The Hog Hill UK Outlaw Championships

The second May bank holiday sure was one special date. The STKD series as well as the Eastbourne Speed Days were cancelled this year, but thanks to a number of local skate communities sticking up 2 fingers at this, various outlaw events have already been held this year to keep us riding, and there's no end in sight. On the second May bank holiday weekend, we now had the rare opportunity to skate on a closed off track during the Hog Hill UK Outlaw Championships, a two day event held just outside London at the Redbridge Cycling Centre.

Alex Ireton (London Longboards), Gavyn McKenzie (Canterballs) and Timmy Peters (XSS Southampton) joined forces with the UKSSA (United Kingdom Slalom Skateboarding Association) and hired out the venue for a weekend of Downhill and Slalom Skateboarding, Buttboarding and other nonsense on wheels (3 words - Mini Moto Challenge).

On the first day, a strong tailwind in favour of the DH Skateboarders blew us down the main hill, optionally via a sweeping right hander or an interesting chicane configuration. After everyone had arrived and set up, it was Freeride a-go-go all day long while the slalomers were already up to serious business battling it out for their Hybrid Slalom Champion.

On the second day, we woke up to an overcast sky and noticeably chillier conditions minus the favourable tailwind, however let's not forget that we are in England after all so anything but rain is to be appreciated!
While over at the Slalom Camp the cones were set up for the Giant Slalom, the Dangerous Mini Moto Challenge got underway.

Fast forward to noon and at long last the time for the Hearts of Hills Girls only workshop had come. Fee, Sophie and my humble self welcomed seven ladies to join us in doing what we like best, and so we went off in two groups. While one bunch of girlies got to grips with basic skills such as footbraking under the direction of our lovely Sophie, the rest of us wandered off to work on carving and cornering techniques. Let the photos do the talking and see for yourself how much fun we all had. While we were busy practising and jamming away, the UK Outlaw DH race got underway in a race format aimed at giving riders the occasion to skate as much as possible, rather than wasting time waiting around or having to finish sooner than anticipated by means of elimination. Every participant had an equal number of 4 man heats with points being given depending on the ranking position at the end of each heat. The winner thus was determined by the overall final score.

Gravity sports can be enjoyed in different shapes and forms and as such we also had a few buttboard fanatics hooning it down the hill horizontally during the Dangerous Decks Classic Luge Challenge. A last minute impromptu ladies' race was also given the go ahead so overall it was a very busy day!

All in all it was a great weekend with a fantastic turnout of over 120 people who had come from near and far. Big shout outs go to Alex, Sam Gordon, Gav and Timmy, all the marshalls withouth whom this event would not have been possible, the sponsors who provided some awesome prizes and last but not least to all of you who came along and made it a wicked start into the skate summer. By the way, if you want more, why not come down to the second Hog Hill freeride this year which will be held from the 6th until the 8th of August, the relevant info can be found HERE.



All photos courtesy of Layback Freiburg