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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ASRA Admin Comment by Bugs on November 7, 2012 at 7:30
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Premium Member Comment by sean meaney on November 7, 2012 at 10:27 -
Robbo I think 5 mile is addressing the issue of availability by producing their luge, but for the love of god will they just get rid of the stupid 8mm axle only rule
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Comment by Uncle Dave on November 7, 2012 at 11:12
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I don't normally post anything but this time i thought i had to
Guys i just want to ride my Luge & my Buttboard.I'm just a little over all this negativity.No i haven't ridden a world cup although i was at Keira as was my Luge with Kula Jenson riding it from Norway as i had a broken hand otherwise i would have been riding(Sorry Kula)And yes i'm a middle aged not quite so fat Luge rider.
Yes i would love to ride a world cup in my own country even at my age! At this stage its looking pretty bleek to say the least,But i'll still ride somewhere?
I haven't been in this sport very long but i have met some incredible people so far both local-interstate and overseas riders.I've talked to heaps ive never met on FB and find it an amazing fraternity to be part off.Everyone has been nothing but helpfull and shown respect to me.
Sak Raff Nick Phill Daz Ado were the local ones that helped me into this sport with Gear & advice
Frank Will Abdil who gave up there time to even talk to me
The situation i see unraveling in front of us all is not a good one.While trying to introduce new & younger people into our sport to see these inhouse posts umm!we need to unite wait to see what the IDF does and move along.
I want to see this sport grow but more importantly unite to allow it to grow.Either way i'll be riding with what ever body that supports us or riding as a weekend warrior on some bigass hill somewhere hope to see some of you out with us somewhere now that would be a novel idea hey!
See you a hill somewhere going down hard either upright or laying down i don't care.
Just wanna roll
Uncle Dave
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Premium Member Comment by murrah on November 7, 2012 at 11:24 -
hi robbo as a voting member when are the asra board members voted in i havent seen any thing about it. to help with transparency have all meetings streamed through the members lounge. this will encourage those who want to have a say to pay.all members should be informed by email on who the nominations are, all minutes should also be available though members lounge. otherwise it is far from transparent
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Comment by Robbo on November 7, 2012 at 12:22
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I'm not sure this is really what the discussion is about here but I will try to answer your questions
ASRA boards members are voted on at the AGM. This happens once a year, the most recent one being last May from memory. Minutes of the AGM are taken and yearly financial statements are delivered. These documents are than given to the NSW Department of Fair Trading which we need to do by law. All full ASRA members are notified by email before the AGM and are asked to submit nominations for board positions. The agenda is posted. Nominations than go to a vote and board members are elected. Financial statements and minutes of AGM meetings are available to members by request. There are obviously some technical barriers to live streaming which sometimes can and sometimes can't be overcome.
If you would like to have a say on something to do with the Association its generally best to do that within the members lounge and look for a response from a board member of ASRA. As far as the AGM goes they are not as interesting as you would imagine and are more based around the protocol of nominations and financial statements.
All of this information is written within the constitution and is available from the 'About ASRA' page. I wouldn't say ASRA is far from transparent, I don't know of any other Australian Sporting Association that responds regularly and year round to questions posed on their website in a completely public manner. Generally speaking there are not many members who want to volunteer their time to contribute and be fully involved within the rules of the association.
There is often a misconception with some people that think we should appoint people from certain places in our community (as per Andy in his first question). This is not like the IGSA, in an incorporated association this would simply be against the Law. Everybody gets voted on and you must win that vote under the same rules as everybody else, that's what democracy is.
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Comment by Phill C on November 7, 2012 at 16:12
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Totally agree with what Brendan said.
I was devistated to miss out on Newtons and kiera this year coz of an injury and i hope to be able to ride either luge or buttboard or whatever it ends up as at them again.
Wether IGSA or IDF i really dont mind, if it means a smooth running event bring it on. I just appreciate an opportunity to race and be a part of it all.
I can totally see the thinking and logic behind one class of luge/buttboard and to be honest alot of lugers have been altering boards and making them shorter anyway.
Change is always a bit scary for some but it can work out for the better in the long run. I think IDF just needs time and support rather than negativity.
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Comment by DazTheCowboy on November 7, 2012 at 18:14
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i look forward to seeing what the IDF come up with. i like the idea of opening new possibilities for younger riders to have choice and affordability of disciplines when it comes to racing. i am open to new possibilities as to what luge has to offer.
Good luck to the IDF team and all the behind the scenes guys and gals. i am very keen on seeing what the future of racing has to offer.
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Premium Member Comment by Steve on November 7, 2012 at 18:20 -
I could be wrong but I don't think there will be a jet luge category Daz :)
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ASRA Admin Comment by Bugs on November 7, 2012 at 19:03 -
I like where this thread has ended up. The appeal of the jet luge is that there's only one man in the world who is crazy enough to try it (no disrespect Daz, the opposite in fact).
I have a friend who races rocket cars, which basically involves attaching rockets to toy cars and racing them. Most of the time the toy cars fly off in any direction and crash spectacularly, while the participants drink beer and watch. I'm sure Daz will fare better.
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Comment by Shane Madeley on November 8, 2012 at 13:01
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Hi all, I am a fat old man.
I really enjoy riding my sleds anywhere anytime and do it because I can't ride downhill skateboards, I love speed and I love the excitement and love the sport.
I have to say that while there is room for some improvement in the lay down disciplines I don't think making luge the size of skateboards is going to improve it greatly, anyone at the moment can jump on a homemade classic luge that fits in a boot of a car, cheaply and rip hills with the best of them. Point in case they way the some standups jumped on sleds and ripped Newtons.
It was awesome to see that mix of riders in the races and I look forward to seeing it happen more often. Combining Street Luge and Classic is an easy thing to do by freeing up the rules on the trucks and wheels that Classic is allowed to run, other than that not a lot would not need to change, as most sled riders will ride with anyone willing to have a run with them.
As for the standup starts, well I am not a supporter of that not only for obvious reasons, but it would make it too much like s a skateboard race, wouldn't it?? I mean the young up and comers are winning the hand push races now anyway aren't they, us older fatter people don't usually factor in anyway, do we??
As for getting young people to get into this discipline and make it more popular, well like I said with a few minor changes in the truck and wheel set up for the classic side of things, a skateboarder could easily transfer their gear from their stand up ride to their luge ride keeping the overall cost down and less luggage to lug around for those that want to ride more than one discipline.
So in my eyes it will be interesting to see what changes if any come along, but just remember all you young fit people out there will end up being call old and fat one day to. When your back is stuffed and your legs can't take the hammering where will you turn to get your downhill thrills, LUGE BABY LUGE!!!
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