ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

1. Time to find out who has plans for organizing Eastern American competitions in 2005.
2. Who will be given the US Championships for 2005.
3. Who will recieve what World Ranking statuses for 2005.

I will try to keep this post updated with the current discussion.


World Ranking status proposal for 2005
______________________________________
USA East have 2 Mains and 2 Primes to set.
[Main] [Main] [Prime] [Prime]
______________________________________

Major status subjects (One of the Mains in the West Atlantic regions will get Major status)
[(World Championships, Morro Bay, CA)]

Main status subjects (2)
[Main] Red Clay Cup April 29 - May 1 Athens, Georgia (Prime last year)
[Main] The Farm August 6-7 Vista, New York (Main last year)

Prime status subjects (2)
[Prime] Luna Slalom Jam April 16-17 Jackson, Mississippi (Main last year)
[Prime] Mountain State Slalom Skate Bridge Day October 16 Fayetteville, West Virginia (Prime last year)

Chi-Town Shootout July 23

Basic Status
Washington DC Downhill/Slalom May 21-22? Washington, DC
Slalom St. Louis May 28-30 St. Louis, Missouri
South Carolina State Championships Mid-December Columbia, SC

_______________________________
- Outlaw Series?
- Gaithersburg Open Slalom Series?
- Boston?

In an effort to stimulate discussion of this topic......

I'd like to see Red Clay categorized as a MAIN.

why?

Noah Heinle wrote:why?

because I haven't had my second cup of coffee yet

main, I meant to say "main"

Cool. checking out fares. Are the dates for Red Clay and Luna pretty firm? Ricky?
6 - have a good trip. Buy me a piece.

Affirmative on the dates for my race, and yeah Red Clay is opening up a branch in Central America.

To conform to the new Time Advance Rule it is becoming urgent to decide who will get the Main status, Luna or Red Clay? Since these events are so early on in the season it means that the time advance rule is January 16 for Luna and January 29 for Red Clay to make the decision.

Firming up the date for Luna this week.

We are looking at April 15, 16 & 17

Luna is changing a bit this year to less of a spectator venue for more of a gathering, festival type atmosphere. The tentitive venue is beautiful, on a big lake, very very smooth asphalt, start is flat, steep drop at mid course to a flat finish, the course will be in the neighborhood of 400 ft. so this means tighter courses. I'll try to get some pictures posted soon.

Because we are planning to move Luna to a new location things are slow in getting meeting set up with the new city (not Jackson but Ridgeland, a suburb of Jackson).

I see a Friday night single lane GS on a bigger faster hill than last years Pocket Pistol Outlaw 75. I plan on lighting on Friday also to let it run a bit longer. Saturday will kick off early morning with a Junior (17 and under) race, next a womens race, then a senior 45+, then wrap up with the Main Event an Open class (A & B), then party party!

I may throw in a cyber-slalom on Sunday for those left behind.

If the city is not cooperative, it's outlaw.

February 25 - 26 will be the date for the Texas Cold Fussion Sizzler. Just out of curiousity we our going to have our contest insured. Does that make it Prime. My city of Harlingen is pretty interested on Fridays single lane event which will be held at a trail park hoping to get plenty of exposure. Saturday we race in the upper valley in a pretty secluded area. Much like Luna Slalom Jam every competitor leaves with a contest t-shirt. Will be hitting the vendors up for schwag soon. Will keep everyone posted. For those of you that can't make it down to TEXAS I will see you at Luna Slalom Jam and the Georgia Cup. Ricky and 66 you bros are the soul of slalom and good role models. Your Amigo Eddy Texas Outlaws.

Hans if you make our event Prime status there is a Texas Outlaw T-shirt in it for you. Consider it a gratuity not a bribe. Plus according to Joe I the chicks dig the T-shirts. Your Amigo Eddy Texas Outlaws. You can check out the T-shirt at www.bonelessone.com under the galleries section, go to reader submission and you can see them under # 40 or 41.

Eddy that's fantastic! A race in a trailer park? Why didn't I think of that!

Seriously, give me a call this weekend when you have a chance.

BTW...I had to take the Grass Roots series message board down, there was a PHP virus going around and I had work info on the same server. I've resolved that situation and will try to get it back online soon.

Eddy, seems like that T-shirt could come in handy but I'm afraid it wont help you with your World Ranking status. Using the new "Time Advance rule" it is minimum 2 months ahead of competition for setting a Prime Status. Secondly it is supposed to be up to each region to propose, discuss and set statuses. I will only jump in as a last option. Thirdly Texas is belonging to the USA West region not this USA East region. Actually it is right on the edge. The current limit between the two regions are the boarder between Texas and Louisiana and then the state boarders straight up.

