Everything Skateboarding Magazine 2023

[Jani Soderhall]

There's a new skateboard magazine out there!
PDF only
Price about 3,50 USD (so, ultra-low-cost, and good value for money!)


First cover, July 2023


Sample photo ...

[Jani Soderhall]

Issue number two here:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/bud-stratford ... pageSize=4

Extensive coverage of Worlds 2023, and a slalom racer on the cover!
(Article by Maria Carrasco and photos by Jarda Jirman)


Maïté Fournier-Parent, CAN


Matej Stefka, CZE

A few big picture thoughts … By Maria Carrasco

This Worlds in Salem marked the 21st Annual World Championships in this modern era of slalom racing. I have been fortunate to attend every one of those annual showcase events starting in 2001, documenting with photos and video - and it’s been quite a journey. The cast of characters has almost completely changed now - as you might well imagine - and there are only a handful of those originals still racing today - my husband Richy Carrasco is one of them. Slalom has been such a big part of our life - not only taking us all over the world for race events but dominating the focus of our company Sk8Kings Skateboards to develop specialized racing gear and a top notch racing team to boot.

We have organized many of our own events over the years including several US Nationals and West Coast Championships - but stepping up to host Worlds took things to a whole new level. It takes a village for sure and there are many people to thank - we could write an entire article on that subject alone - but there are some that rise to the top of that list and must be acknowledged here. Huge props to our financial partners - Riptide Sports, Oust Bearings, UA Local 582, Ferrell Speed Racing and ISSA - for contributing much needed funds toward our race budget and prize purse. Extra thanks to Brad and Tracey Miller of Riptide and Carl Lekavich, Jr. from Oust for coming out to the race to personally support, interact and enjoy the action. Key boots on the ground personnel like Brad Jackman, John Stryker, Skip Marcotte, Richy Carrasco, Gareth Roe, Mark Harris, Paul Howard, Larry Peterson, Jonathan Harms, Steven Blane, the Stieger family, the McLarens & O'Connell's, Andy & Jen Coppa, Di Dootson, Lynn Kramer and Maureen Keating - were crucial to our success. Special shout out to our friends at La Costa Racing, our USA Slalom Committee and ISSA for being there for us in so many ways - before, during and after. Many thanks to Josh Byrd - for his amazing work on the event website and promo as well as Isa Ruiz, Judi Oyama and Lari Rupp for media and promo work. Last but definitely not least - props to Joe McLaren for giving endless time and attention to planning, promoting, creating, tech support, et al - I would surely be in an asylum somewhere if it wasn’t for you Joe. Thanks to our “Village” for believing in us and supporting slalom racing.

Taking that idea of “village” forward - there are some important things happening in our world of slalom. It’s been said many times - “Why isn’t slalom skateboarding in the Olympics?” Many of us would like to see that happen and to that end - are organizing our efforts like never before. The ISSA (International Slalom Skateboarding Association) has been the keeper of the flame for years - connecting the dots around the globe for racers and organizers - maintaining a World Ranking system and the history of the sport. When I joined the ISSA Board of Directors in 2016 - elevating our sport to Olympic level has been top of mind and ways to do that were discussed frequently. Joe McLaren also joined the BOD and in 2019, our ISSA group was successful in forging an alliance with World Skate - the IOC-recognized governing body for skateboarding and that BOD became the World Skate Slalom Working Group. In 2022 (after two years of covid shutdown) our slalom discipline was officially recognized and included for the first time at the World Skate Games in Argentina. That was an epic step for our sport and the event was a super high-quality production with pro venues and live coverage. Worlds in Argentina was a hard act to follow but we were determined to do our best to keep the bar high and did secure an official World Skate sanction for our self-produced World Championships in the USA. The next World Skate Games will be held in Rome, Italy in September 2024 and yes, slalom will be included once again.

Heading into 2024, we are closing out the year on the national front with the establishment of USA Slalom Skateboarding Inc. This nonprofit corporation (501c3 pending) is the next positive step toward our ultimate goal of getting our sport to the Olympics – raising our credibility to the top level and opening up further-reaching opportunities on both the national and world stage!
We are looking forward to working with World Skate, USA Skateboarding and the slalom community - to make great strides for slalom in 2024. Stay up to date on all things slalom at usaslalomskateboarding.com

Maria Carrasco
Vice-President ISSA/World Skate Slalom
Vice-President USA Slalom Skateboarding Inc
CEO Sk8Kings Skateboards