Some of you who are receiving this may not be inline Skaters, but we would like
to share the word with everyone, even if they don't skate.

2003, was a great year for the sport of Inline Skating and more importantly,
Inline Downhill skating. In both the US and Europe we saw increased
participation of both women and men in the sport of Inline Downhill as
evidenced by the increased numbers of registrants in events of both sex's.
As reported by the (International Inline Downhill Association) IIDA, "the
skill level of women skaters increased tremendously". This is important,
because it shows that Inline Downhill and other gravity sports such as street
luge, Standup and Gravity biking are equally as rewarding for both men and
women.
In the US, the International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA)is the body
that has been responsible for sanctioning a majority of the gravity sports
races. I was fortunate as a competitor in Inline Downhill to be able to attend
3 world cup races, a US national event and many regional events sanctioned by
the IGSA in 2003. Sadly this year we have seen cancellation of a huge European
event "Hotheels," which has been put on in Switzerland, Austria in the last few
years due to loss of sponsorship. We have also seen cancellation of several
other events in France and Italy. Promoters site cost as the major inhibitor of
producing events. This cancellation of events is only a temporary trend and we
hope that new events and promoters will rise up to keep the sport going at home
in the US and abroad. We need everyone's participation to be able to promote
events effectively and keep the sport growing.
In this 2004 election year as we consider our participation in the election
process let's also consider participation as Inline Skaters and gravity sports
enthusiasts in our local events. Some of you receiving this email may not even
skate or compete but I urge you to consider participating in local, national
and international events. There are many types of recreational events for
skaters including serious marathons to casual social events. Many of these
events can be a great family vacation with camping and visiting great
locations in the US and Europe.

A marathon that has been put on for many years in the Napa area is the Napa to
Calistoga road skate organized by David Miles info can be found at
"www.cora.org" Another skate marathon, the Long Beach Marathon is also put on
every year. In Milpitas at Cal Skate, people can take lessons for Indoor
Speed skating,this has proving to be very popular among children, providing a
healthy outlet and activity to keep them focused. In San Mateo County, Canada
road is closed every Sunday for total safety and freedom on a protected road.
For the less athletic and more social the Friday night skates in San
Francisco and L.A. (Santa Monica) are very fun. The Friday Night Skate in San
Francisco features an easy pace with frequent stops for refreshments along the
way. The Santa Moncia Skate alternates once a month to a Hollywood skate for a
glamours fun run. These skates do not boast the numbers of skaters like the
Paris skate or some of the skates in Germany numbering in the thousands, they
are still quite enjoyable and important part of the California culture. Another
casual skate is held in Palo Alto, this skate meets in the parking lot of the
art museum at Stanford University at 7:00 pm. The social skates are great for
just getting out and participating in the skater community.just having a
healthy outlet for Wednesday or Friday night. Check out www.cora.org for
locations and starting times of these skates.
Locally in the Bay area we were fortunate to have the Gravity festival held
in McLaren Park in South San Francisco. This regional and national event
featured a deceptively fast race course that won the hearts of many racers
including Inline, Street Luge, Stand up and Gravity bike. The event had racers
coming from as far as France, Australia and Brazil.
In West LA the regional races have been going on for several years as part
of the IGSA series. Perhaps some of those Venice Beach skaters would like to
try their skating skills in the races held at West LA collage.
In 2003 world cup participation took us to Oklahoma, surprising?? Bet, you
thought Oklahoma did not have any hills, well in the world of hills their claim
to fame is being the state with the highest hill. That's 1999 Feet, one more
foot and you have a mountain. Ok, so we can think of many things more exciting
than the highest hill. Oklahoman's welcomed us with open arms, we were even
stars in the local Wall Mart. That was a great event boasting one of the
fastest hills in the circuit with Inline skaters reaching speeds in the mid
fifties (wow). World cup travel also took us from Barrets Junction California,
down by Mexico to Cape Town South Africa in Pringle Bay. Again we were welcomed
with open arms and had a great event to close the IGSA race season.
This year we are facing many changes and have seen the effects of a bad
economy in the skating community. Our local favorite skate shop in San
Francisco, Skate Pro closed it's doors late last year. Skate Pro provided gear
for all types of skating from inline hockey, soccer, speed skating to
recreational inline skating as well as roller skating and dancing. We will miss
Skate Pros' support. The skating community is still supported by Black Sports
in Palo Alto as well as the Height shops in San Francisco. while it's true
that recreational and basic skate gear can be bought at major outlets like
Sports Mart, we hope that people will continue to patronize the personal
business that have supported the skate community. Shops like Black Diamond
Sports are run by skaters for skaters.
Alas this message to the extended skating community is coming to a close. We
urge those who have skates and may have stopped skating to start again, if even
for health. More importantly those who still enjoy skating we hope you will
participate in the skating community. Try the indoor skate team at Cal Skate,
Dance in the Park or the roller disco Saturday nights. Roll out at Canada road
for a quite Sunday morning. Those with thirst for more speed get into downhill
or downhillers who have not been competing, sign up for a few races see how you
like it. Everyone should invite friends and family who don't skate to try it,
invite that neighbor who sees you heading off to the Friday night, Stanford or
Santa Monica skate. If this message finds you in another part of the US, check
into the local skate community, usually information is readily available on the
Internet. If you find your community is lacking, then start a skate group
yourself, but make sure you pass the word on and get connected with other skate
communities.