ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

Okay, so who wants to be my catamaran partner??

Hey GBJ, is there a place that I can plug in an extension cord? If so I'll bring a crock pot full of East Carolina pulled pork barbecue on Saturday. I can also bring my water smoker and smoke some chicken parts. I might not be able to skate but I can still cook!

Jeff, I know there are outlets, but whether they're active or not is a different story. I'll try to slip over there in the next few days to test.

mmmmmm youre making me soooo hungry.

Yo Jeff!
Let's cook up some venison too....that is, if you have any left over. I'm looking forward to seeing you in a couple weeks, GBJ! And everyone else!!

What time is the event going to start?

isn't it like 9:00 or 10:00?

Yeah Andy do you have an itenerary planned out yet? I can't make it on saturday due to a gig and want to know what I am gonna miss and see what I get to partake in on Sunday. If it is posted on ncdsa then I am sorry but I dont particularly like that site or the way its set.

The 5th Gathering: It's All About Slalom begins at 9 am each morning. All of general information for the event is posted on Ncdsa.com's Contest Calendar. Anthony, what if the daily activities are already posted on this site? What if it's already posted on this forum? You ought to read this forum every once in awhile. To find out what we'll be doing each day, just count back about 15 posts from this one and read it up.

John, the 05 gathering is all about slalom, it is NOT about consuming wild game, therefore no venison shall be served, at least by me.

GBJ, has anybody else contacted you about bringing food?

In order to run wildly through the cones one must consume wild game. Gilbert said he'd bring some stuff....again let's all bring a little extra so there's enough to go around when we need to replenish calories...I know GBJ will kick my *ss with the courses he will set up...and I'm willing to attempt any course set...I'm out of shape too and looking forward to running a bunch of cones.

I have not been contacted by anyone else planning to bring food, other than those who have mentioned it here.

Rad... you don't need to worry about being out of shape, I'm pretty sure I haven't run cones in almost a year. Too busy... too busy.

im briangin burgers for bothe days, the cases i get come with 27 in them, so im goin on like, one per person, per day. if people are apossed to meat in there diet, let me know i can get sliced veggies for grilling or try to do some kabobs..

Alrighty then, sounds like a plan. I think we'll be in pretty good shape for Saturday. Burgers, BBQ pork and chicken. There was only 23 people signed up last time I looked but if more people show up I think we'll have them covered. If my knee isn't significantly better I most likely wiil be a no show on Sunday.

I'm a little worried about the weather. It looks like a cold front is going to move in bringing showers on Thursday and rain for a good part of Friday, hopefuly it'll have moved out by the weekend. It's too bad WesE's out town, we need his expert long-range meteorological report.

Thankx Mr Gilbert

no problem, i cant wait, should be a blast. i can also get sidesalads and stuff, ie patato sallad chicken sald that kind of thing and rolls too, again just repsond here or snd me a pm, latwer guys

if only 23 show up and I expect more will...I'll eat 2 burgers...will not let food go to waste guys...

Judging by WesE’s finish in Athens last week he’s a shoo-in to win everything there is to win at the Gathering this year. Get it, Shoo-in ? non-puffy tongue ? Nevermind.

Jeff, There are five grills, four of which seem to have working, adjustable charcoal trays. The bathrooms were locked, so I was not able to check for a live electrical outlet.

Thanks Andy

GBJ,
I seem to recall that there was a power panel to the left as you look down the main hill. Pretty sure that there are some outlets there.

Good luck with T5G.

I recall that as well, although not until I'd been there and left again.

Thanks, Kevin. I'm sorry you won't be with us. Both yourself and Yvonne will be sorely missed.

Yeah. It will be not be the same without Kev and Yv. Sorry to hear that you two won't be there.


I know I'll bring some kind of noshables. I was going to bring chicken franks but maybe now I'll bring veggieburgers instead. Or maybe some of each.

Here's DaGathering weather forcast:
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. North wind between 8 and 15 mph.
Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 70.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 49.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75.
Looks like the best daytime forcast ever for the G!

