ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

I've never been in the US and I was thinking that the World would be a great oppurtinities to discover America and to finish the season.

First to come I have to fix a few things: get a new securized" passeport, be sure to have enough holidays, find a not too expensive flight and a or some places to stay.

So I was wondering:
- Perhaps there are some others europeeans going to Morro bay? or some americans that I could join for that trip
(when I travel I like to meet people and the country and if possible not just see the races and the hotel!)

Technical questions:
- Which airport is easier to flight to? Los Angeles, San Francisco or another one?

I can see so few europeans in the regisration list (I count only 4 from 78 racers!!), what happens??
Americans came to Europe (big thanks to Mc Cree again), it's a pity to see such a weak international representation to the World.
I hope to represent France but nothing is sure for the moment
so don't hesitate to send me your hints, connections or ideas

email: vinzzz2001@yahoo(DOT)fr

Hi Vincent,

A trip to the worlds?

I have been every year since 2001. Luckily I have been able to stop off in LA on my way to/from Australia.

Here is some advice:

1. Decide if you want to go - if the answer is yes, then:

2. Take a deep breath, take out your credit car and prepare to give it a damn good thrashing.

It would be nice for it to be organised like the European contests where we have had free airport pick ups, daily buses to take us to and from the race locations and help with discounted and/or free accommodation. Nothing like this has been announced for the World Championships.

The actual race locations are/may be some distance from the town of Morro Bay.

http://maps.google.com/

The official site is:

http://www.bahneskateboards.com/slalom_week/index.html

It says the event will be at Cayucos - but Jack posted recently that they did not get permission for this town and we are waiting to hear more.

This year it has been moved to peak September season instead of the customary quieter October so flights, car hire and accommodation are much more expensive.

Usually people stay in Morro Bay town, because there are 2 bars and a pizza place to socialize at. Nothing official has been announced at this time as to where parties or prize giving ceremonies are, or even where most people are staying.

The main reason for us going is to meet all the skaters, so it would be a shame not to stay in Morro bay. I know some Californians have already nabbed the cheapest motel rooms in town.

Motels are cheaper away from Morro Bay. There was a rumour a skater was going to rent a house - but nothing has been posted.

In brief here are some tips on Flights, car hire and accommodation,

FLIGHTS:

Morro Bay is half way between San Fransisco and LA.
The drive takes about 4-5 hours.
The nearest airport is San Luis Obispo (SBP), about 20 miles from Morro Bay. A taxi from the airport to Morro Bay is more than $50 one way.
You could fly to LA and then get a flight to San Luis Obispo, currently $112
on http://www.united.com
You may get a flight that takes you SBP.
In the past I have found it cheapest to get a flight to LA, and then rent a car.

CAR:
You really need a car. Race sites are spread out and taxi's are really expensive.
The best deals are on budget.com hertz.com alamo.com but there are always new deals on the net.
If you can rent a car away from an airport you do not pay the airport tax.
Rates rarely include CDW (collision Waiver Damage). This stops you paying if you have an accident or the car is stolen. This can add $20-30 a day to costs.
A weekly deal can work out cheaper than a 5 day rental, but then they may sting you with the insurance for the whole week even if you return it early.
You can reserve the smallest car, then go to collect it late and hope they give you an upgrade. Some airlines offer free upgrades (www united com).
Always smile at the car rental staff and try to charm them into giving you an upgrade. Last year I went from a tiny car to a big SUV. Expect to pay $200-$500 a week depending on deals. There may be less in September.
At least fuel is cheap in the US!

MOTEL:

Last year I got a room for around $50 in October. In September the rates seem to be $90-$200 a night. Rates are most on Friday and Saturday.
www roomsaver com gives you coupons you can use at quiet times. Dennys 24 hour restaurants in California have free coupon books and maps.
I found the websites of chains to be cheaper than calling the motel direct.
e.g. www daysinn com

Hope this helps anyone California Dreaming!

p.s. I have enough free air miles for a flight this year but have booked nothing else yet.

Paul Price

Pavel Racing

http://www.pavel-skates.com

mail: Paulhprice yahoo.com

Paul, Vincent and other international racers,

If anyone needs to be picked up at the San Luis Obispo airport just let me know,
it will be arranged.

I am working on bus transport to the race venues.

Discounted accomodations are also being worked on.

If quals are held in Cambria, it would be a 20 minute drive. The cross country event is in Morro Bay. The park slalom is in Los Osos which is 5-8 minutes from Morro Bay. The Super G site is 4-5 minutes from Morro Bay. If the finals are in Avila, it would be a 20-25 minute drive.

September is not peak season. In the US. the official end of the season is Labor Day, which falls on Septenber 5th this year.

My goal is to provide good races. After race parties are not a major priority when I am organizing the races, racers seem to do just fine in creating impromtu gatherings in the evenings. That being said if any companies wish to sponsor an after race party, I will help arrange the venue.

