Sector 9 are organising an awesome skateboard / longboard push event at Burleigh Heads this weekend. It is called a Poker Run and it works a little bit like this…

You turn up at lunch time on Saturday February 11th. The starting place is Burleigh Point, you’ll know where because of all the skaters hanging out scoring free stuff. That’s right. Not only is it a free event, you get free stuff. First 200 skaters get a free tee shirt. There will be Sector 9 crew swarming around handing out shwag. You’ll want to be there early so you don’t miss out.

The skate starts at 2pm. There are three check points. At each check point you get part of a poker hand. The winner is the person with the best hand of poker.

THIS IS NOT A RACE.

It is a push event. Everyone is there to cruise and have a good time. First person to a check point gets no advantage. Everyone has the same chance of winning. Winner gets schwag, cash and glory, plus the dubious honor of being the first winner of a Poker Run in Australia! It could be you.

Did I mention the BBQ? Mmmmm free food.

No better way to spend a day on the Gold Coast. The waves are only going to be 3ft on the weekend, sounds like a longboard at the Poker Run is a better option!

The event is on ASRA, so you can RSVP or ask questions like … Will your barbeque be better than cakes and pies?

Here is the Sector 9 video of the 2010 Poker Run in the USA on Go Skateboarding Day.

Instead of a Christmas card this year, we are sending STICKERS to all our wonderful customers!

If you were a Hopshop customer this year, thank you, you made 2011 the best year ever. We loved seeing you in the skateshop, at the events, talking online and generally being part of the Australian skateboard community.

OK SO HERE IS THE DEAL

We have collected over $100,000 worth of skate stickers from all your favourite brands. We are mailing out to our top 3000 customers over 20,000 stickers!! First 1000 envelopes were mailed out a couple of days ago, if you have received mail, you are one of the top Hopshop customers.

Not everyone is going to get stickers, we had to make a few rules. You had to have ordered something in 2011, and for logistic reasons, the cut off was the end of November. We sorted customers by their total orders, so if you only ordered bushings this year, you probably missed out. You had to have a Hopshop account or ordered online, it is only these customers that we know who you are and your address. That’s why it is so important to have a Hopshop account … you know it is free.

HUGE thank you to the brands that helped us share the stoke this Christmas. It sounds simple but it has been a huge effort getting organised. Stickers have been arriving months in advance, and they have been hidden in the Hopshop waiting for mail out time.

There is also a real cost to all the skate companies that participate. PLEASE give them a huge shout out. I have provided below all their social contacts. Like them, friend them, send them a thank you. We want this to be an annual event, if you share the stoke, they will see the value in doing it all again.

Big thank you to the elves in the Hopshop that stuffed envelopes: Caspian, Harrison, Josh. Also the family insider help from Veronique and Lisa.

Special mention to the distributors: John and Christine at JHS and Co, Peter at Goliath, Glenn at Black Box.

WHAT STICKERS HAVE BEEN SENT OUT

Caliber Trucks
Caliber on Facebook or Find them on the web
Give em lots of love, they were very generous.

3000 stickers released

Loaded Boards

Our friends at Loaded and Orangatang are always first to join an event to stoke skaters in a major way, they send a slab of stickers!!

Big moon hugs to Loaded – you can squeeze their face or grab their tweets or watch the vids

500 stickers released

500 stickers released

500 stickers released

500 stickers released

500 stickers released

500 stickers released

25 stickers released = RARE

25 stickers released = RARE

25 stickers released = RARE

25 stickers released = RARE

Rayne longboards

Always a favourite in the skateshop, and they love you very much with thousands of stickers. You can return that love on the face or tickling their twitter or watching their moves

1500 stickers released

1500 stickers released

1000 stickers released

Sector 9

Shout out to the Sector 9 Australia team, you rocked Australia with a suitcase of stickers. Show em that they are not too big for a hug, pinch em on the tweeter or stalk em on facebook or just be a voyeur. If it wasn’t for these blokes, Jackson would not be Number Two in the world !! (IGSA World Cup rankings)

1500 stickers released

1500 stickers released

Heelside Magazine

Your favorite Australian skateboard magazine. They are original, creative, bold and crazy. They deliver you something your mum does not understand and probably does not approve of, so let them know their hard work is appreciated. Get social on their arse. Or a quick little spray.  You must subscribe for them to survive.

