Cape Slide 2013

Being an injured skater at a Slide Jam always evokes two emotions; the predominant one being stoke, but also some jealousy at the guys laying the thane. However since the writer has been injured for the better half of the year and has done sufficient bitching and moaning about it, he has gotten used to shouting from the s(l)idelines. What also helps is a camera; hence the nice pictures with this article.

For those that weren’t there, the slide jam was a success; a success on numerous levels. The event was well organised: As far as my uninformed opinion goes, the event was smoothly run. Entrance was cheap and there were no hassles with authority. In Cape Town this is no easy feat; you could be closing off your driveway and you’ll have the council asking you for a permit. The hill also lent itself perfectly to hosting a slide jam, being fairly steep and short, skaters could walk up the hill and get plenty of runs in without the schlep of a shuttle.

The groms were out in full force on this one, ploughing up and down the hill. Compared to last year’s event, there were easily double the amount of skaters and a lot more spectators. There was a general flurry of activity on the hill and some entertaining carnage whenever a determined grom motored into the crowd with arms flailing and board flying.

Another thing to observe was how level of skating has improved. The skaters were hauling down the hill in attempts to throw the longest slides: Stand up slides, puck down slides, face down slides… In the end the longest stand-up slides were constrained only by the gradient of the hill rather than the skaters’ skills.

These kinds of events are always a good representation of the general state of affairs and judging by the Cape Slide longboarding is as healthy as ever. The sport is continuing to grow massively as well as the support and interest for the sport. Baboon Boards are as stoked to be part of and to foster the lifestyle that is skating.

 

A big thanks goes to Gunslinger and Flatline SA for hosting such a stellar event (And all other parties involved that this Baboon does not know about).

If you weren’t…be there next year.

Muchos amour

The Baboons