Old Skool Team Longboard Event - NSW Australia

Old Skool Team - Outlaw Longboarding Race - NSW, Australia

So, the day got a bit behind schedule from the start but that didn't really effect anything. Once everyone showed up we ran 2 practice runs with the road shut off. It was freaky going into a blind corner on the wrong side of the road, and it took faith in the traffic controllers and just plain balls, because there was a couple of driveways on the run that we didn't have covered. After we ran the road twice we got the racing underway and we had 11 racers ready to go. Benny had injured himself in the only way that could be classified as respectable(rooting) and Gus was a wreck with some kinda flu, Gavo has couldn't make it either, so that left me and Kanufi representing the OST.

We were runnin' 4 riders per race, double elimination with 3rd and 4th gettin an X on their name. The 1st heat was between Darren, Rob, Kanufi and Arby. I was feelin pretty relaxed (even tho I forgot my jeans and had the wrong shoes) that K would be goin hard for the team. I was at the finish line (marked with scraped rock) so I could get the exact placings. We could hear them coming down the road and someone up higher yelled out "here they come!!" 3 riders come hookin around the corner about 3 inches between them, boards wobblin like any of them could drop in a flash, AND ALL 3 REFUSED TO LET GO OF THEIR TUCK. Arby and Darren timed their run to perfection and got K about 10 meters before the line. I remember thinkin "OK, s***, these guys are takin this seriously, more seriously than me". Arby got 1st, Darren 2nd Kanufi 3rd, and Rob 4th.

The next heat was Me, Daniel, Simon and Steve. I knew that 1st place was gone but was pretty confident that I could jag 2nd. But, from the push I got squeezed in at the start and had to cut my push short, So Daniel and Steve just drifted away from me strait up. Steve got 1st, Daniel 2nd, Me 3rd and Simon 4th.
The next heat was only 3 man ('cause we only had 11 racers) so whoever got 3rd got an X. It was Jeremy, Kev and Fitzy. I think Kev was still a bit fazed from his fall during the practice sesh so it was Jeremy 1st, Fitzy 2nd, then Kev 3rd.
This left 6 in the winners bracket and 5 in the losers bracket. Rob got scratched so this left 4 in the losers bracket. Arby, Darren and Steve went next with Arby coming off on the 3rd last corner and taking an X. Steve got 1st with Darren 2nd.
Next was Daniel, Jeremy and Fitzy. Jeremy Cleaned up with Daniel 2nd and Fitzy takin an X.

This brought on the 1st of the elimination rounds. With me and Kanufi's necks on the block, I knew 1 of us had 2 get at least 2nd, And K cruized ahead at the start leaving me and Kev to go toe 2 toe. I am still trying to get the brown stain off the back of my ankle cause the last 1/2 of the run I could feel Kev's breath down the back of my neck, and I still has Kanufi's words ringin in my ears "these guys do my trick and draft you till the last corner". They did a "me 2 me" so I squashed down as low as I could and I think I partially inserted my ankle into my arse. Anyway the pain was worth it and me and K got a 1, 2, with Kev a close 3rd and Simon 4th.
Next was Steve, Darren, Jeremy and Daniel. Steve was on fire so he got another 1st, Darren 2nd, Jeremy 3rd and Daniel 4th.

Another elimination round saw Me, Arby, Fitzy and Kanufi up against each other. I was pretty sure I was gonna get wiped on this one, but went balls out at the start. I cruised ahead of the pack at the start and thought "s***, I'm doin alright here" just as soon as that thought passed my mind Fitzy blasts past me on the wrong side of the road, then Arby on the other side with Kanufi right on his arse. "Great, now I'm in 4th", My shoes are vibrating up the board, and I gotta tuck. I latched onto Fitzy's stream and thought I "might" be able to slingshot him and grab Kanufi who was rapidly gaining real estate on us. The big left hander was coming up and I tried to make my move on Fitzy as we hit it. I was in the right hand lane and saw Kanufi come in a bit shallow and knew he would lose speed on the exit. Well K lost alot more than speed as his board kicked left and right and down he goes, I had about 50 cm of gap between Kanufi's rolling body and Fitzy and still don't know how I got away with it. I guess I should feel guilty (but I don't) that I didn't look back once to see if K was ok but I was busy finding the sweet spot between my sphincter and my ankle again to keep ahead of Fitzy. So Arby gets 1st, Me 2nd, Fitzy 3rd and Kanufi 4th.

That meant 6 of us were left. and the next 2 we're the semi's. Steve, Darren and Jeremy went 1st with Steve leaving afterburner trails behind him that Darren locked into. Steve got 1st Darren 2nd and Jeremy eliminated.

Next was Me, Arby and Daniel. My legs were jelly and I told the guys on the way up to forget me in this one, I woulda stacked for sure if I had 2 go another race after this. Arby and Daniel just blew me away from the word go and I couldn't hold a tuck to save my arse. Arby got 1st, Daniel 2nd and Me eliminated.

Final race time and even tho Steve had set the pace all day long there was still a feeling that anything could happen. I was set up at the finish line and you could hear the guys coming for a while. Steve belted around the corner with Darren right on his arse, I know the guys had been runnin fast earlier but these dudes were just plain haulin (word was 70ks+) for this run. Darren broke his tuck about 10 meters from the line and Arby, with his back as flat as a pool table just slipped by him at the line. It was wicked to see.

So the final results were:

1st Steve Daddow - Early Skate Team
2nd Arby - Early Skate Team
3rd Darren - Early Skate Team
4th Daniel - Independent
5th Jogger - Old Skool Team
Equal 5th Jeremy - Early Skate Team
7th Fitzy - Independent
8th Kanufi - Old Skool Team
9th Kev - Early Skate Team
10th Simon - Early Skate Team
11th Rob - Early Skate Team

I just wanna say thanks to everyone who showed up. To all the Support crew, THANKS. to all the riders THANKS, to everyone who didn't make it, EAT S***!
The Old Skool Team are Sydney Based and Have been around for a couple of years now. They caused waves in Australia by demanding the local Gravity Racers Association start doing something other than organize luge meets. They caused waves internationally by submitting videos on downhill sites that showed the "real" downhill scene, not the homogenized race video's that seemed to be flooding the internet at the time. In a country that's more litigious than America per capita, and has extremely high public liability insurance premiums, only the Old Skool Team had the balls to organize Australia's 1st Outlaw race.

-Jogger

The Old Skool Team is comprised of riders mostly from the Sydney area, NSW Australia. Visit their website, at: www.oldskoolteam.com.