Wes-Veggieburgers would be perfect!! I'll have a grill nice and hot for ya

PS I've got plenty of charcoal, plates silverware and napkins.

the gathering is saturday and sunday at which locations? my dad and i are still alive, we've just been a little lazy lately... See y'all soon, hopefully!

-K.

Hey Kyle! Glad to hear you are still around! The Gathering will be at the O.G. (Original Gathering) spot, Cardinal Picnic Area, Blair Witch Municipal Park (Seneca Creek State Park), Gaithersburg.

okay i got burgers and cheeze but ive seemed to have forgotten rolls if this dosent bother anyone fine, if it does and you want to bring some feel free, im still gonna try to wrangle some by tommarow but no promises

Brian, I should have enough hamburger buns to go around so don't go out of your way to get some.

Jeff, call me this morning before you leave. Wes has some of your cones from Friday night and I have the rest. I will be late on saturday so maybe you can get them on your way through.

Gathering Day 1:


First off, this was the tastiest Gathering of all. Jeff Boswell cooked up one hell of BBQ feast. You could tell that times were going to be a tenth faster because of all the food consumed. Thanks Jeff! And by the way, Ohm has the rest of your cones. Don't worry, we got Brian back for pulling your chain. As I said the food was great.

Probably as you all know, I didn't run any cones. I'm so out of practice, I would break my neck if I ran cones. Anyway, I enjoyed setting the "longboard" course and running the race.

Before I set up my course and before we gorged ourselves with Jeff's cuisine, GBJ had set some practice courses. The newbies proceeded to get their wiggles figured out while the other side of the hill had a tough course set by GeezerX.

After the lunch, GBJ set a tighter slalom course that I never got to see. Though, it was the center of attention for awhile. While the tight slalomers did their stuff, I set a wide open GS Longboard course with PSR correcting any of my mistakes. The timer bugs were figured out and then a jam format got underway.

Allen Chaney riding some vintage equipment jumped out in the lead and held it for a good stint. Then WesE showed up as well as PSR and Brian Parsons. They all started to take over the race with fast runs. In fact in his first run, Brian stole first place and thought he had it in the bag. BP whipped out his cell and called someone, maybe Ohm, to update the days activities and brag a bit about his first place run. Then the unthinkable happened. John aka "Rad" Dillion blew everyones doors right off.

Johnny boy brought a true longboard to a longboard course and proceeded to power it down the line. Parsons looked faster but Dillon put tenths between him and Parsons. BP was shell shocked as John just got faster with each run. When the dust settled, Dillon had beat everyone else by about a second and BP by more than a half second.

The real GS race turned out to be the two women's racers. Ilva showed up to display her graceful birdlike style that would look so cool in a video to the right music. Ilva got it going and started to post some respectable times for even the guys to be worried about. The other female skater was VaBeach surf instructor Jennifer. This girl has a powerful push start and pumping style. Jennifer surfed the cones to everyones delight but she was well behind Ilva. Then the unthinkable happened.

I gave Jennifer some advice that GBJ gave me about looking forward to not the cone your are about to turn around but the one after that. Just as that advice at the time made me instantly the fastest Washington DC slalomer more than a few years ago, the same advice gave Jennifer the confidence to go for it. [Note, there is a bit more to just looking ahead to the next cone, it also has to do with catching the cone & body positioning, etc....]

And did Jennifer go for it. She started to chip away at Ilva's times and then matched it exactly. The last run for the day was announced and Ilva stepped up to the plate. She got a good start and carried speed through the top section looking better than Gilmour could ever look. But she must have hit some wind on the bottom section and her time was not bettered. Jennifer set up and pushed into the course hard. She didn't look as fast as Ilva but looks were deceiving. Jennifer pumped each turn and in the end had stolen first place from Ilva. What a race day.

Well I hope some of the photos that WesE and others took will be posted soon. Me and my family (wife and both sons) had a blast.

Thanks Andy. And to the crew that didn't show, we missed you and you missed it.