If you want to do another Texas event later on put in a post on the "USA West region" topic in good time (with date of the competition). If you think you can get 8 pro skaters to show up you will be a good choice for a Prime status.

By the way, time is out for Luna getting a Main Status so let's go for this for the spring.

Main Status: Red Clay Cup April 29 - May 1 Athens, Georgia (Prime last year)

Prime status: Luna Slalom Jam April 16-17 Jackson, Mississippi (Main last year)

Sept 17 th 2004 under the North America section Rick Stanziale anounces that the Texas Sizzler will be held in February 2005. That to me is 6 months ago. So that beats the 2 month deadline. We may have not been posted in the correct region but we do exist. Both of our events are insured. I truly love our sport and will continue to support Grassroots slalom. I am doing everything exactly that the other contest promoters are doing. Oh well. Anyone have any opinions on this subject? Eddy Texas Outlaws.

Eddy Martinez wrote:Sept 17 th 2004 under the North America section Rick Stanziale anounces that the Texas Sizzler will be held in February 2005. That to me is 6 months ago. So that beats the 2 moth deadline. We may have not been posted in the correct region but we do exist. Both of our events our insured. I truly love our sport and will continue to support Grassroots slalom. I am doing every thing exactly that the other contest promoters are doing. Oh well. Anyone have any opinions on this subject. Eddy Texas Outlaws.

USA East gets 2 Main and 2 Prime races. Eddy please hear the love in my voice when you're reading this, but I don't think you want to run a "Main" race in Texas just yet (heck, I'm shaking in my Vans knowing that I've committed to hold a "Main" race here in Athens this year.

I haven't talked to Ricky since Corky assigned status to Luna and Red Clay, hope he's cool with it (I'm sure he will be, it ain't about points.....it's about having fun). The fact that we can rotate status should help to promote slalom skateboarding throughout our region (USA East).

Peace, love, and our new Grindline park will be finished in a few weeks,
6

Corky,

Please accept my suggestion that the Farm be the other main race for 2005 East.

It's proximity to the major New York airports makes it easy and cheap to get there. It is possible with the low dollar it will be cheaper to get there from Europe than from the rest of the United States.

Our new hill provides superlative racing. The town of Bethel has promissed unrestricted access to the soapbox derby hill for two days.

I expect the talent pool to increase above the highwater mark of last year.

New York City is less than one hour away and the train station is nearby for before or after tourism oportunities.

Then there is the party....

Obviously this is open for discussion. I'd be particularly interested to hear from Farm veterans.

Joe

I feel the love bro. I just wanted to make a point that we do exist. We maybe out in the middle of nowhere but we exist. So do we get PRIME STATUS. I know I have the FLU right now and I am running HIGH fevers. But we are the first contest in the series so we should get some recognition. If I splat on the asphalt do I not bleed. Sorry Keith Hollein I haven't learned how to slide on my knees yet, I prefer the jump off your board at 25+ and let out a load feminine scream method. Jeff Goad I feel your PAIN, I feel your PAIN. Your Amigo Eddy Texas Outlaw. uuuummmmm GRINDLINE.

Joe, I also agree that the Farm looks like the event to have the second Main status but you shouldn't convince me but rather your region buddies. There are no date for the farm yet though. Once that is settled and there are nobody else screaming for that Main status I'm all for setting the stauses as soon as possible. You guys decide really, not me.

Eddy, I could make an exception with the "Time Advance Rule" for your Texas competition since you did post it quite early and that you didn't know about that rule until January and that you soon after that published the date. But... quickly write a post in the "West Atlantic: USA West" topic and lobby for your event the best you can and why you think it is worth that Prime status. If there are no protests or even some positive remarks you might have your Prime. And if you think you can get 8 pros coming down to your competition it would be a great point in your favor (and for World Ranking points as well).

though I am not from "the region" USA East, I would agree that Red Clay and Farm are secured as Main.
I'll post my thoughts on USA West over there.
Gary F.

Here is the current region limit between USA West and USA East. It's up to you guys to set it up differently if you wish.

Slalom St. Louis, May 28-30 St. Louis, Missouri
Mountain State Slalom Skate Bridge Day, October Fayetteville, West Virginia (Prime last year)

Only one of these will get a Prime status. With the new time advance rule a Prime status must be set minimum 2 months before the competition. I.e. for St. Louis to be a Prime it has to be set before March 28.