A prize ceremony location will be announced soon.

Is it the race organizer's duty to post where people are staying?
I have plenty of other details that must be attended to.

"I know some Californians have already nabbed the cheapest motel rooms in town."
How do you know this? I'm just curious.

"There was a rumour a skater was going to rent a house - but nothing has been posted."
Once again it is not my duty to post this type of info. I have plenty of other details that must be attended to.

I will make every effort to provide a great week of racing in Morro Bay, as well as try to line-up transportation and discount accomodations.

Please keep in mind that this is a very expensive undertaking. As I write this the only companies who have stepped up as sponsors are: Concrete Wave Magazine, Khiro, Asphalt Playground and Bahne.

Vincent, I really hope you can make it to Slalom Week. Looking forward to seeing you as well, Paul.

Vincent Berruchon wrote: I hope to represent France
.)

So do I.

Cool! I hope you guys do come, Dieter was the last Frenchman in 2001! Hey Vince, if you come as the European Champ in every discipline (big congrats, by the way!), the winner of the Ams Title in Morro can truly be crowned World Champ!
Looking forward to more meals out like we had in Antibes,

Your friend,

Paul and Jack: Thank you for your precisions

I just had a good news: I have lot more holydays left than expected and I'll probably be able to take some in september. I was thinking about 10/12 days after Antibes, to stay in California a few days after the Slalom Week if possible.

As I've seen not so expensive flights to LA, now the main problem is to find cheap accomodations.
If there's some people whot want to share an house or something, it could be great!!

Martin: hey hey, perhaps we we'll race this year

For everyone looking for a place to stay in Morro Bay, check out this website I found. It is full of vacation rental homes in Morro Bay. Get some people together and split the costs. Some of t hese houses sleep 9-12 people. Cheers

http://106elgoog.vrbo.com/

Thanks for the tip Bobby, is Morro Bay the town where we should be staying ? Will it be close to every event ?

Hi Vincent,

Morro Bay is centrally located to all the events.

JS

alavoine jean paul wrote:Thanks for the tip Bobby, is Morro Bay the town where we should be staying ? Will it be close to every event ?

Hey Popol, are you going to tha World CHampionship??

FR: hey popol alors tu viens ou quoi? et ton duvet tu le recupères quand? Y a plus moyen de te joindre?

Hi Jack,

Thanks for your posting.

Airport pick ups and suggestions on accommodation will be very helpful to European skaters on a budget who are new to the US.

Cost is the main reason why there are so few Euro and Australian entries.

I did not mean to sound critical in my previous post - I was just trying to let skaters coming to California for the first time know what to expect.

Skaters coming to the US for the first time will find the experience different from Europe, where its possible to travel cheaply on public transport. Also skaters have often offered floor space to other skaters. Vince for instance, has stayed in skaters' homes in Sweden, Riga, Switzerland and Germany. I have had may Europeans stay with me, as well as travelling US skaters.

Euro races had accommodation sorted, which meant you just needed to worry about getting to the race.
Gruenigen has free dorms. Germany, Sweden, Riga and Antibes had a discount rate hotel all the skaters stayed at. Easy to meet everyone.

In contrast - almost everyone stays in motels in Morro Bay during the last few years races. Skaters with cars do help those without - thanks to those who have helped me!

To answer your comments made above:

"September is not peak season. In the US. the official end of the season is Labor Day, which falls on Septenber 5th this year."
I just meant to say September room rates are more than in October.

"My goal is to provide good races. After race parties are not a major priority when I am organizing the races, racers seem to do just fine in creating impromtu gatherings in the evenings. That being said if any companies wish to sponsor an after race party, I will help arrange the venue. "
It would be nice to have a rough idea of where people will be. I 've heard the 'dude where were you last night, we were all in the pizza port' many times.
I will set up a topic for this.

"Is it the race organizer's duty to post where people are staying?
I have plenty of other details that must be attended to."
Of course not. Again - its nice to have a rough idea. I think it will be Morro bay town. But if someone new to America just went to
http://www.bahneskateboards.com/slalom_week/index.html
and clicked on lodging they would get a list of motels in San Luis Obispo.

"I know some Californians have already nabbed the cheapest motel rooms in town. How do you know this? I'm just curious. "
I had an email from Bob that some LA skaters booked into the Ascot Inn at $60 a night. When I called I was told that rate is no longer available.

"There was a rumour a skater was going to rent a house - but nothing has been posted." -
"Once again it is not my duty to post this type of info. I have plenty of other details that must be attended to."
I did not mean to suggest that the organiser should do it, just a general post by a skater who has space. Was Claude talking about it?
I will set up a forum topic - accommodation and entertainment for Morro Bay.

