BMX touring team to Oz named!

I’ve said it before on this blog that BMX is one of the promising sporting disciplines in South Africa but they just don’t get enough exposure to capture the imagination of our supporting public.

We drive through Bryanston and see the lekker extreme course on the side of the road but very few of us actually make any effort to pull into watch and support them…

So we’re trying to help them raise the profile of the sport. For those who are looking for info check out the BMX SA website

The team has recently been announced to travel to Australia for 2009 BMX Down Under competition and we’d like to highlight the team that has been selected to travel:

Management:

  • Gregory Till (delegate head)
  • Kim Stiebel (team manager)
  • Aaron Edwin Holdstock (assistant / coach)
  • Jonathan Chislett (rider / coach)

Selected riders

  • Dylan Eggar
  • Kayla Eggar
  • Alex Goncalves
  • Kyle Dodd
  • Christopher Austin
  • Kane Herbert
  • Jonnathan Chislett
  • Alan Dodd
  • Teagan O’Keeffe
  • Lloyd Dodd
  • Gavin Lubbe
  • Jordan O’Keeffe
  • Sifiso Nhlapo
  • Dean Holdstock

Privateers

  • Hannah Stiebel
  • Dylan Whittle
  • Liam Webster
  • Roger Goncalves
  • Axel Webster
  • Thaine O’Keefe
  • Marco Santana
  • Ryan Stiebel
  • Eugene Eggar
  • Stuart Mackenzie
  • Grant Dekker
  • Sharlene McGilvray
  • Bryce Stiebel
  • Calvin Whittle
  • Paulo Selicato
  • Wayne Gerber
  • Richard Facer

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Somebody FINALLY stops Sifiso Nhlapo

MTN Bmx rider Sifiso “Skizo” Nhlapo was looking for his fifth straight win and first one for the first round of the UCI Bmx SX rounds which was held in Coppenhagen, Denmark today.

Quarter finals the whole way around had a big mixture of names with some big names not making it through like 5th fastest qualifier Junior World Champion Sam Willoughby. In Skizo’s quarter final he used his strength to holeshot again and rode a safe race eventually finishing in second spot behind Stan van der Putten.

In Sifiso’s semi-final he was up against some top names like NZ rider Marc Willers, Martijn Scherpen, Rob van den Wildenberg and Mtbér World Champion Prokop who is becoming a regular at the BMX events. Skizo got a clean jump out the gate and was nearly two bike lengths in front by the first corner a gap he seemed to hold onto right till the finish. In the second semi-final of the day Raymon van der Biezen took the top spot.

Going into the final MTN Bmx rider Sifiso “skizo” Nhlapo had lane 1 gate choice. With his explosive speed and good run upto the final he was tipped by the commentators as the favourite to win the final and set a record of 5 straight wins. Bmx being the sport it is so unpredictable when the gate dropped Skizo had a slower start than normal but pulled back to second by the end of the first straight. Starting to set himself up for a pass and make a challenge for the first position French rider Damien Godet came up the inside and Skizo had to run up the turn. This unfortunatley put Sifiso into 5th place where he eventually finshed up in the final.

Results for the Final:

1. Stan van der Putten (qualified 12th)

2. Martijn Scherpen (qualified 17th)

3. Damien Godet (qualified 3rd)

4. Raymon van der Biezen (qualified 10th)

5. Sifiso Nhlapo (MTN) (qualified 29th)

Dean commented, “im really stoked to have qualified today…the supercross start is really different, i just need to grow some bigger go nads for that first straight. I seemed to lose it abit down there and at this level its hard to come back, im learning and getting faster so im happy.”

a dissappointed Skizo says,”im proud of Dean the way he rode today, qualifying on the bubble puts you in stacked gates so its always going to be hard but he made it through every lap fast and smooth. Myself I felt really good today and felt I could win. The motos and semi went really well, I am dissapointed about the final but the season still has 3 more rounds and my goal is to win at home in front of my home crowd and my sponsors Intense, Oakley, Redbull, Fox, Shimano, S&M, SRM and then the main guys that allow me to race overseas for my second season now MTN, without them living this dream would not be possible.”

