York | Archive | 2004 | January | 31
From the Evening Press, first published Saturday 31st Jan 2004.
Mountain board convert Gary Parkinson is hoping to pitch his talents against the best in the world at the end of February in the world's first ever indoor freestyle championships.
Parkinson, 35, became hooked on the increasingly popular extreme sport after stocking boards for his Selby shop, No Limits, a year ago despite knowing next to nothing about it.
A quick session with local fans soon turned him round and he is now hoping to show off some of his best flips and grabs at the indoor event next month.
"It's a good buzz," he said. "It's difficult to describe until you have actually had a go.
"Basically, if you're into snowboarding and you're desperate to do it 365 days a year and you don't live anywhere near an indoor snow place, it's perfect.
"All you need is a grass hill, a board and the safety equipment and off you go."
One of the tips on the shop website www.nolimits-shop.co.uk advises `leaving your brain in a tin at the top' - and rightly so.
One professional has been towed behind a car at 75 mph, while another has been clocked going 45 mph down a hill. It's scary stuff.
Parkinson said: "It can be dangerous if you haven't got the right equipment or you are not experienced and you go out on your own. But if you know what you are doing and you are wearing the right stuff it's not too bad."
Parkinson regularly rides with his two young sons as well as shop helper Ben Rutler, 16, a group of like-minded boarders from Halifax and Harrogate and members of the Northern Offroad Boarding Society. And he has also made some big name professional contacts in Leon Dove and Ben Sykes.
Practising is easy - it's just a case of finding a decent hill and going for it.
"You can do it anywhere that's got a big hill," he said.
"The place that we go riding near Selby is used by BMX riders and dirt jumpers. There is also a dedicated indoor place in Halifax which is just brilliant."
The World Freestyle Championships are being held on 500 square metres of imported dirt at the Weston Super Mare X Arena from February 20 to 22 and promises to be a self-styled celebration of all things mountain boarding with live bands playing on the bill as well as the competition.
The No Limits shop, which also supplies stuff for other extreme sports, will be one of the official stores at the championships, and will help with the training camp in the week previously where `campers' get to train with the top pros while shaping the mountain boarding park.
Seeding heats take place on a single jump on the Friday with the main qualifying session on the following day. At the end of the day, the riders are split into amateur and professional groups for the Sunday finals.
The amateur championship is decided first and the top five - including the champion - get a wild card into the Pro final with a chance to ride for the overall title and the best amateur award. Age groups include senior, veteran (where Parkinson will compete) and under-18 and u14 junior sections.
Parkinson's eldest son, Luke, will be taking on riders five years his senior, while his seven-year-old brother Ashley may also have a go.
Said Parkinson: "I was going to go into the Maxtrack Closed Rally at Eastnor Deer Park but got injured at the last minute. But Luke went in for it and ended up seventh out of 60 riders of all ages.
"Mountain-boarding really is a sport for any people of any age - most of the stuff I've done, Luke can do, too."
What kind of sport encourages first-timers to leave their brain behind and carry a spare pair of underwear?
The same kind of sport where crossbones and back scratches are sick, and if you can do all of them followed by a crippler, you're going off like a gnarly sandwich. Sounds great doesn't it?
Mountain boarding is the latest extreme sport to sweep the world and has its roots in snowboarding, skateboarding and mountain biking.
Adrenaline-addicted riders speed down hills and mountains on boards described as a snowboard with big wheels and do their best to go as fast as possible and find as much air as they can using rocks, dips or purpose-built ramps.
It was invented in its current form in 1993 by a group of American snowboarders with nothing to do once the spring thaw set in. They added a set of four pneumatic tyres to a snowboard and headed for the hills.
Ten years on and there are thought to be more than one million mountain-board exponents worldwide.
UK board sales of 32,000 a year indicate the huge growth of the sport in the country where the numbers of those watching and taking part have doubled every year at a staggering rate, making it the fastest growing extreme sport.
Competition disciplines include slalom events and freestyle, where riders throw their best tricks and moves to impress judges. Many of the manoeuvres are based on snowboard tricks - but with a board that is more than 6kilogrammes heavier.
Grabs, flips and turns over 360 and 180 degrees are all commonplace with different variations getting more points the harder they are to complete.
A crossbone sees riders grab the front of the board and pull it vertical in the air and a back scratch does exactly what it says on the tin - the back axle is pulled up behind so it touches the back.
Ditto the crippler - an inverted aerial 180 degree back flip off a quarter pipe - if you don't make a tidy (perfect) landing you could be in a bit of trouble. A great move is phat or sick and if someone is riding really well, they are going off like a gnarly sandwich.
Updated: 10:45 Saturday, January 31, 2004
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