Riding skateboards in California is the mecca for all us skateboarders elsewhere. Its the home of skateboarding and its cool to meet all the skate legends from Skateboarder Magazine (like BLR, Hutson, Hester etc) in person. And you never know who will be there...

The vibe is like no other. Thanks to you Jack for making it happen. We DO appreciate your hard work!

I know many racers in Europe who would like to go but find the cost too expensive.....

I urge all who are thinking about going to Morro Bay for the Worlds Championships to book a flight NOW and just get over there.

You won't regret it!

Hey Paul,

Thanks for the great and informative post. I didn' t think you were being critical.

The other forum you set up should be helpful. Thanks again.

See you soon.

the Motel 6 in Morro Bay is clean, and quiet, and $38.00 a night for a pair of beds.

Thanks Tom,

But skaters should be be aware this is a few miles north of where the bars and restaurants on Main Street are in Morro Bay. You would need a car in the evenings and have to leave town when your buddies want to. Once you start thinking "car-drive" there are many cheap motels within 30 minutes driving distance of Morro Bay town.
In the past the social vibe of walking round town and seeing other skaters has been great.

If possible it would be nice to be in walking (staggering) distance of the town centre

To see a map of the area search:

298 ATASCADERO RD MORRO BAY california

in http://maps.google.com/

scroll down to see Main and Anchor Sts where the Pizza Port and bars are located.

http://www.motel6.com

The Motel 6 is about a mile from center of Morro Bay. It's an easy walk/stagger.

Also check the Pleasant Motel...ask for Marcus.

It's right in the heart of MB.

What is the address and phone number of the Pleasant Motel?
What is the deal? After asking for Marcus what should we ask him for?

Is there anywhere else you are looking at for skaters to stay?

Thanks

Let Marcus know you are coming for the race. He has always been good to skaters in the past. I'll post more on lodging in the next day or so.

Pleasant Inn
235 Harbor
805-772-8521

Update:

I really wanted to move the finals of the Worlds to a better surface this year. I thought I had the perfect venue in Cayucos, due to traffic plan/flow we were unable to secure the hill. So then the plan was to race in Avila, once again traffic plan/flow/parking reared it's ugly head, along with a new 'no skateboarding" ordinance.

So, as of this morning, we're back on Main and Pacific in Morro Bay. They are happy to have us back...even though we never really left.

More soon.

Any news on qualifying venues?

Hopefully a new hill in Cambria.

A bus will be provided. Miss the bus...you miss your chance to qualify.

I'm driving from Los Angeles to Morro Bay on Tuesday and will be driving back down on Sunday night. If you'd like to share a little gas, I've got at seat or two available in my car. I've also got a room reserved at the Pleasant Inn with 3 beds that I need to share in order to afford. Let me know if you're interested.

Entry Deadline is Monday, September 5th.

New sponsors include:
Gravity Skateboards
Pizza Port
Central Coast Surfboards
Sierra Summit Ski Area

One of our local sponsors is going to let me know today about some possible low cost lodging. They have three, brand new, two bedroom apartments in Morro Bay.
The apts. are not furnished at all, so you would need to bring sleeping bags and towels. I'll post more as soon as I know.

There will be a welcome party at the Pizza Port on Monday night, September 12th at 7:00pm. We will also hold the awards ceremony there on Sunday at 6:00pm. Tim Cowen of Wavelengths Surf Shop recently purchased the Pizza Port and offered the use of the Port.

I need to hear from all racers as to whether you are racing Pro or Am.

It's now 6:00am PST.

Vince, are you going to Morro Bay and Antibes?

Who else from Europe or Australia/NZ is going?

So far I think it is Eddie (NZ) Vince (France) Mike (UK) and Martin Drayton (UK/Trinidad/USA????)

There must be others?

Paul Price wrote:Vince, are you going to Morro Bay and Antibes?

Who else from Europe or Australia/NZ is going?

So far I think it is Eddie (NZ) Vince (France) Mike (UK) and Martin Drayton (UK/Trinidad/USA????)

There must be others?

Yes Paul, my program is near to be the same as you, only the departure city changed.
I hope that my flight to Antibes will be OK. (Wheather forecast announced hard rains but inally it seems to be nicer, rainy but no red alert as expected a few days ago).

I'm arriving Monday to LA and Tuesday (evening i suppose?) to Morro Bay

Normally I'll share a room with Jack Bradman and his friend at Ascott Inn (same hotel than Bobby B, Richie & Maria and more..).
I have confirmed to him by email that I was OK so I hope it'll be OK (as I didn't getany reply from Brad now for the moment, so don't hesitate to tell him if you talk to him )!

Paul : see you in Antibes
and the others: see you in California!

Vince,

I spoke with Brad yesterday after you called me. You are confirmed to stay with Brad and his friend. Do not worry, you will have a place to sleep!