Source: BMX SA

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Bucky Lasek – Facts and Trivia

Being considered America’s best Vert skater is not easy, especially when there are so many new and upcoming skaters who would also like to take a piece of the action. However, Bucky Lasek takes it all in stride. An eight-year veteran in the world of professional skateboarding, Bucky has exceeded, if not surpassed, a lot of the most infamous names of skateboarding — and he isn’t planning to rest on his laurels for a long, long time.

Bucky Lasek (whose real name is Charles) first picked up a skateboard at the age of 12. His reason was more practical than idealistic, and according to him, when his bike got stolen, he bought the skateboard so he could use it as a means of transport. It was a serendipitous move, because he got hooked on skateboarding. Pretty soon, he started competing in amateur contests and quickly made a name for himself as one of the top professional skateboarders around.

Today, he is known as one of the world’s most consistent Vert skateboarders, and he has proven himself time and again as someone whose repertoire include the most difficult tricks in any skateboarding competition. Known for his easy and cool style, he has won five golds out of his seven X Games medals. He has also maintained his dominance over the Vert world, taking 2004 titles in the Vans Triple Crown, the Slam City Jam, and the Gravity Games. Aside from this, he has also expanded his dominance in performing difficult skating tricks, proving his innovative and creative styles in all areas of the game. In 2000, Bucky became the first ever skateboarder in the history of X Games to win a gold medal in two consecutive years — first in the 1999 and 2000 games, and then in 2003 and 2004.

For anyone who wants to seriously get to know him, here are some more fun facts you should note down:

He has two daughters, named Devon and Paris. The oldest, Devon, is six years old and wants to become a surfer. The younger one, Paris, likes to ride on the back of his Vespa scooter.

Bucky rides for Birdhouse, Billabong, Hot Wheels, Clive, Smith glasses, Jones Soda, Protec Helmets, RDS Skateshop and Genetic shoes.

He once did breakdancing and karting, and he is still into shifter karts. He also plans to branch out with car racing.

He loves kids, and adores their fun-loving and good-spirited ways. However, he doesn’t plan to have more kids, because he thinks that it takes a lot of energy to raise kids well.

What most bothers him about being a pro is being at the ramps on time when he’s trying to learn a trick, and then having to sign autographs while he is beating himself up on the ramp.

His other favorite activities are kart racing, auto cross, and driving. He also likes building things around the house and sketching cartoon graphics.

Bucky Lasek has gone a long way from where he started. From a simple skateboard, he was able to elevate himself among the ranks of the most well-respected athletes in the world. No wonder he serves as an inspiration to everyone.

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The author is fascinated by things that are simple and minimal. He likes minimalist art, lives a simple lifestyle and writes things that are light and easy to read.

For more information and queries, you may visit Bucky Lasek

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Don’t forget

Skaters and speed freaks - you can win R1000 for the best new blog on Bundublog so get blogging.

More info can be found here.

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Toy Machine/Skates for Africa - Sponsor

Skates for Africa is in search of new riders to skate for Toy Machine and Ruckus Trucks.
If you think you have what it takes, Send your SPONSOR ME Videos!

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Build your own board!

Hello skateboard fans! Haven’t had a decent post on this blog in a while so I thought I would give you a suggestion that you could have a bit of fun with.

If you go to the A1 skateboards website, you’ll get the opportunity to build your own board online. There are plenty of decks to choose from and you can have plenty of fun mixing and matching.

Give it a shot and let me know what you make of it.

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Into The World Of Skateboarding

By:  Jerald Shapiro 

When most people think of skateboarding magazines, their thoughts immediately turn to Thrasher magazine, with it’s gritty edges and hardcore presentation. They envision articles about grunge skateboarders with tattoos and body piercing spinning their stunts on public streets.

However, the more professional and discriminating skateboarders actually turn to another publication for their monthly fix on the latest buzz in the skateboarding community. This magazine is Transworld.