The 4th Annual Mountain State Slalom Skate is slated for the 16th of October..I'm also working w/ the town and the state to give us a venue on The 15th! There will be no lat minute surprises re: the hill this year!! The old hill from 2002 and 2003 will be the one!!

Almost all the higher statuses are set for 2005 now. Have a look here.

It appears that Chicago's race is set for the weekend of July 23rd. TS, Hybrid and a skatepark competition. Downtown Chicago...I talked to a dozen well ranked skaters in Athens and they're seriously considering making it in for this one.

Boy, I Do like that map! Take a look, Delaware, N.J., and Rhode Island get sent out to sea, and Vermont defects to Canada!!

Now is the time to begin discussing 2006.

Venues eligible for "Main" Status (i.e. have held races annually for more than one year)

Jackson, Mississippi

Athens, Georgia

St. Louis, Missouri

Vista, New York

Fayetteville, West Virginia

D.C.

Venues eligible for "Prime" Status (i.e. have held at least one race)

Boston

Chicago

South Carolina

Venues eligible for "Basic" Status (i.e. have not held a race)

North Carolina

Florida


I would also like to discuss the possibility of getting a "Major" status in the USA East sometime in the next few years

OK,

Most of you know that the Red Clay was my first race in years. But I would pony it up as a Major any day.

Six, in order to mark you as a Major, what has to happen?

Rick,
What annual DC race are you referring to that would be eligible for a main status?

corky i am submitting the Chi-Town Shootout for prime consideration.this is part of the Grass Roots Series and is to be held on 7/23/05.this is the second year for this event.thanks,cf

actually,could this be main,this is THE SECOND year for this race.cf

Chris,

You're just in time (2 months) to post your demand for prime status but actually it should be decided at least 2 months before. I just updated the top post. I'm sorry but I must have forgot to do that before when it was pretty much decided with the following for USA East...

Main status (2)
[Main] Red Clay Cup April 29 - May 1 Athens, Georgia (Prime last year)
[Main] The Farm August 6-7 Vista, New York (Main last year)

Prime status (2)
[Prime] Luna Slalom Jam April 16-17 Jackson, Mississippi (Main last year)
[Prime] Mountain State Slalom Skate Bridge Day October 16 Fayetteville, West Virginia (Prime last year)

Almost all the higher statuses are set for 2005 now. Have a look here.

hey corky,its cool,i should have had my act more together.i assume this is a lot of work for you and you do it for the love of slalom,thanks,cf

its it not possible to assign the points that would go to the WV race that isnt happening this season to the NC race. I think it is certainly worthy of being a prime statues, with the scale of the race, the calibre of racers and the fact that without it the US east is short possible points. Those of you in europe have many races close together, we must travel far and I for one would like to see this race get a little more respect as far as points go.

Mike,

This situation could very well be a nightmare but so far we have been lucky. I mean what to do if a World Championship would be canceled? I have been thinking about this since the start of the ranking and I have been at many races where a lot of rain, and there have been many of those, have reminded me of this.

It's a shame when regions don't make use of the few higher statuses that exists for them. This year you are not alone. All the three largest regions (USA west, USA east and Europe) will have one unused Prime status. Europe could very well have missed out on two if not Stockholm would have taken advantage of the situation and organized an indoor event in December.

The statuses are not a measurement of how strong a field the events will have or if the event is of high quality or not. They can't be since they are set in advance. They are only there to show what point table for the world ranking that will be used. There might very well be other events just as strong even though less points will be given towards the World Ranking. Some events the serious slalom racers will just have to enter to compete for the higher World Ranking points. Other events you will attend because it's close by, for competition practice, a nice event or for the pure fun of it.

The Canada region have a lot more potential too that has not been used over the last three years (as many other smaller regions). Canada only have one Main and one Prime status per year but have only made use of 2 Prime statuses over the last three years.

So far it seems not to be an unusual case to miss out on some statuses.

Corky, so what's your answer?

I think it would be a shame if the NC race is not awarded the same status as the WV race.

Corky we will be announcing the date and location of The Texas Slalom Sizzler by the end of the month. We are hoping since this is our third year that our event will attract more skaters since we are having it in Central TEXAS. The race usually happens the last weekend of Feb. Will keep everyone updated. My question is where exactly does TEXAS fall in. Are we in the south or central. Are we basic or Prime. Either way we are hoping for a bigger turnout this year. Being Prime would definately get us a bigger turnout. Either way we want to spread the slalom stoke. We have paid our dues, by sticking to something we believe in. We have raced on the GRS Tour and supported GRS. Of this I am proud of. Something special is happening in TEXAS. The slalom bug is catching on. More of the old school skaters in Austin and Houston, San Marcos area are proving they a worthy of being Texas Outlaws. Your Amigo Eddy Texas Outlaws.

thats all well and good but I dont understand why these points cant be given out? Would it be so wrong to award a prime status?.

