Thursday 29 May 2014

The thank you post!

Okay, so having got over the worst of my sunburn and a week of work back in the real world I've got a few minutes to sit down and say a few thank you's I said dehydrated and exhausted last Sunday evening, but with a bit more thought, and hyperlinks! I had a ton of fun over the weekend, and I hope you all did as well!

Firstly, a huge amount of thanks to you lot: The riders who came along and skated in all conditions from hail to burning sun, were patient while three ambulances (2 more than any other Hog Hill ever I think) removed the carnage from the tracks, rode hard and got rad in all the disciplines and generally misbehaved just the right amount for the situation the entire weekend. All us organisers hope you all had a rad time!

Thanks to Sam and Rob, who have been the masterminds behind the organisation and the posting of content on the lead up to the Crackling, who organised the slalom and generally kept things together, and to Jorge for keeping things going sideways in the rescheduled slide jam, and MC'ing the racing. Also, Thanks to Louise who got you all signed up and looked after your stuff in the secondhand shop, and Tom and Robyn for marshalling the bottom of the hill during the races. The centre staff were ace, so thanks to Sylvia and her team for keeping us nourished or in the recovery position, as necessary!

And so onto the sponsors!

Thrill Magazine's edit went up fast! As the official coverage of the event, and provider of some prizes, check these guys out. Their goal is to better network and stoke the UK scene, and they're doing an ace job. Video's above here, innit.

Octane Sport stepped up to the mark with a huge amount of support for the event, covering everything form the slide jam through to the open class slalom through to some awesome extras for the grom who tidied the most litter and the youngest rider of the weekend! Check out the Grip Shack, a grip-dedicated spinoff from Octane that also put in a bunch of prizes.

Newton's Shred were also in attendance in full force; with some Jay and silent Bob Mc'ing and a shop that survived outside in the hail storm, the guys put prizes in to the pot for grom, mini moto and open. Their plans for a secret saturday Rom Skatepark bash would have added an extra chunk to the weekend's proceedings, but the rain had other ideas. I think there'll be a lot of riders up for it next time round!

Mindless Longboards have gone from strength to strength, their new voodoo range being the source of trucks and wheels we had the pleasure of handing out - Talisman trucks and their own version of built-in bearings are becoming a favourite.

The only physical everyday shop of the lot, Longboards UK (based in Camden) found us some cadillac bearings and wheels and a set of venom tweakers which were shared between slide jam and grom prizes. As an importer of Madrid gear, check them out for anything venom/caddilac/madrid/related, or pop in and chat to the guys next time you skate past.

Bournlands, one of the newer shops on the scene found a rather delicious looking Blue Sky Lotus deck to give away, taken by 1st place grom (the lucky git!)







Also on the roster and needing no intro and generating their own retro revival hype were Kryptonics, with 2 sets of wheels going to the open class riders, BTR leathers giving away teeshirts, Holesom pucks, Tempest clothing and of course Dangerous Decks with their Mini Motos.

Boom! There you have it. Results and more sponsor details will follow in the coming days and weeks. Remember, the facebook page is still active and the media can be found there until i do the media dump posts!

Peace, Love, Skateboarding and late nights!

Timmy

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Parking for those camping at Hargreaves Scout Camp

There are roughly 20 spots for cars at the campsite itself.
Roz, the Warden at the campsite, has made an arrangement with the school opposite (Little Heath School: http://www.littleheath.org.uk/) to use their car park as overflow for overnight, should it be required. It has to be opened and closed with a digital fob, so we need to co-ordinate times of arrival. I've suggested 7pm for the evening and 8:15am for Sunday morning.
For those without cooking tools, Roz has a selection of takeaway menus for campsite delivery.
As an alternative and for those car-pooling, Hog Hill has said that we can also leave some vehicles at their top carpark overnight.Vehicles are left at owner's risk, but there is a CCTV monitor up there.
Currently we have 40 campers registered, many of whom are groms, so there should be very few space issues if we do the share thing.
Thanks for being understanding!

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Pre-Registration and Payment Closes Wednesday

Pre-Registration and Payment will close at lunchtime on Wednesday 21st May.
http://crackling2014.blogspot.co.uk/p/rider-waiver-parental-consent-in-order.html





Big thanks to the guys who have things already sorted. It helps us to cover all those blimmin' overheads.


