RSSSpeed thrills in Goldendale this weekend
ON Magazine
Longboarders take a curve near the end of the course during a practice run for the Maryhill Festival of Speed and International Gravity Sports Association World Championships on Wednesday, August 27, 2008. The competition includes downhill skateboarding, inline skating, street luge, classic luge and gravity bikes.
E-mail
Print
Comments
More 'ON Magazine'
- 11/14/08 Film clips
- 'Little Women' -- Close-knit family, close-knit actors
- Shakespeare's 'Verona' moved to the American South
- HLAK's latest -- Prom, sorta
- 11/14/08 Theater
- 11/14/08 Books
- 11/14/08 Just announced
Most Read
- This feature is under development and will be available soon.
This week, 200 extreme athletes from 12 countries are descending on -- well, more accurately, are descending down -- a steep and swerving strip of asphalt just south of Goldendale.
Since Wednesday, these speed freaks have been rippin' around the hairpin turns of the historic Maryhill Loops Road as part of the second annual Maryhill Festival of Speed, which is hosting the International Gravity Sports Association's World Championships.
According to the IGSA Web site, this is the first time the world championships -- which include downhill skateboarding, inline skating and street luge -- have been held outside of Europe.
The past two days have been spent practicing, and the first qualifying run is from 1 to 5 p.m. today.
The races are free to watch. A shuttle -- which will take spectators to two sites with bleachers and shade -- runs Saturday and Sunday. The free shuttle leaves from the bottom of Maryhill Loops Road, which is about 500 yards to the left, past the Stonehenge Memorial turn-out on Washington Scenic Route 14.
Here's the schedule, which is subject to change:
Today
9 a.m.-noon -- Open practice (all classes).
Noon-1 p.m. -- Lunch break.
1-5 p.m. -- Qualifying run No. 1. (Order: downhill skateboard, street luge, inline skating, classic luge, gravity bike.)
Saturday
9 a.m.-noon -- Open practice (all classes).
Noon-1 p.m. -- Lunch break.
1-p.m. -- Qualifying run No. 2 (Order: downhill skateboard, street luge, inline skating, classic luge, gravity bike.)
8 p.m.-midnight -- Fastest qualifier awards and rock concert at the Klickitat County Fairgrounds, 965 N. Fairgrounds Road. All ages. Beer garden. Free admission.
Sunday
8:30-9 a.m. -- Morning warm-up.
9-10 a.m. -- Junior downhill skateboard race; inline skate race; gravity bike race.
10-11 a.m. -- Classic luge race.
11-11:30 p.m. -- Afternoon warm-up.
11:30-11:45 a.m. -- Downhill skateboard rider introductions.
11:45 a.m.-noon -- Invocation, national anthem.
Noon-2:30 p.m. -- Downhill skateboard race.
3-4:30 p.m. -- Street luge race; women's downhill skateboard race.
8 p.m.-midnight -- World championship awards and rock concert at the Klickitat County Fairgrounds, 965 N. Fairgrounds Road. All ages. Beer garden. Free admission.
For more information, visit www.maryhillfestivalofspeed
- Advertisement