The Dixie Cup will not have prime status because the organizers (and I will admit I've had a small part) waited too long to announce the race and put it on the NCDSA.com contest calendar.

We didn't wait too long so as to inconvenience the skaters as we almost immediately had a full slate. It has since backed off a little, but that's to be expected. What the Downhillbillies did was make absolutely sure they had all their organizational points lined up before they announced a race. In other words, instead of rushing in and doing half ass job of it, the DHBs did what could almost be called a professional job of it. They organized, got city support, got cash sponsorships, got lots of swag lined up, got a tremendous commitment for volunteer support and made sure that skaters would travel to a premium (although not "prime") event.

Unfortunately, in doing all this the race was announced "too late" to receive Prime status. I believe an event must be announced three months in advance in order to qualify as prime. The November 5-6 race was not made available for sign up until the early part of September. That's two months. Even though the race was announced as early as June as being more than likely, it became official too late to receive prime consideration.

That's the rules and that's the breaks. So, as a skater you have to ask yourself of which you prefer: a jack-leg thrown-together event where everybody goes home pissed but has prime points or a well-organized, fun cooperative race where you have a blast the whole weekend but miss the prime points?

Marion mentioned once that if 8 pros run in the dixie cup that the points awarded would be increased. Is this true? And do we have 8? Jack do you run pro class? I read that Civ does. I believe that we may squeak 8. BTW I don't....Maybe Tucker will declare.......

Corky, since the system is still in it's infancy and we want it to be strong there is no reason that the unused status could not be awarded to NC.

Regardless of the date of actual NCDSA registration or not. It was talked about for several months and most people had it on their event calendars since early August. It's not like a lot of people are really able to make a Slalom race in Novemeber anyway. Adding a Prime event in December is Bogus whether or not it is dated before the cut-off.

Europe could very well have missed out on two if not Stockholm would have taken advantage of the situation and organized an indoor event in December.

Let's get real here. The rules are there to show some degree of organisation. Bending them when there are legitimate reasons to can only benefit the entire scene. Most peoples season ends at different periods as the weather permits. Why don't we drop all the points earned for any races that were'nt completed in their entirety as set out in the schedule of events. We want to reward the racers. Why don't we force all organisers to have the contest registration held on one site?

Well we also need to award the organisers for a job well done. Are there any Europeans that would have come over for the race had it been announced earlier? They couldn't make Morro Bay. The World Champioships of 2005, remember? What about dropping the status of the European Champioships of 2006 since it was announced later then the 3rd Annual Dovercourt Open on the same date and ours will again be a Prime status event.

Until we have a full slate of events fighting for all the big points i think they should be awarded as merited.

Registered Pros for the DHB Dixie Cup:

Jason Mitchell
Chris Barker
Noah Heinle
Claude Regnier
Keith Hollien
Bobby Mandarino

Don't know how these guys declare themselves:

Sean Dawkins
Troy Smart
Paul Howard
Mike Cividino

I'm pretty certain Ohm, Parsons, Favero and Lenny Poage all race in the open class.

Of course, Lenny's a big sandbagger.

If we could only get Brady and DaveG to race. Boy, we'd then have plenty of pros in the field!

Marty...

Me pro? I'm a middle of the pack open racer.

Jack Smith wrote:Marty...

Me pro? I'm a middle of the pack open racer.

likewise.

The NC race was officially announced a little bit short of the 2 month limit. That you could have been forgiving with. But after officially announcing you must also decide the status. One could have imagined it being decided very quickly in this case and it would have been ok by stretching the rules a little. Now this was not really the problem too much at the time since both the 2 Main and 2 Prime statuses had already been set for the USA East region. If "the Mountain State Slalom Skate Bridge Day" event was uncertain to be done at that time then that discussion to change that Prime for the NC race should have been taken at that point. To do it now one or two weeks ahead of the event is not right I think.

Now it seems like it's me not being nice to you who have decided to go to this event but the time advance rule is there to also take into consideration those who maybe would have shown up if it would have been a Prime status from the begining. So in the end whatever you decide there are some people not being happy. That's why we have rules to help us.

In the best cases I should not even be involved in how the statuses are set in the different regions (except my own of course). See the guidelines for setting statuses. It should be up to each region to decide their event statuses. This should still be done according to the rules of course as much as you will trust that other regions will handle their statuses the same way.