Don't forget to print out and bring your waivers!

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Camping Reminder: PLEASE READ!!!

Bit of a change this year.
The usual campsite is not available for our May dates, so the Scouts at Hargreaves Scout Campsite have very kindly come to our rescue for Friday and Saturday nights.













This is a bit of a temporary move given the blimmin' tight regulations, but thank goodness they have a little bit of space this time round! 
We will be back at the usual place for the Summer and Autumn events.


Being a Scout camp, there are strict rules. It's very much back to basics:

No camper vans/ sleeping in vehicles. Space is very limited, as is parking. we cannot drive vehicles to the camping field, but must use the parking area available. Bit of Shank's Pony (5 mins walk) to our allotted field.

No drinking and smoking on site.
Anyone found to be drunk will be ejected immediately, with the possibility that the whole camping group may be asked to leave also.

There are toilet blocks for us to use, and these have washing facilities. We do not, however, have any cooking facilities, so please pick up a takeaway or bring your own kit.



We're still interested. Where is this place?

Hargreaves Scout Campsite


Hainault Road
Little Heath
Romford
Essex 

RM6 5SR


































If you do wish to sleep in your vehicle, then a little further afield is the

Lee Valley Camping and Caravan Park in Edmonton. 


Meridian Way
Edmonton
London
N9 0AR
We have no arrangements with these guys, but their facilities look pretty good. It may be worth checking out their terms and conditions prior to turning up.






Debden House in Epping Forest

Debden House Conference & Camping Centre
Debden Green
Loughton
Essex IG10 2NZ







Tuesday 13 May 2014

A&E

Please be aware that the nearest 'drop-in' A&E is King George's Hospital in Ilford:



King George's Hospital

Barley Lane
Ilford
Essex IG3 8YB

0208 983 8000





If you are picked up by an ambulance and whisked away for medical attention, then you are most likely to end up at:

 Queens Hospital in Romford:



Queens Hospital Romford

Rom Valley Way 
Romford
Essex RM7 0AG

01708 435000







Let's hope we need neither!

Monday 12 May 2014

Seismic Skates supports The Crackling

Seismic President Dan Gesmer has very kindly taken time out to put together slalom racing spreadsheets for all events at Hog Hill this season.


OUR MISSION

Like in the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, all-around skateboarding is once again enjoying a renaissance. Approaches that were considered “alternative” throughout most of the 1990s – such as longboarding, slalom, downhill, all-purpose cruising, and flatland freestyle – are now mainstream.

Seismic Skate Systems is proud to have helped propel that movement. Since 1994, when turning on skateboards was considered highly unfashionable, our trucks have offered the world’s most progressive carving performance. For even longer, we’ve pro-actively supported carving, racing, and freestyle by writing for magazines, lobbying movers-and-shakers in mainstream skateboarding, and helping produce elite competitions.

Seismic (pronounced size-mick) means: subject to, or caused by, an earthquake or earth vibration.

We chose this name because we’re committed to continually shaking up the skateboard market!

The skateboard industry has always lagged behind related sports in its use of advanced materials and engineering strategies. Things have recently begun to change, but evolution in equipment design has typically meant that the dimensions of decks, wheels and trucks just go up and down.

Since our beginnings, we’ve been dedicated to engineering advanced, innovative products and to encouraging diversity, open-mindedness, and forward evolution in skateboarding. We believe our sport/art can grow and prosper on the back of the pure, open-minded joy that gave birth to it in the first place!


Wednesday 30 April 2014

Long Live Southbank Slalom Sunday 4th May:


Slalom at The Undercroft this weekend:

The UKSSA will set up around 11ish on the South Bank. Our time slot for carving it up is 12 – 1pm. We can do a head to head racing demo then using Michael's (Octane Sport) basic timing system. We will run a timed run session between 12 & 1pm.
There will be Kryptonic Wheels as prizes for the fastest clean run in three categories; Novice, Amateur and Master (45+ish).
Mad Mike will be on hand to snap you in action too.
If you are a Kryptonics rider then we would love you to come on down - Rob Ashby would like to try and get a good group shot of as many as possible.
This is a fun event in support of http://www.llsb.com/.
All times are approximate!