19.september 2009 – I woke up today into a hazy London morning and the weather forecast announced some light rain for SW england later in the afternoon. I was hoping this would miss Brighton as it was my special day participating in the extreme sports and music festival WhiteAir down on the coast. I got the train from Balham and by the time I arrived in Brigton it was all sunny. What a perfect day for puting the skates on again! I rolled down from the station onto the seafront (very pleasant downhill skate if you have a heelbrake) and picked up Skatefresh fliers on the way. I was enjoying the skate along the beach on the smooth cycle path towards the festival which was EAST of the main pier on Madeira drive.

As I skated into the site I was surrounded with many cool TryMe opportunities -you could try rolling around inside a giant ball (zorbing), surfing on brushes, ballance on coolboards (wooden boards on the ball) or you could try a pair of inline skates on. Normaly i wouldn’t put in-line skating into the same category as kite surfing, but i suppose there is no categories as such. There were 40
extreme sports to watch or take part in. It was all exciting as many friendly people were enthusiastic about those sports (some with funny hair cuts symbolizing the freedom).

I was heading to the ESA (eastbourne skating association) pitch which i found easily. Skating slowly towards the main stage past all the attractions, I found ESA just next to the boxing area. The main organizer of this area was Nick Esteve from Eastbourne who was busy all the time as a Dj,MC, and skating instructor.

My task was to represent Skatefresh and teach skating alongside the Eastbourne instructors to all the brave volunteers who wanted to either try this for the first time, or refresh their past experiences. Between the teaching slots we could watch some high jump or relay race demos. This proved to be a challenge in a pitch (fence around it) 30 by 30 feet-which had a bit of a camber and a cycle path lane crossing one side. Most of the pupils were patient and enthusiastic. Some children with flying limbs syndrome were taught to keep still and move around like a zombie which is much safer on wheels. After one round of teaching there was time to mingle and chat with future skaters. And watch a very interesting relay race between Marines (soldiers on skates) and the Coastbladers. The race started of with five slalom cones, then turn and squat down under a limbo, then another turn and three jumps over 1 foot high obstacles. Allegedly the Marines won,but it was a close call. The next round of teaching had more well balanced ladies in it, who were a pleasure to teach- Jane,Liz,Anne-Marie and Natalie did really well and would be ideal for SkateFIT in Brighton.

One of the treats was to watch the Coastbladers do some of their tricks and difficult lifts. There were some Skate Nation fans (little girls) who were eager to see the boys performance, just like the rest of us skaters. Dan, the only adult from this team, wasn’t just skating very well but participating as MC Nr. 2. The last round of teaching once again saw more children and it was a lot of fun. I found myself repeat the old “BEND THE KNEES”, so I’m trying to find different ways of saying this to people now. Meeting many skaters and being able to teach them something new was very rewarding I hope the young ones will keep skating when they grow up. Also talking to people about their old skates which are going to be used again soon is inspiring.

After more slalom demos from Hannah, Beca ,Nick and other Eastbourne skaters, it was time to say goodbyes. It was such a great afternoon full of fun which makes me think that I’d like to get better at jumps and slalom. Then i skated off to pick up fresh coconut from one of the stalls and while enjoying it I was interviewed on camera about the festival. My answer to the question “what do you like best at this festival?” was: everything-the location, so many different things to do, great atosphere, music. After I left the site, while skating past the seafront again now on the way to the station, I thought that the best thing about the festival was the people.

Skating uphill to the station in Brighton was the last skating treat of the day, and then I happily got on the train to London. I WAS GREATFULL FOR THE SUNNY WEATHER, AND THE RAIN STORM WHILE ON THE TRAIN REMINDED ME OF HOW LUCKY WE HAD BEEN.

It was great being able to participate in the WhiteAir festival and i would like to experience that again next year