1100 stickers released

ASRA – Australian Skateboard Racing Association

They are the only REAL skateboard association in Australia. Real members, elected board, community inspired and skateboarders looking after skateboarding. So who is fake? SbA or Skateboard Australia are a $2 event company. The sham is our tax money is funding a private skateboard company. No elected officials. No accountability. Hundreds of thousands of dollars siphoned off with our Government’s approval. They know the facts, and continue to waste your money. WE NEED TO GET MAD. Join ASRA. Even better become a financial member, it makes ASRA stronger and SbA look stupider. Time magazine has made the Protester the person of the year. You can make a difference. You can change the world. You can create the world you want to live in. No generation in history has more power at their fingertips than you. Protest. Talk. Yell. Scream. Skate. Create. Dream. Then take small steps to make it happen. Contact your elected politician or senator. Tell them to stop wasting our money and take skateboarding seriously. Then get your mum, dad and all the family to do the same thing. If you use twitter, so do they.

1500 stickers released

Fallen Shoes

Some of the raddest skate stickers you’ll find on the planet. I did not scan every sticker that went out. If you got something different, post a pic.

On the Fbook or on the inter webbie thing, they probably dont want to know you like them, they’re too cool for school. And are core = only little boards here (they’re easier to carry).

100 stickers released - RARE

200 stickers released - RARE

50 stickers released - RARE

25 stickers released - RARE

125 stickers released - RARE

125 stickers released - RARE

50 stickers released - RARE

Early Skateboards

The OG crew on the Goldie, designing boards for Australia. Twitter or FB or web

40 stickers released - RARE

20 stickers released - RARE

Fibretec: Swiss made dream machines. They are fine like a piece of … art. 50 stickers were add into the mix.

Vicious Griptape: Sent 50 special decals to stoke, if you got one, your lucky. If you have their tape on your deck your even luckier…and probably dont have any fingerprints.

Bombsquad, Ladera, Dekline and Slippery Dip all contributed some special stickers.

Thank you to everyone who is apart of the Australian skateboard/longboard scene. Lets do it all again next year. We promise the Hopshop will be bigger and better in 2012. We hope you will be a part it.

Live life … skate every day.

PS: We send out stuckers to our bro’s in New Zealand. We  love our cousins across the ditch too!

TWITTER USERS
We are using #hopkinstickers

Stoke by Jackson Shapiera

The nerves have gone and the stoke is dialed in.

The hill has turned from frightening and intimidating to epic fun.

This morning I was hungry for speed but was getting frustrated as I could not hold a solid low tuck over the bottom section. Every open part of your body loses speed and time. I added some modifications to my board to help lock in and all of a sudden I was able to rocket down and get the feel for Full Tuck Teutonia!

Unfortunately again today not many runs, only 3, but it was enough to get fully dialed and ready to race.

2nd qualifying run I dropped two seconds and moved up 10 spots, but obviously that means I’m not tucking hard enough as so many people dropped times and were still ahead.

Kevin is proving his dominance and broke into a 1.19 which secured his number one qualifier spot, but still shy of Dalua’s track record of 1.17. Dalua held onto 2nd spot but Mischo was bumped down to 4th by monster Brazilian man Macaco who took 3rd.

The real fun started after qualifying…a bit of controversy.

Patrick Switzer has brought a chain mail vest to South America and had been using it on the sly to weigh himself up. Vest came out for qualifying at Tarma, and it was out again today, hidden under his suit. Although the rules state it’s ‘allowed’ the locals were pretty bummed he was using it. He got called out by riders several times at Tarma and then again yesterday for trying to use it, but decided sneak it on today for qualifying. Once the Brazilian crew learned of this it was full on. The entire local race crew was pissed at him for being disrespectful to the other racers since so many have trained so hard to be strong and compete here, it was a full on angry Brazilian mob and I tell ya!!

