Winter X Games 15 - Shaun White Gold Medal Snowboard SuperPipe

Please come to the ska8 Park Meeting

In September, a meeting of Skateboard Park/Bike Park users and interested parties was held to look through a number of catalogues of various ramps and equipment. A list of items for purchase for the skateboard park was made and users prioritized the various pieces of equipment.

City staff have now obtained quotes for those pieces of equipment.

A meeting to review the quotes and determine pieces of equipment for purchase for 2011 is scheduled for Tuesday, January 25th, at 4:00 p.m., City Hall Lower Boardroom.

I hope you are able to attend the meeting and provide your input. Please confirm your attendance if possible.

Nikolas Metaxas - Miracle (Live)

Change The World (Original Song)

KEN BLOCK GYMKHANA TWO THE INFOMERCIAL

Owen Sound gets poor marks for taxes

Here is why downtown has so many vacant buildings. It almost makes me sick to my stomach.

Owen Sound gets poor marks for taxes

Owen Sound

by Kevin Bernard

Owen Sound is ranked 2nd worst in Ontario, when it comes to the rate commercial taxpayers face compared to residential rates.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business looked the municipal tax rate in 201 communities across Ontario and found Toronto was the worst, and Owen Sound was 2nd.

In Toronto, Commercial property owners pay 3.28 times the rate of a homeowner.

In Owen Sound, businesses pay 2.29 times the residential rate.

In other words, if a homeowner pays 1000 dollars in taxes, a similarly valued commercial property faces a tax bill of 2,290 dollars.

CFIB Vice president Satinder Chera says the hope is that municipalities will see how unfair their tax rate is and move to level the playing field over the next 5 years.

Chera says small business is the backbone of a community like Owen Sound and you need to support them anyway you can.

If Owen Sound were to level the tax rate out ... with businesses paying the same rate as homeowners, Chera isn't sure tax rates would go up.

He says the province is uploading a number of services in the next few years which will free up millions in municipal budgets and it could allow tax rates to be equalized with little or no hike needed for homeowners.

The Vice President of the CFIB says municipalities must stop treating business like a cash cow.

www.getvertical.ca

Tony Hawk Foundation Stand Up For Skateparks

WE CAN DO THIS TO OWEN SOUND......volenteers welcome email me dnash@bellnet.ca


Tony Hawk Foundation Stand Up For Skateparks




Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks a Sold-Out Success in Beverly Hills

7th Annual Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks raises $750,000 for public skateparks.



Tony Hawk lifts a tailgrab frontside air during the Vert Demo at Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks in Beverly Hills, California (10/17/10). Photo: Jody Morris

10/18/10 (San Diego, CA) -- Despite grey skies and rain, a sold-out crowd of 1,000 guests attended the 7th annual Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up for Skateparks signature benefit in Beverly Hills. Celebrities, athletes, fans and friends of the Tony Hawk Foundation returned to Green Acres Estate, the home of Ron Burkle, for what is considered to be one of the most unique and exciting family events in the Los Angeles area. The event raised $750,000 to further its mission of assisting low-income communities in the effort to build free, quality, public skateparks.



Celebrities including Tony Hawk, Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Johnny Knoxville, Chuck Liddell, Leeza Gibbons, Arsenio Hall, Ben Harper, Patrick Dempsey, BMX legend Mat Hoffman and legendary skaters Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain, and Mike Vallely enjoyed the interactive booths while waiting for the stage and vert ramp to be dried by crews.



The show went on and the expansive estate was transformed into a veritable action-sports festival highlighted by a special performance by Jane's Addiction and a private Vert Demo with Hawk and some of the best skaters and BMX athletes in the sport, including skaters Neal Hendrix, Kevin Staab, Sergie Ventura, Lincoln Ueda, Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, and BMX legend Mat Hoffman. Fundraising efforts included a live and silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind items: a "Hawkized" DUB edition GT 5.0 Mustang from Galpin Auto Sports, a Roland Sands-designed custom Harley Davidson motorcycle, and the opportunity to be included as a playable character in Tony Hawk's next Activision video game, among others.



Special pledge drives for specific skatepark projects have become an annual occurrence at Stand Up for Skateparks events, and have assisted communities like Compton and the Watts district of Los Angeles. This year's pledge drive benefits the McBride Skatepark project in Long Beach, California. Local skaters from the neighborhood that have played an integral role in the project joined Tony Hawk onstage to pump up the crowd and generate $41,500 in pledges.



Individuals wishing to support the project can still contribute. Text the word RIDE to 90999 via your mobile phone to donate $10 to the Tony Hawk Foundation. Through October 30, 2010, all text donations will directly support the McBride Skatepark project in Long Beach, California.*



The crowd cheered as philanthropist Charles Annenberg joined Hawk onstage to deliver the exciting news of a special gift of $275,000 from Explore.org, through the Annenberg Foundation, to complete the Watts Skatepark—a project whose fundraising was launched at Stand Up For Skateparks exactly a year ago.



The Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up for Skateparks benefit was made possible through the support of Activision, Ex Drinks, Mondrian Los Angeles, Dynacraft, Quiksilver Foundation, and T-Mobile USA.



To learn more about the benefit, or for information about the upcoming Tony Hawk: SHRED Presents Stand Up For Skateparks at the Wynn Las Vegas on Saturday, November 6, log on to www.standupforskateparks.org.


A charitable, non-profit organization, the Tony Hawk Foundation was established in 2002 by its namesake, professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, to promote and provide funds for high-quality public skateparks in low-income areas throughout the United States with an emphasis on the word "quality." Since then, the Foundation has awarded $3,261,000 to 463 communities. The Foundation focuses on working with local officials and grassroots, community-based organizations that plan to hire designers and contractors with strong experience designing and building skateparks.



The Tony Hawk Foundation was established by a gift from Tony Hawk. Its directors raise additional funds through events, industry donations, and continuing contributions from Tony and other entities. In addition to skateparks, the Foundation also makes donations to other children-related charities, as chosen by its Board Of Directors. For more information or to make a donation, visit the Foundation's Web site.



* Text the word RIDE to 90999 via your mobile phone to donate $10 to the Tony Hawk Foundation. Through October 30, 2010, all text donations will directly support the McBride Skatepark project in Long Beach, California. When prompted please reply with YES to confirm your gift. Full terms at mGive.com/A

www.getvertical.ca

How to Build a skateboard rail

Having your own grind rail to practice skateboarding on at home is a great idea. You can store it in your garage, and pull it out when you want to use it.

A lot of skaters just buy pre-made grind rails. These are great, but they can cost a bit and aren't always exactly what you might want. Building your own grind rail is a lot easier you might think!

What you need to build it;
1.One 6.5 foot long piece of rectangular steel
2.Two pieces of 2 foot long square steel
3.Two pieces of 3 inch flat steel that are a foot or more long

That's all the materials you'll need - so you can see this isn't going to cost that much at all!

Next you need to figure out how you are going to weld the rail together. If you or your kids are students, you might be able to use the tools in your school's metal working class. Just ask the teacher. They can also help you with making sure you do the welding part correctly.
You can weld it together yourself, but if you've never done it before, then you'll need to learn how.




www.getvertical.ca

Jake Burton Bio

This is why Burton is the biggest and most successful snowboard company on the planet.

Snowboarding has changed a lot in the past year, let alone in the past 34 years since Jake founded Burton Snowboards. One thing has stayed constant during all that time: Jake still leads the day-to-day workings of the world's most successful snowboard company, testing nearly every product Burton makes and taking rider feedback to heart. He is still relentless when it comes to listening to riders - whether it's feedback from the global team, a customer email or a kid who happens to sit with him in the gondola. He still walks Burton's halls almost everyday, saying hi to the dogs along the way and seeing what's up in Rider Service, Hardgoods, Softgoods, Sales and Marketing. He still has team riders over to his house for a four-day roundtable to give the final word on the entire product line. He still scrutinizes the catalog before it goes to print and leaves product managers note cards with feedback on zippers, waterproofing, fits, flexes, colors and board feel. He still can be found at Stowe almost every day it's open - and plenty of days it's not - hiking with his dog Maia to enjoy a rare two feet of fresh powder in mid-May or the first snowfall in late September. And he still makes many of the company's biggest decisions from a chairlift, not a desk chair.
www.getvertical.ca

How to Build a skateboard half pipe

Instructions.Things You'll Need:

Skatelite for the surface, Plywood supports 2-inch galvanized wood deck screws 3-inch galvanized wood deck screws 3-inch lag screws Washers

1 Decide on the width of your ramp and then cut the first piece of skatelite to the appropriate width. Cut it to a length such that it will take seven sheets to complete the curve of your pipe. This will allow for a smooth ride up the side of the ramp.



2 Create X-bracing to support the curve of your ramp. These supports will make sure the ramp doesn't fall apart or collapse once the weight of a skater is added. The dimensions should be the same height and width as the curve of your ramp.



3 Take the four large skatelite pieces and cut them to the exact slope that you want your ramp to have. Be sure to cut it as smoothly as possible, as any bump will make it more difficult to skate. It should have the same height dimensions as the X-bracing.



4 Now stand the braces up, and then screw the curved plywood pieces to them, one on either side. Repeat the process for the second set of braces.



5 Take the long support beams and start screwing them in, so that they follow the curve laid out by the plywood templates.



6 Take the seven sheets of skatelite we cut in step one, and screw them onto the supports we assembled in step five. What you should now have is a skateable floor that follows a gradual curve until it reaches vertical.



