Cones for practice or not?

Cones and Placement

Moderator: Pat Chewning

Post Reply
Martin Drayton
Gecko Decks
Gecko Decks
Posts: 732
Joined: Mon Sep 02, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Park City,Utah!
Contact:

Cones for practice or not?

Post by Martin Drayton » Wed Jul 28, 2004 10:16 pm

On the subject of having cones or not for practice runs...
To me the whole point of having practice runs is to wam up, dial your line in and suss out which wheels to use, i.e. how much grip do I need.
With marks on the ground,
a) you CANNOT tell how accurate you are being.
b) you CANNOT look a few cones ahead because you are trying to look for marks on the ground which are much harder to see than cones.
c) Isn't it good for fellow racers and spectators to see who looks fast and is someone to watch/watch out for? Anyone can look good wiggling down the hill around marks no-one else can really see from the side.
d) As long as people are careful there shouldn't really be a collision issue...
It has been mooted that an alternative would be 30 minutes without, 30 with.
What do people think?...Willing to be swayed...

Steve Collins
Harbor Skateboard Racing
Harbor Skateboard Racing
Posts: 358
Joined: Fri Jan 10, 2003 1:00 am
Location: Los Angeles

Post by Steve Collins » Wed Jul 28, 2004 10:38 pm

CONES

Hans Koraeus
Corky - World Ranking Master Mind
Corky - World Ranking Master Mind
Posts: 1982
Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2002 2:00 am
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Contact:

Post by Hans Koraeus » Wed Jul 28, 2004 11:53 pm

Here is another way to do it that we will try in the Swedish Championships Aug 28.

Skip practice!

...and start timed qualification runs right away. A so called "Qualification Jam" during a fixed time. For example 2 hours. Take as many runs as you can. There will be a call for everyone towards the end to make their last run.

The advantages:
1. More timed runs for majority of skaters making the discipline more worthwhile for people traveling to competitions. Not just a 2 run thing and then bye-bye.
2. You have time to figure out the course with timed runs and compare with your opponents.
3. You have time to try other boards, wheels or whatever you want to test.
4. You can't say you had some unlucky runs. The wind can't blow against you all the time.
5. More exciting for racers. You will be more aware of your position and what you need to do to advance.
6. You then only need to do a head to head with the 8 best. People have had their runs and enough chance to make the top 8.

HUYNH BACH SAC Frédéric
Fred
Fred
Posts: 459
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 12:21 pm
Location: Paris, France.

Post by HUYNH BACH SAC Frédéric » Thu Jul 29, 2004 7:38 pm

It seems to be a good way to compete... more runs, less stress !

Post Reply