In the end the rules stated he IS allowed to use it so there would be no disqualification however there is talk of a rule change for next year.

Maybe there has been a lesson learned … and rumour is Pat will be wearing that chain mail permanently now because of the angry natives.

Apart from all the drama, today was good.

The race is tomorrow and everyone is pumped. It’s great to see so many new faces and getting the opportunity  to dive into a new skate culture. The people racing here are balls to the wall and it’s a good feeling having to work hard to be competitive and earn their respect. I’m still blown away at how some of them charge this hill.

Looks like we might get some rain today due to the humidity, hopefully is passes over and doesn’t cancel the racing tomorrow!

Qualifying after second –> arrow indicates fastest time

1. Kevin Reimer (USA) 1:20.075 –> 1:19.488

2. Douglas Silva (Dalua) Brazil 1:20.664 <– 1:21.058

3. Vinicius Mendez (Brazil) 1:22.192 –> 1:20.916

4. Mischo Erban (Canada) 1:21.878 –> 1:21.058

5. Otavio Munhoz (Brazil) 1:22.561 –> 1:21.527

6. Dandy Dean (Brazil) 1:22.581 –> 1:21.789

7. Sneaky Pat Switzer (Canada) 1:24.095 –> 1:21.880

8. Thiago Lessa (Brazil) 1:22.934 –> 1:22.352

9. Max Ballesteros  (Brazil) 1:23.553 –> 1:22.468

29. –> 10. James Kelly (USA) 1:27.204 –> 1:23.710

11. Garcia Silon (Brazil) 1:24.236 –> 1:23.759

12. Alysson Garcia (Brazil) 1:24.931 –> 1:23.763

13. Agustin Virgolini (Argentina) 1:23.776 <– 1:42.731

14. Ricardo Reis (Brazil) DNS –> 1:24.046

15. Graham Buksa (Country: Canada. Province: Rayne) 1:24.449 –> 1:24.173

16. Malessa Wendel (Brazil) 1:24.558 <– 1:24.680

26. –> 17. Jackson Shapiera (Australia) 1:26.417 –> 1:24.650

18. Clayton Matos (Brazil) 1:29.121 –> 1:24.783

19. Alex Tongue (Brazil) 1:25.939 –> 1:24.798

20. Robin Sandberg (Sweden) 1:26.348 –> 1:24.874

21. Vinicius Castagna (Brazil) 1:25.647 –> 1:25.115

22. Jose Fortes (Brazil) DNF –> 1:25.161

23. Gabriel Almeida (Brazil) 1:25.455 –> 1:25.177

24. Antonio Rosa (Brazil) 1:27.448 –> 1:25.289

25. Renan Vasques (Brazil) 1:25.345 <– 1:25.701

26. Luciano Pauletti (Brazil) 1:24.405 <– 1:25.467

Sorry for the late notice, but better late than ever, if you are looking for something to do tomorrow, come and join Robbo, Bugs and myself at Bondi Beach skatepark at 9am Saturday morning 5th November.

There is heaps going on in Bondi this weekend, something for everyone in your family. Sculpture By The Sea, so you can send mum for a walk along the headland to get all cultured. There is a single fin surfing competition, you can plant your Dad on the beach to ignore the bikini’s and watch the retro surf competition.

The best event this weekend is the Bondi Skateriders Club’s Single Kick Competition.

Featured event is the Banked Slalom Race. Skate any board you like, it is a timed run through the skatepark, with more bank than slalom. Anyone can make the course, more for skateboarders than slalom racers.

What else is happening? Ti and Fox have got a heap crazy comps installed. Jump Ramp challenge, I think that one is who can fly out of the park in the air the best! There is boardstack eliminations. Surfy slash off (perfect for your Original Skateboard). Single kick bowl comp.