7 Take the remaining skatelite and start to create more X-bracing. The dimensions should be such that there is ample room between the two curves of the pipe, but not so much that the skater looses speed traveling between them.



8 Lay the braces flat, and start layering more supports through them, screwing them together such that you create a platform.



9 Lay the skatelite flat across the platform support structure and screw it down. You should now have a plywood box with a skateable surface on top.



10 Place the completed curve on one end of the platform and screw it down. Repeat it for the other side. You now have a completed half pipe.
www.getvertical.ca

Definition of Skateboarding

Skateboarding is the act of riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. A person who skateboards is most often referred to as a skateboarder, or colloquially within the skateboarding community, a skater.


Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an artform, a job, or a method of transportation.[1] Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report by American Sports Data found that there were 18.5 million skateboarders in the world. 85 percent of skateboarders polled who had used a board in the last year were under the age of 18, and 74 percent were male.[2]

Skateboarding is relatively modern. A key skateboarding maneuver, the ollie, was developed in the late 1970s by Alan "Ollie" Gelfand as a half-pipe maneuver. Freestyle skateboarder Rodney Mullen was the first to take it to flat ground and later invented the kickflip and its variations. [3]
www.getvertical.ca

Definition of Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport that is loosely described as “surfing” in the snow and can be dated back to at least the 1960s in its earliest development, when it was a much cruder sport with very elementary equipment. However, when snowboarding made its debut at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan, it became one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. Snowboarding now holds the interest of over 7 million participants in the U.S. alone, and many skiers and skateboarders have crossed over to this no longer crude extreme sport.

www.getvertical.ca

Skiing vs. Snowboarding for beginners

Skiing vs Snowboarding


For those of you heading up to the slopes for the first time, you may be trying to decide if you should try skiing vs snowboarding. Or perhaps you're an accomplished skier and you've decided to give snowboarding a go.

In this article, we'll attempt to break down the differences between the two sports so that you can make an informed decision and also be aware of how fast you can realistically expect to progress with your current skiing skills.

Differences Between the Skiing vs Snowboarding

Skiing and snowboarding are alike in that they are both downhill and are both the source of countless hours of fun and exhilaration Some of the differences, however, that you'll find between them include:

Snowboard riders constantly have to sit or exert energy to remain on edge while they are stationary. Unlike skiing, you will not have poles to help you remain upright and standing when you are not moving.

Snowboarding is a lot easier on the knees compared to skiing. Knee injuries are not as common in snowboarding as they are in skiing. Snowboarding can be hard on your wrists so make sure you wear some wrist guards.

You'll start to develop a deep hatred for flats when you're starting out with the snowboard. Again, you won't have your ski poles to bail you out.

You will, however, begin to fall in love with deeper and softer snow. Snowboards work nicely in powder and crud while skis are better in bumps and ice.

Getting up after a fall on a snowboard is a skill in itself but once mastered should prove to be easier and faster than having to put your stuff together again after falling on skis.

If you're just looking for speed, more speed and nothing but speed, you may be surprised to know that given a skier and boarder of equal ability, skiing beats snowboarding virtually each time in terms of velocity.

Since this isn't a science website, we can't get into the physics involved which explain why skiing has an edge. Suffice to say that if you were to compare speed records for both skiers and boarders, the skiers will always be faster.

Skiing has also exploded onto the park scene with skiers having the ability to bigger and faster than any snowboarder. In the 2005 super pipe Winter X Games, Simon Dumont, a skier, went 22 feet out of the pipe while Shawn White, a snowboarder, only achieved 16 feet. 

From Skiing to Snowboarding

So you've been skiing for several years and you've decided that it's time for a change. Around the resorts you see people having the time of their lives on snowboards and your friends certainly think you should give it a go.

So, should you? Is it hard? Will all those years of skiing make it easier to learn? The answer is probably yes, to a certain extent. Apart from being familiar with the mountain resort environment and being comfortable with descending fast, as a skier you would also be familiar with the concepts of edging and carving.

As with other beginners, you'd be best served with investing in some lessons or at least doing some reading to get an idea of the basic maneuvers involved with snowboarding. Expect to end up with a sore backside and/or a mouth full of snow during the initial stages.

Many skiers do, in fact, report to have progressed much further in their first few days of snowboarding than they did with skiing within a similar time frame back in their early days. This, of course, varies between individuals with some claiming that there is absolutely no difference in the amount of time it takes to become proficient in one or the other.

You can, therefore, expect to reach the intermediate stage without too many hassles. Beyond that, however, you'll have to put in the miles just as you do, or have done, with skiing. Don't expect to be carving up those double black diamond runs like a pro in just a few days.

Couldn't have said it better myself.
www.getvertical.ca

Can't wait to snowboard???

