Canadian downhill skateboard championships in Picton this weekend

Kolby Parks in the technical section of the course at the world championships. Photo Bob Ozman

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Canadian luge champion Kolby Parks will bring the excitement of world class downhill skateboarding and street luge to Picton this weekend (Oct. 23-24) for the Prince Edward County Gravity Fest. World champion downhill skateboarder Mischo Erban who shattered his own world record at 80.83 mph will compete in Picton, as will Bob Touchette who holds the Guinness world speed record for street luge at 157.41 km/h.
This 2010 Canadian Downhill Skateboard and Street Luge Championship will be the first International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA) sanctioned race in Ontario. A $1000 cash purse will be spread out over the classes participating, as well as three custom Ambitious skateboards for the winners of the downhill skate board classes; Street-luge.com shirts and hats for the street luge and Classic Luge classes and ABEC 11 wheels for all classes.
Competitors will race on a 1.2 km course (see video map) which has a maximum grade of 14 per cent. More than 2500 straw bales will line the track where speeds in excess of 95 km/h are anticipated. The track features four distinct corners with two separate braking zones that will ensure lots of passing.

Classes will included Downhill Skateboarding, Street Luge, Classic Luge, Women’s Downhill Skateboarding and Junior Downhill Skateboarding.
Downhill Skateboarding consists of riders in full protective gear riding downhill on a skateboard. Riders have been known to hit 80 km/h. Classic Luge, known as Buttboard, involves riding in full protective gear on a board that resembles a skateboard. Street Luge, which Parks is the Canadian Champ, involves using a highly modified board that hits speeds closing in on 130km/h.
The International Gravity Sports Association was founded in 1996 when a group of street luge and downhill skateboard enthusiasts recognized the need for fair, unbiased leadership for the sport.
There will only be two IGSA sanctioned events in Canada this year.
“Ever since I became involved in street luge I’ve had hill-hunter syndrome,” said Parks. “Being from the area I have always wanted to try the Heights hill (at Picton).”

Prince Edward County Council was positive in its support for the event and Parks expects 60-70 riders to attend. “There hasn’t been a race this big in the IGSA on this side of North America since 2006 in the USA.

Safety is a major concern of the sport. All riders must wear helmets, full body protective clothing and suitable footwear which is inspected by IGSA officals prior to racing. A meet and greet will be held Saturday at the Skate Park with local skateboarders. The Ontario Brain Injury Association, which advocates safe racing, will also be in attendance.
“I feel that with our braking with our feet we can stop faster then any other vehicle out there,” said Kolby Parks. “People don’t realize how controllable the machine is.”
There will be a great number of vendors coming to the event, rain or shine, with the exception of the downhill skateboarderswho can elect to op-out of the event by majority rule.
Four riders run in each heat until until a winner is declared.
But Parks plans on more than just racing and as the event is to be more of a festival with food, vendors and music.
Camping will be available to the riders. For registration and additional information, visit the official event website.
www.pecgravityfest.com

Watch world downhill champ Mischo Erban shatter his own world record at 80.83mph.

See Bob Touchette set the world street luge speed record of 157.41 km/h

Almabtrieb 2010, IGSA World Championships from Yvon Labarthe on Vimeo.

This video is from one of the word cup races in Germany this year. Many of the racers in this video are coming to the race in Picton. Kolby Parks is the one who flies into the woods (camera on helmet) but came out without a scratch! He is at the 3.20 and 3.38 mark.