DR

PS - Anthony Flis is the next young DC skater to watch out for. He is fast!

By the way, I can only brag as being the fastest Washington DC skater for just a fleeting moment. Curt Kimbel came out of retirement and kicked my @#$. Ohm got fast as all get out and Vlad killed us all. Parsons then made me eat every win I had over him. And WesE & crew started to practice so much and got so fast that they knocked me right down into the "B" bracket. I think the only way I can win any races now is to try to out gut my opponent but that ends up with me either blowing off course, going down, or just emptying my tank of gas real early. Case in point, the last WV race. Them Detroit boys did me in at the WV race.

Some photos from LBK's longboard/GS course. More from there as well as from the other courses later on. Come be part of it on Sunday.


Thanks for running the LB course, LBK. You gotta get back in it though. There's always something missing when YOU don't ride with us.

What a great time and location, I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday, especially after a hiatus from Slalom skateboarding that began in 1978... I kept it sane most of the day, sticking to sticky wheels, and skating to complete... Still, when I left on Saturday I wasn't at the bottom of the list! Daddy G had a time of 16 something and 24 something so... But really, what a blast! You guys are a great bunch, and if it hadn't been for a higher calling on Sunday, (Mother's Day), I would've been there again today!
and please post more pics!

Daddy G,
Good to meet you and your son. Glad you had fun. We had a great time too! Check with John Dillon for Edward's scooter.
Q

right on WesE thank for posting core photos of unknown skaters riding slalom for the joy of it!

What a great day on Saturday.

Very laid back and the only big ego was my own that John Dillon easily crushed.
It was great seeing all the new faces and to see young kids charging courses with style.

This event was in the tradition of the first couple of Gatherings. Very non-intimidating and fun for everyone.

Jeff, thanks for the grub. It was great.

