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On 1/13/2005
steve mchaffie
wrote in from
United States
(66.144.nnn.nnn)
History
Street luge began with skateboarders racing one another downhill while sitting on their boards. It was called "buttboarding" or, sometimes, "land luge," "road luge" or simply "downhill skateboarding." The name "street luge" was apparently coined for the X Games.
The first formal race was staged in 1980 down Signal Hill on the Glendora Mountain Road in Southern California. There were a lot of crashes, injuring both competitors and spectators, and the California Highway Patrol gave tickets to many of the racers. Within a short time, Los Angeles and other cities passed ordinances banning skateboards from any hill with a grade steeper than 3 percent.
A group of racers, led by Roger Hickey, then formed the Underground Racers Association, later the United Racers Association. The URA conducted 10 races a year for the next eight years before merging with the American Gravity Racing Organization (AGRO). URA races were often shown on local cable television and they were covered by Skateboarder magazine.
AGRO, which called the sport "speedboarding," staged more than 50 races before becoming the Federation of International gravity racing (FIGR) in 1989. The following year, FIGR conducted the first world championship series.
http://media.fastclick.net/w/click.here?cid=22376&mid=51118&sid=10046&m=6&c=0http://media.fastclick.net/w/click.here?cid=22376&mid=51118&sid=10046&m=6&c=0
Another organization, Extreme Downhill International (EDI), was founded in 1995. Biker Sherlock became president and owner in 1996, shortly after he won the mass street luge competition at the X Games. EDI conducts street luge races internationally and has organized the competition for the Gravity Games, the X Games, and the Australian Extreme Games.
There are three other organizations worthy of note. Road Racers Association for International Luge (RAIL), established in 1990 by Bob Pereyra, has about 180 members, compared to about 300 for EDI. The International Gravity Sports Association (IGSA), founded in 1997, is the current event organizer for the X Games. The National Street Luge Association (NSLA), originally RAIL East, became an independent sanctioning organization in 1997.
The street luge is a far cry from the skateboard with which the sport began. It's now a specially-built vehicle, about 8 1/2 feet long and 16 inches wide, made of the same aluminum alloy used in airplanes. For top level competition, the street luge is custom contoured to fit the athlete's body. Competitors also wear aerodynamic, skin-tight suits, full-face helmets, and other safety gear.
There are three types of competition, dual, mass, and super mass. In a dual event, two competitors race downhill, with the winner advancing to the next round. In mass street luge, there are four racers, and in super mass, there are six or more.
To a coment from h.c. about street luge history . In 1974 in Pound Ridge NY a group of 7 of us took snow skis and mounted one tracker on the frount and 2 trackers on the back with a 13"copper bar as foot pegs. The seat was a pice of 10" oak flooring. The hill wae indain hill in pound ridge NY that then had no houses. 1 .5 mile long that rapped around a mountain with a 40 to 60 cliff on one side and the 3 ton bolders were about 40' apart. I was clocked at 57mph infront of a pickup. about 30" infront. We were young and had no fear but we had fun. And my friends thought we invented this ,and i said this is common sense. Some ware someone is doing this .Iam sure 100s of kids all over the world were doing this.
The IGSA is very excited to announce that we will be bringing gravity racing back to Frank G. Bonelli Park. Bonelli Park is located in San Dimas, California approximately 30 miles East of downtown Los Angeles. Many of yesterdays and todays top racers have competed in Bonelli Park events and the IGSA is very pleased to be able to continue the tradition. On January 16, 2005, the IGSA will begin holding regularly scheduled events there.
The .6 mile course is very wide and speeds in excess of 60mph are possible. This width will allow multiple course configurations and two distinctly different finish lines. The traditional course is flat out to the finish and requires less technical skill. Drafting is the key on this course that makes a perfect Regional venue. The alternate, technical finish will require racers to brake heavily from top speed to negotiate a tight 90 degree corner before the finish straightaway. A slalom course will also be available.
Bonelli Park has large, beautiful grass lawns everywhere. Permanent restroom facilities are located close to the finish line. Plenty of paved parking is available. The park also has camping and rv hookups, hot tubs, miles of mountain bike and equestrian trails, Raging Waters water park and Puddingstone Lake for boating and fishing.
Roger Hickey started the tradition of the Bonelli Park races back in 1993 when the Federation of International Gravity Racing (FIGR) beg
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