The idea is to bring your retro cruiser or single kick skateboard down to Bondi, chill out and have some fun.

To compete in the events you have to join the Bondi Skateriders Club ($20 for junior or $30 for adult). Entry fee for the competition is $10 for Juniors and $20 for Adults. So if you’re a junior, that is not a current member, the day will cost you $30 ($20 joining and $10 event fee). It will be the best value $30 you ever spend! You even get a few bonus items for joining the club.

Pro Tip: Dress retro (70′s or 80′s) and earn bonus 10% points in the competition!

I’ll be there. ASRA will be there. All the Bondi locals live there. Mike D is the MC. Weather is forecast to be sunny and hot. Bring lots of water, a hat and sunscreen.

STARTS AT 9AM

See you all tomorrow.

Padova is a community event, many parts of the community come together to put on an event that celebrates not only their town but their region. It is a good example of how regional and sporting authorities can combine to put on a world class event.

Trav’s update
Padova Day One. Beautiful warm sunny weather. The race set up by organisers is professional: Cameras on every corner, big screens at top and bottom, a great wall of solid hay lining the entire track.

The track has been resurfaced which reports say is slightly slippery, making the track slower.

I’m not going to watch qualifying as its too slow and boring…and the wine is 3 euro for half a litre!

Jacko’s update
[Hop note] Two days ago, Jacko gave me his basic race plan in response to whether he would be footbraking more this race. Padova has some fast sections that lead into a more technical section.

No way man, no footbreak! My game is to draft fuckers down that straight and get in front for that first righty, bail on the heelside setup slide and straight toeside. Worked hella last year. Even managed to go around folks while they were setup sliding/footbreaking and rally the toeside. Was working hella good till Kowalski got a mondo side-wob and crashed into me while footbreaking.

[hop note] Jacko’s current update:

Anyway we are at Teolo, and it’s hot as all hell! There was a landslide about a month ago so they repaved the corner sections. It’s still smooth but super slippery if you take the wrong line! Because of the heat and road texture wheels are getting cooked… Hectic city.

Day One Qualifying results
1. Patrick Switzer
2. Ramon Konigshausen
3. Maxim Garant-Rousseau (Canada)
4. Jackson Shapiera
5. Alex Tongue

P Swiss is the defending champion here, and Ramon holds the fastest qualifying time. So you would expect those two would shine in qualifying. Their times are a bit slower, Patrick is 1 second off course record, and Ramon is two seconds slower than his best time. It could be a slower track this year as speculated by Trav and Jacko or everyone could be taking the first runs cautiously.

In other news, Scoot has crashed and dislocated his shoulder again. His Euro trash tour is over, and gets to drink cheap wine with Trav this weekend.

From the man who brought you Etnies, Pierre-André Senizergues has designed a house that you can live in and also skate. It is the ultimate skatehouse!

They have set one room up as a demonstration to show what the house would be like.

They plan to build and finish the house in California by 2012.

You can skate everything, even the kitchen sink

The furniture is skateboard inspired

First from Jacko about Day One

I’m not having the best time on this track, struggling to adapt. It is a super wired set up for the corners making a slide hard to nail with a good exit speed. After the last race, this one is the revenge of the footbrakers!

It is the skaters who can footbrake that are killing it.

Boris Shinke showing how to light up the shoe on a foot brake. Photo Dave Kessler

I’ve tried a few different styles but I’m still figuring it out. Srubbed hella in the first qualifying run so I got 22nd spot. Hopefully I can improve my time a bit better on Day Two.

P Swiss is on fire and got the fastest time on Day One. He is dropping the foot in every corner. Other Euro trash footbrakers got epic times as well.

Unless I get some good luck tomorrow and figure out a solid game plan, this race might get away from me.

Day Two results from Trav

These are overall
1. P Swiss
2. Siegrist
3. Chapman
4. Ramon
5. Schinke

19. Jacko
51. Danny

Lach was eliminated in the repecharge. Bow won the repecharge easily.