World Ranking points are not everything. And you must always remind yourself that World Ranking statuses are set in a whole other perspective. That was what I tried to explain in my other post a little. Just because some races have a low World Ranking status does not mean they are not good or not important. Wich made me remember another of those important reasons to go to certain events even if they score low towards the World Ranking. There may be other series and cups going on on a more regional level that could very well be just as important to enter.

Corky,

To be blunt, it is absolutely ridiculous that this race is not being rated as a prime event.

This is not World Sup Ski Racing, it's not even kiddie soccer.

Besides you, is there anyone else who has voiced any objection to awarding this race prime status?

Would anyone with the patience and time like to find when Marion first posted about this race? I believe/know that he was posting on it well before the 4th of September. Now please remember that I am a neophyte this year, but after seeing the posts out there "announcing" races next year, wouldn't Marion's posts prior to 9/04, the "cut off", satisfy this criteria?

Also, I believe there were posts discussing this very topic, taking the WV status for NC, well before now. Again, wouldn't this satify Corky's stated criteria? The bottom line here is that Marion did not want to step on WV's toes and ask for thier status designation until the race was officially dead.

2 final points

1.) Can't we make this work to the racers benefit? Isn't that what this is all for?

2.) For Mike Civ to call himself a "Mid pack open racer" is absolute horse hooey. I guess in Canada, you try to blow a little snow from time to time. No chance Mike, I have seen you race, if you race open I consider you one of the odds on favorites!!!!!! And I do remember some discussion awhile back where you did consider yourself "Pro" You owe Syd and I a couple of beers for this "Snow Job" Ha-Ha!!!

Sorry Civ,

I should have had more coffee. I went back and found it was Harms I was thinking about not you. Damn, now I owe a bottemless pit of a Canadian some beers......

BUT, the statement still stands, you are no mid-pack racer in Open, that WAS a snow job....

its all a joke to me, st louis is 3 years deep but still a basic.

Venues eligible for "Main" Status (i.e. have held races annually for more than one year)

Jackson, Mississippi

Athens, Georgia

St. Louis, Missouri

Vista, New York

Fayetteville, West Virginia

D.C.


its dead.........................................for me!

At the time we decided to put on this race the WV race was still uncertain but not cancelled. Out of a deep respect and friendship with Dave G (who by the way is CORE DHB and a Charter MEMBER) I did not feel right about undermining his race's status by requesting that our race be elevated to Prime Status. Corky, if you remember I did email you asking about our status back in August but you are correct in the fact I did not specifically request this elevation.
Please look at our sign up list! It reflects the best of the best on the East Coast, in the country, and from Canada. With Dave G's situation as it is, I feel that you should reconsider your decision to keep this race a BASIC. Who would be hurt by this decision? No one. With the loss of the Prime race in WV this year the loss of Prime event basically penalizes the racers in this part of the country/world.
I understand that the DHB is a brand new organization on the radar screen of slalom/downhill groups in the country but we have been fortunate enough to have the support of a tremendous amount of highly experienced people in addition to a major group of sponsors. Here is who is behind this event in no particular order:

Longboards By Fatboy
Pocket Pistols
Loaded Carving Systems
Insect Skateboards
Bell Sports
Khiro
Bozi Boards
Sk8kings
Purple Skunk Skate Shop
Subsonic Skateboards
Pavel Skates
Bahne Skateboards
Sector 9
Rayne Skateboards
Landyachtz
Delicious Skateboards (Tommy Harwood)
Alan Sidlo
Ed Lynn/Pleasure Tools
Oust Bearings
The Ottawa Sk8park/Sk8city - Claude & MB
Statesville Convention and Vistors Bureau
Downtown Statesville Development Corporation
Century 21 Realty/Eddleman Realty
City of Statesville
Winston-Salem Parks And Recreation Dept.
Oakbrook Graphic Services
ExecQuest, Inc.
Delany's Sports Bar and Grill
Concrete Wave Magazine (covering the event as well as helping sponsor)
Juice Magazine (covering the event and helping sponsor)
877 Skates
Dex Skateboards

And there are possibly going to be more added.....this, in my humble opinion, does not look like a BASIC race.

Corky, I realize we are a week a way, and rules are rules. However, please do not allow my inexperience to keep this race from getting what it appears is overwhelming supported by many in the slalom community the status of Prime.

Thank you for all you do for slalom racing.

To fuel my stoke...I'm eatin' PRIME Rib for dinner tonight.

Nice job Mr. Karr.