Q4 Community Update

To All,

I have yet to do this, and will begin quarterly updates so membership have a continual view of where we're at. 

We've had a few quiet years all thanks to a pandemic, and it's been an amazing year back in 2022 seeing the disciplines in Australia thrive. 

ASRA recently put together the Australian gravity team for World Skate Games in Argentina and to no surprise we had some unbelievable success, once again being the only portion of the Australian contingent to win a medal and to have multiple athletes qualify in the Top 10 of their respective disciplines. 

For the first time in WSG we had the opportunity to field a Slalom team, all of which surprised me to no end. The teams collective positivity and willingness to go the extra mile at the games was awesome to see. Slalom is still an integral part at ASRA, and I am here 24/7 to assist anything Slalom related. I hope that seeing fellow Aussies duke it out against the worlds best, it can re-energise the discpline and we can start to really drive it. It is my wish that all future ASRA events will have Slalom included to some capacity, as in the past it has gone regrettably neglected. 

At the request of Skate Australia we have undertaken the responsibility to govern the Downhill Inline discipline and this has me stoked to see where we can take it. Previously we had Luke Webb represent us in Barcelona, and this year we had the pleasure of welcoming Greg Casey into the fold. Greg had never been to a race before, and as far as I'm aware hadn't been out of country. Greg was a ray of stoke the whole event, improving on every run, and soaking in what can be achieved in the disicpline. Nothing to stoke the fire like a World Championship...

ASRA Board Working Update:
It's been quiet, as I said before, but we are slowly picking up where we left off and I'm pleased to deliver some information. 

- We have begun rankings updates for 2015-2022. This is no small task, and finding results from races in years gone is proving difficult so we're starting "top-down" so to speak. International rankings will be our primary focus, and now points will be awarded to racers that compete overseas. This means that if you go to a race anywhere in the world, we will take into account your placing. I ask that if you held a race between the years of 2015 and 2022 that you send the results to: president@skateboardracing.org.au so we can include these. Races as small as 16-mans can be used, as we use a sliding points scale depending on classification of events. 

- We, alongside Hopkin, are looking to bring the World Championship back to Aus, in the form of everyones beloved event, Newtons. Yes, it's coming back, when you ask? We're about to find out but expect more information to follow. 

- We are also looking at bringing the Australian Nationals to the sunshine state, with Mt Coot-tha being our desired venue. We are just beginning talks with Council and will update you all when this kicks off. Expect these events to be in the back half of the year. 

- We are trying to nail down a date for the AGM, we're a little late but will have this locked in shortly. As ASRA is always in need to people with some spare hours up their sleeve, I strongly recommend you reach out to the team as any assistance is immensely appreciated. If you think you can do a better job within the association, I welcome any and all applications when we open the AGM up. ASRA needs workers, who are genuine about the commitment to our array of disciplines. We need representatives involved with Slalom and Inline especially. 

- We continue to work alongside Skate Australia, as our relationship and affiliation with the organisation is imperative to the continuation of our racing community. Skate Australia have been nothing but helpful and positive towards our Board, and we're hoping in the next 12 months to form a more permanent working relationship with them. 

My phone and email is always pinging, and I would love to hear from the community and anyone looking to provide ASRA with assistance. We're on the hunt now for a capable web-developer who would be willing to help the association migrate away from here, to an updated site. 

Cheers,

Max