!
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Comment by Daniel on November 6, 2012 at 22:24
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well put brendan, the vast, vast majority of us are just out there wanting to have fun bombing hills with our mates and it would be a real shame for luge to die at these competitions. I sure hope there can be some productive compromises! The adelaide crew is growing and we'd all still love to ride at events as long as we can because we all know how annoying the authorities can be! and competitions are virtually the only way to have a legal safe ride. especially coming from a South Australian point of view.
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Thats awesome that you had a great experience at the events last year Brendon. We certainly hope to raise it up a notch this year. We certainly don't think all luges are fat and old, there are just some that are and are very resistant to any meaningful change. These guys are not our target market just as old fat longboarders are not our target market. We always encourage them to ride till they die as I intend to do but for our premium World Cup product we really want to create a best of the best atmosphere, this is very important going forward.
The ideas floating around about altering the luge rules is about creating a solid marketable product. lets face it there are not enough luges world wide to handle two categories, it simply divides an already small number. you will always be able to build a street luge and ride it wherever and whenever you want just like now. What is being talked about is focusing the product and focusing the numbers to create something that might encourage new riders and a potential industry behind it. It needs to be affordable but not restrictive, the best riders and by that I mean the world cup product needs to be super athletic. You need to be able to buy one from a shop so it needs to appeal to a broader market to bring in industry support. You need to be able to use it regularly so it needs to have a size that allows kids to grab one and roll down the street than carry it back up the hill. All of these things are ideas that the IDF is talking about. This is not like the old IGSA do nothing attitude and let it die. The IDF will not be making any dramatic changes to luge this year but be very certain that this is a project being worked on and will continue to be looked at throughout the year with the view towards making meaningful change simply because there is no future in the alternative.
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