Aside from skateboarding, Transworld’s other publications run quite an impressive gauntlet of offerings of other extreme sports, including snowboarding, surfing, BMX, and even OffRoad vehicles. All of them follow the same pattern of excellence that Transworld Skateboarding has set.

Transworld skateboarding offers a very professional approach to it’s articles, presenting facts in an easy manner and giving out tips which are quite simple to understand and absorb. Other skateboarding publications seem to focus primarily on mindless bling bling and the use of light shows and radical senses of humor to get relatively minor points across. Transworld, on the other hand, maintains a systematic and factual approach to it’s articles that appeals to more mature and professional skateboarders.

It features interviews with the pros, but splits it’s focus equally between questions about the backgrounds of the pros, their lifestyle, and tips or advice they have to offer aspiring professional skateboarders. Instead of turning these interviews into simple jamming sessions for the entertainment of the interviewee’s fanboys, the staff of Transworld actually tries to get as much useful information as possible from the pros to help other skaters.

Transworld also covers every major skateboarding competition and event with an article, not letting any of the big ones slip though their fingers. Their writers give descriptive, blow by blow accounts of each of these events, and give greater focus on highlights of the events, like crucial turning points in competitions that gave the edge to the winners, or especially impressive stunts pulled off by people during a demo.

They also do feature articles on the latest cutting edge of skateboarding tech, with buyer’s guides showing the hottest new equipment as well as special feature articles that cover radical new tech entries into the field of skateboarding. The information for most of these tech articles are usually taken straight from the manufacturers themselves.

It isn’t all seriousness and numbers, of course. Most of these articles, while written with an emphasis on fact, still retain enough wisecracks and kidding around to keep the readers entertained. Still, given that the staff of transworld tends to cater to a more mature audience of skateboarders, the type of humor generally displayed tends towards the dry and witty, as opposed to the more common and brain dead slapstick approach.

Transworld Skateboarding’s primary goal is to further the expansion and support of the world skateboarding community by keeping the heart of the sport alive in it’s participants, as well as being enticing and understandable enough that it can also attract those who don’t know anything about it into the sport. All of it’s otherpublications follow the same theme.

By and large Transworld’s magazines have been contributing admirably to the growth and development of every sport that they feature, not only by giving the readers better information, but by actually setting an example for a higher standard of maturity and professionalism while maintaining a good degree of fun factor.

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Visit the Free Tips Online website to learn about skateboarding tips and wakeboarding tips.

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Hout Bay Youth Lifestyle Centre and Skate Park Facility Up and Rolling

Though only partially complete, new Hout Bay skate park is now fully operational. Following a successful launch event late last year the skate park, which forms part of the Sentinel Boardriders Youth Lifestyle Centre, has been packed ever since. “We’ve had so many kids coming here every day we’ve had to turn some of them away when the park has been too full,” said park manager and Sentinel Boardriders board member Clive Crofton.

‘Skate4Life’, the launch event, was a massive success. On a sparkling sunny Sunday afternoon on December 21, the event was attended by more than 2000 people from all over Cape Town and beyond, who all enjoyed incredible skateboarding from the year-end NSA (National Skateboarding Association) event and great music from DJs and bands. The event also served as the launch for extreme sports web portal www.good-life.co.za.

Despite not yet receiving the long-awaited and overdue ward allocation finance promised by the local council, Sentinel Boardriders decided to take the risk themselves and were only able to open the park thanks to the charity of local companies and community individuals who donated their effort, time, money and materials towards the project. Many of the young skateboarders themselves have also been helping around the park return for skate “session” credits. Crofton, Sentinel Boardriders Chairperson Dale Bird and the rest of the members of Sentinel Boardriders report that the park, which has yet to be officially named, has been turning over consistently since then. However they still desperately need the ward money as well as additional sponsorship to complete the remaining unfinished sections of the park, in order to accommodate more skateboarders and fulfil their development aims, as well as pay for items such as fencing, wood for the ramps, concrete slab and security.