Again, I cannot thank-you enough, Boswell, for the delicious BBQ and to Gilbert & WesE for the burgers and veggie burgers, respectively. Boswell, you are the man when it comes to feeding an army!! THANKS! Now, for the slalom side of things....thanks go out to Andy for the slalom courses that were set....and the inspiration by Andy for helping others to try it out....and to PSR and lbk for setting courses as well. The LB race was a fun one....I was just trying to beat WesE as my knee was still a lil sore. I think I got my speed from lbk's sons as I zapped high 5's with lil Ian and Juan and stole away some of their excess energy. Also, it was great to see John Granlund(another JG...maybe we should call him JG2 or I like that Daddy G) riding like he never stopped, cutting clean runs, italian-style, despite just coming out of a 27-yr retirement. Also, Barry, a local hardbooter snowboarder who came out and just e-mailed me about buying equipment....the NOVA bombers who showed up both days, same w/Nino's crew w/Richmond Anthony and Va Beach surfer girl Jenn...and the Vermont contingent of fellow hardbooters(snowboarding) PSR and his protege Adam Swippert. All the way from South Carolina came that DownHillbilly w/the parrallel stance, Wesley Tucker. On sunday morn, GBJ jumped onto the course and rode a tight, charging run With the parrallel stance too....Ilva took the chinese bus(one of Gilmour's travel tips) from NYC to DC, then she travelled by subway to Shady Grove, where I picked her up for the last leg to TG5. Ilva and Jenn were charging every course that was set up...surprising some of the hikers who ventured near the race courses. The McMullen twins and son(nephew)Eli(JAM LONGBOARDS) came out and jammed with us on Sunday.....everyone was having a blast sharing their various boards...I especially liked riding the 80-incher and 70-incher. Newcomer to slalom but ripping local longboarder, Rob, showed up with a couple spectators. The McMullen grandparents and family showed up too to support the event and utilize the picnic area in style. I forget everyone's names and I missed the big monkey from MMW, the Geeze....but, I tell ya, the slalom stoke was strong all wknd with WesE continuing to bring out new weapons to try out on BP. BP looked super fast throughout the day.....the only thing I can really say why I beat BP in the LB race...maybe because I weigh more than you now, Brian...and a friend of mine used to say....Heavier objects go faster downhill with gravity than lighter objects.....I must be heavier. There were plenty of new east-coast-made home-made boards. Richmond Anthony's reverse tear-drop board and PSR's mid-size longboard cut out of a used up snowboard, WesE's secret weapons, WesT was modeling the new custom yellow and red Icks. Nino ripped it up on WesE's old waterski board, Ilva found love in a new longboard, Gilbert attacked each course w/chain and numchucks in hand, and Al Chaney came out and ripped some fast lines on the vintage set-up he brought out.He also helped me eat the chocolate-covered pretzels I brought(that's the secret, BP!) We all dodged the the changing wind on sunday, Ilva went turtle hunting and found one crossing the road while bombing a downhill run, Mark and Matt McMullen walked their longboards cross-stepping all over a la lb surfing that thay do at the beach. Eli was seen ripping some sweet carving lines and hang-tens on a board that was way taller than him and doing so with style. We finished the day w/ evryone bombing in a pack sans cones...w/WesE taking down the young NOVA bombers literally by the hair on his chinny chin chin. In the midst of all this Anthony Smallwood shows up to get a lil exercise and to show off his fresh Costa Rican tan and to throw down some style lines...now I think I know where Bertleboy gets some of the style that he doesn't get from father Q, who was riding the old recycled ironing board with the rad grip-tape job........all in all, a lot of wheels were a-spinnin and a lot of wrenches were turned to make equipment adjustments and to tweak bearings and trucks. A lot of new friends were made and a few minds were blown away and Mother Nature bestowed upon us a nice wknd, even if it was a bit windy at times on sunday.......we did do a lil wind skating, Slappy. Not far down the road this wknd there was another gathering that I've heard about on the news this morn and that was one of illegal immigrants gathering at a local high school.....................but, fortunatley, nobody confused the locations of either..........................you know, there was a rumour of a siting of Animal Chin in the woods yesterday...and when I went to investigate, it turned out to be skatethedowner, Nino doing a lil hiking......come to think about it, with a lil more grey and a beard he could double as Animal Chin! I know I missed a bunch of you and I apologize right now in advance......I hope to c u all again real soon.........thanks also to those family members who came out with their slalom enthusiasts. Andy, thanks for starting all this in its 5th yr and to GBJ, Allen, PSR, and Grandpa Jam for the stories...that made it all worthwhile!

Had a blast yesterday skating with everybody. The place oozed style. Thanks again, GBJ.

John, Cutting a clean run Eye-talian style? You made my eye cry, and I thank you for the flattery... Trading notes with Gianluca Ferrero made him proud that the Italian half of me represented my skateboardin' alma mama with such panache! Now if we could get them Eye-talians here next year, or before... Think of the cook-out we could have! Now for Pics... I saw someone actively taking pics on Saturday, wore a CamelBack and rode like the wind, shall I call him, "CamelWind"? I see the potential there... Please post pics, 'cause I had so much fun That I want to see it again and again... Daddy G is a nom de guerre that suits me, as it describes one of my very favorite roles. Now, I'm a translator/linguist not an html dude, so if you want to see the pics Eduardo took (not bad for a 7 year old) you're going to have to explain how this works... Or, you can send me an e-mail address for one of you that knows how to make this happen, and I'll send them to you.

Go to this MSN group web address for pics that my son took... He did pretty well!
http://groups.msn.com/TheGatheringMay2005
Enjoy,
Daddy G

Nice pics!!!

Thanks for posting them!

Q

Daddy G.

Thanks for getting the pics posted, those are some cool photos of the Gathering 05. I particularly liked the perspective of the shots, Eduardo is a 7 year old Glen E. Friedman.

yeah, what a great weekend of skating!

cool pics for me, danny, and jenn. thanks Wes E, i know you got more!

John G. also posted some great pics too! its good see another 'Nino' skateboarding! (had to be there for that one)

but everything from the BBQ to cutting through the woods to avoid paying the park fee for two days straight was a blast. did dillon say i looked like Chin? i think there was a sighting but definately not me. it was good to see eveyone, and meet those i don't know, like how i called Geezer, chris or something when i walked up - nice to meet ya!