Ladies
1. Katie
2. Rebekka
3. Dasha
4. Kristina

P Swiss looks to be the one to beat this year at Insul 2011. Photo Dave Kessler

Women’s longboarding has been given a big push in Australia this year.  There’s been the formation of the Byron Chicki Babes Bomb Squad and their downhill skate event First Kiss, the addition of three ladies to the previously all-male Hopkin Racing Team, as well as more and more ladies setting up groups and social ride days on the ASRA website.

Continuing this trend, Sydney’s own ladies skate group Maidens of Steeze is holding an all-ages girls skate day.  The idea is to bring more ladies into the scene in a friendly unintimidating environment, as well as have a bunch of fun, and share the stoke of longboarding.

We’ll be meeting at Hopkin Skate at 1pm on Sunday the 31^st of July.  Then we’ll walk to the secret car park location.  If you have a board and helmet bring it along, but if not we’ll have a bunch for you to try out.  Don’t worry if you’ve never skated before, this event is a chance to learn the basics from Sydney’s best female longboarders!  It’s also a chance to socialise and link in with the Australian ladies longboarding scene.  And a friendly scene it is!

Feel free to call me at Hopkin Skate if you have any questions:  (02) 8060 1588

Or for further details check out our event page on the Australian Skateboard Racing Association (ASRA)website.

Also, why not link in with the Maidens of Steeze on Facebook

Women’s open
1st Katie Neilson
2nd Andi Leslie
3rd Anna O’Neill

Photo courtesy of SkateSlate and Max Erwin

Men’s open
Jackson made the final round of 16. The racing conditions were extraordinary. Rain and high winds. There was a big tail wind at the end of the day which caught everyone out. Also made for spectacular crashes, most of the top contenders getting knocked out before the final.

Jackson came in too hot to the main corner. Everyone followed and crashed. Jacko’s shoulder popped out which made continuing impossible. The good news is the shoulder went back in without medical attention and it looks to be recovering well with no damage.

The final race was: 1st Patrick Switzer, 2nd Brendan Davidson, 3rd Kyle Martin, 4th Robin Sandberg
Consolation final (overall ranking) 5th George MacKenzie, 6th Cam Brickendin, 7th Callum Mathieson and 8th Riley Harris (although he pulled out of the final race with an injury).

So there are some amazing results in there. Junior winner came second in the open division!!! How good is Brendon? Or is it local knowledge?
IGSA have not put up their official results as I type this but the biggest upset has got to be 7th place Callum Mathieson. There was only one Mathieson registered, and I think it is the Kiwi from Christchurch!! He placed 41st in qualifying and raced the event of his life, making the consoliation final. Amazing.

Looking at the official IGSA qualifying times (link is a PDF download) there was only one other country in the top 16, other than Canada. That was Australia. Jacko 4th and Cam 14th.

The results I have been getting off Twitter and racer txt messages. They are not official. There is one fact I know is true. Patrick Switzer has won Vernon DH in 2011. Nice one.

Dungog Film Festival is the worlds biggest festival of Australian films and longboarding will be represented this year.

The Skate Australia film will be screened this Saturday, 28th May 2011 at 12:15 PM in the RSL Cinema

If you live on the Central Coast or near Dungog, please give this one some support. Tell all your friends and family.  I would love to see lots of longboarders there.

I have talked about the Skate Australia movie before and how it has a special place in Australia’s longboard history. The movie was an idea conceived by Anton Fricker, who sadly died before the movie was finished. After the Dungog screening of Skate Australia, there will a short film called Steep Decent, made by the Lundmark twins shot at the time of Anton’s accident, at the hospital and funeral. It both documents the tragic accident and commemorates Anton’s life and his passion for filmmaking and skateboarding. For those of you that bought the DVD, you will know the short film, it was included as an extra.

I have linked above to the film festival that gives you details about how to get there, how to buy tickets. It is THIS weekend so get on it, I have not given you much notice. Follow other links to learn more about Skate Australia and Anton.