However, after campaigning valiantly against the odds for eight years to get this park opened, and despite limited funding and a seeming lack of support from the authorities, Bird is confident that Sentinel Boardriders will achieve their objectives of creating a sustainable, community-minded and eco-responsible youth facility, events and camps aimed at uplifiting the youth of Hout Bay and that they will be able set an example for other towns who wish to do the same. “It is very disappointing the council have not yet deposited our promised funding and despite trying to repeatedly resolve the seemingly never ending ‘processes’, we can’t seem to find out what is really going on,” said a clearly frustrated Bird. “But we’ve come this far and are going to push on regardless with or without their help.” “We are planning to hold skateboarding lessons for youths and through local schools,” said Crofton, “and we also plan to bring in underprivileged kids from townships and Hangberg for development lessons and workshops in things like entrepreneurship, skate park building, design, photography and journalism etc. so they get a well-rounded overview of all the career opportunities available in the extreme sports industry and more.” Sentinel Boardriders are calling to anyone who might be able to assist them. “The park is open and ticking over, but we still need a lot of funding and sponsorship to achieve our aims,” added Crofton.” “ If people want to find out they can help they can visit the skate park facility at the old yacht club on Hout Bay beach to see what is on our wish list,” closed Bird.

Check out http://www.nsaskateboarding.co.za/news.php for some pictures of the venue!

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Ryan Sheckler: The Skateboarding Prodigy

By:  Joe Owens

Ryan Sheckler’s shirtless chest is not the only thing he can boast about. The fact that famous X-Games champ Tony Hawk has high praises for him is a proof that he is not just some kid whose skateboarding dream came true by chance. Definitely, he is not only made to do it; He was born to.

Even before learning to recite the alphabet, skateboarding prodigy, Ryan Sheckler has already been jazzing up his playtime, practicing some skateboarding moves instead of playing with the usual safe toys for kids. He got into the sports as early as 2 years old when he first caught sight of his father’s board. Curious and inquisitive, the would-be world champ learned to ride and consequently, executed more complex moves with his dad’s board.

Ryan grew up harnessing his talent through his dad and mom’s support. His parents provided him with all the gears he needed, and even went as far as setting up his own ramp inside their home. All the support paid off when Ryan Sheckler’s name in the sport spread like wildfire. To say the least, he was already winning competitions and earning contracts with big sponsors at an early age of 10.

In early 2003, Ryan Sheckler went to go pro, and once again proved that he deserved the popularity because of his seamless skills with the board. He won Rookie of the Year during the Vans Triple Crown and Gravity Games, and topped the X-Games Street competition, winning another gold medal to his credit.

Because of the feat he has achieved as a skater even before turning 20, Ryan Sheckler has achieved the respect and admiration of known pro-skaters in the world. In 2005, he bagged the gold in the AST Dew Tour. He was also awarded Athlete of the Year by AST. Sheckler proved his talent two more times when he won the same competition for two more consecutive years making him the first skater to ever achieve such prominent winning three times.

Now, Ryan Sheckler’s pictures and merchs are all over from commercials on TV, apparels, and on the internet. He has been an endorser for many sports companies, and with his amazing built, looks and talent, he has been idolized by teenagers, as well. Proofs of his training were showcased when Ryan Sheckler went shirtless for a skateboard deck company. Since then, he has already cast his name on stones as one of the hottest athletes on the planet joining the ranks of Michael Phelps who also bared his chest for sponsors and products that he endorses. As this skateboarding natural talent turns 20 next year, the world is all eyes on the future ventures he is about to make and records he is destined to break.

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A Computer Engineering student and loves to travel. Reading current news in the internet is one of his past times. Taking pictures of the things around him fully satisfies him. He loves to play badminton and his favorite pets are cats.

For more information and queries, you may visit Ryan Sheckler Shirtless

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Waves Cape

I came across an interesting South African website www.wavescape.co.za which gives details of a number of the top surfing beaches and surf related events in SA.

Check them out if you’re a keen surfer for up to date surfing info.

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