Alrighty, I have them up. Click here for my G5 gallery. BTW, it now requires the following password: "WesE" (without the quotes). Sorry about that but it needs to be in place until I have completely figured out how the hosting site works.

You know I forgot to mention Timbobwei's awesome calendar he gave out at TG5....the cover w/the cool waterfall was incredible...it was good seeing you, Tim!

I'm definitely glad i decided to check out the scene at TG5 Saturday. You were all very welcoming and I had fun. Especially nice to finally meet LBK and PSR, who is like a walking snowboarding encyclopedia.

I hadn't skated in probably at least 10 years. As John D mentioned in a previous post, I'm looking to buy something now, preferably ASAP.

I'm leaning more toward a longboard (I liked Nino's black one) but something that I can slalom with if I want and that can hold a little bit of speed decently. Also something to just cruise around the neighboorhood with. 2 friends have recommended sector 9, although I'm not sure which model, or even what series. I want to have fun but also use this as a x-trainer for snowboarding (specifically alpine riding, if possible).

One of you younger guys mentioend there's a few longboarders in Reston that post on silverfish, which I went on for the 1st time a few days ago. I'm sorta curious about the scene, so if you know where they post, please let me know.

Anyone have any suggestions for what I should buy? I've been chatting with John D about it but wanted to hear what you all had to say. Maybe I should buy a slalom board and a longboard, I don't know.

===
Barry

I'm no gear head, but have stuck with Fibreflex all these years... There's no flex like Fibreflex!
Daddy G.

Instead of making my BBQ at the Gathering next year I think I’ll try this recipe for Saturday’s lunch

1 raccoon -- (4-5 lb.), dressed
1. -- whole, all fat
-- removed
4 large green apples -- quartered
2 cups beef or chicken stock
4 wide strips fat salt pork -- cut 1/4 inch thick
4 medium onions -- peeled
2 tablespoons instant minced chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon instant flour
salt -- pepper to taste

If the raccoon is excessively fatty, boil it in salt water to cover (1 Tbs. salt to 1 quart water) for 20 to 30 min. Drain; pat dry. Place apples in cavity and skewer together or sew up. place breast side down in roasting pan. Add stock and cover meat with the fat strips. roast slowly in a 325 degree oven until tender (about 2 1/2 hours), basting every 30 min. with the pan juices. During last hour, place onions in pan and, during last half hour, remove fat strips. When done, transfer to heated platter and keep warm. Skim excess fat from pan juices and add chives, parsley, and flour. Stir over medium heat till thickened and serve on side as gravy.

Dang, Jeff! Here I sit at the library and I read your post and the librarian shusses me but it was my stomach growling!

Listen to that recipe I would almost think you wuz a DownHill Billy and not a DC'er! YUMMY!

Seriously, came on here to thank John Dillon and Brian Parsons for coming down and riding with us at Hobby Park in Winston-Salem, NC this past weekend with the DHB crew. Thanks also for the loan of the timers! Everyone that was there was stoked to be riding with you guys and the boys from Georgia(Marty Schaub, Tom Thompson, and Ron Olson).

Hey John Dillon, I know you didn't leave that shampoo in my shower by accident. You know I don't have any need for shampoo that's for sure!

Next time we jam down here boys, ya'll need to load up the car and come on down. Ask Brian or John about the Soap Box Derby Hill. I bet JD walked up that thing 50 times...and no, I am not exagerating. We jammed for 5 hours straight. Parsons came down here and killed us all on the GS! The man was flying. Of course, for any of you straight bombing enthusiasts this hill is fun as well so bring your big sticks when you come!

JD and Brian! Thanks again for Saturday! You helped bust open our 55 gallon drum of stoke fuel!

http://www.worth1000.com/emailthis.asp?entry=222220
I hope I can make it to Lansdowne on the 29th!
Daddy G.