If you aren't already itching to strap up your board, you will be this weekend!


This Friday, October 15th, RIDE Shakedown is proud to present the premiere of Now You Know, Sandbox's sixth production. Once again, the crew does what they do best, taking you outside your average snow park and into their playground. The film boasts epic cliffs, drops and hits from the likes of Rube Goldberg, Nash Lajeunesse, Andrew Hardingham, Max Ritchie, Kael Hill, Jake Koia… and the list goes on!

If you're out in Toronto (or down for the road trip), come meet us at The Social for the premiere at 10pm followed by a night of partying with the Eh! Team Djs; DJ Drastik & Tom Wrecks. Sandbox's own Kevin Sansalone will be attending along with a long list of featured pro-riders including Beau Bishop, Mikey Rencz, and Dustin Craven.

Thinking of staying in Montreal that night? Be sure to hit up the equally promising premiere of Fuck It, brought to you by Special Blend, Forum and Foursquare, at club 1234. DJ A-Rock will be in the house as well as pro-riders Nic Sauvé, Pat Moore, John Jackson, Niko Cioffi and Andreas Wiig. Want an autograph? The boys will be at Empire on St. Antoine doing a signing beforehand.

Doors open at 10pm for both events and will last well into the night, so get ready to party. Tickets are 10$ at the door.

Hope to see you there.
www.getvertical.ca

Best Snowboard Resort in Canada

Well here you have it....the best of the best in Canada

Whistler / Blackcomb, British Columbia


Nestled in the British Columbia Coast Mountains, under 2 hours from Vancouver, Whistler / Blackcomb is Canada's top ski destination and one of the best in the world. Whistler and Blackcomb mountains are joined at the base by a pedestrian village with all the amenities you'd expect from a town that draws 2 million visitors a year from around the world.

Skiiable Area: Over 8,100 acres

Skiable Vertical:One mile

Bowls: 12

Longest Run: 11 km/7 miles

Terrain Type: 200+ Runs;
Beginner – 15(W)/20%(B);
Intermediate – 55%;
Advanced - 20(W)/25%(B)

Types of Lifts: 38

Annual Snowfall: 402 inches/33.5 feet

Other Activities: Zip trek, tube park, dog-sledding, horse-drawn sleigh rides, snowcat tours, heli-skiing
 
I can tell you from personal experience and visiting many snowboard resorts across canada that nothing compares to the Whistler experience. Check it out.
www.getvertical.ca

What is a reverse camber snowboard??

Reverse Camber Snowboards


Mervin Manufacturing, which includes Gnu and Lib Tech uses "Banana Technology" (patent pending). Their reverse camber snowboards have the rocker between the bindings, and the board is straight from the bindings to the nose and tail. Mervin Manufacturing's reverse camber snowboards include the following boards: Lib Tech Skate Banana, Lib Tech Box Scratcher, Lib Tech TRS Travis Rice Pro Model, and Gnu Riders Choice. Danny Kass has been riding a Gnu DK Pro Model prototype with Banana Technology. He was the first person to win a contest with a reverse camber snowboard. This happened during the summer of 2007 in the Abominable Snowjam Halfpipe Competition at High Cascade Snowboard Camp in Oregon.

Lib Tech says that the reverse camber on their boards makes the board ride more like a skateboard than previous snowboards. Most modern snowboards have camber, which means the board arches up off the ground between the nose and tail. This is a shaping that was based off skis, where skiers wanted to pop out of their turns when doing jump turns. Reverse camber brings snowboarding back to it's skateboarding and surfing roots so the board rides more comfortably, and how they should ride. Additionally, reverse camber snowboards are great for doing nose presses and tail presses.

Starting in the 2008/2009 season, Stepchild Snowboards' jib board, which is made with rails and boxes in mind, is going to have reverse camber. This is because of the increased ability of a reverse camber snowboard to do nosepresses and tail presses. With world-famous rail slayers like Simon Chamberlain, JP Walker and Joe Sexton riding Stepchild snowboards, it was inevitable that they would choose to use this highly effective shaping technique.

Signal Snowboards has announced they will be producing their park board with reverse camber this year. With an MSRP of only $339, it'll be hard to find a better deal anywhere. And they're pressed in the USA!

I hope that helps you understand. Couldn't have said it better myself.
www.getvertical.ca

Snowboard Etiquette

Most individuals fall into a respectful category as a skier or snowboarder. And of course there are an unmatched number of riders that aren't as much concerned with the people around them as much as they are about making themselves look good. In reality, everyone that ventures out for a day or night session of riding is only doing so to enjoy themselves. Simply put, it's inappropriate to disrespect another rider. Some might just view it as showing off, but really all that's being shown is a lack of respect for some, and a lack of the lifestyle to most.


Just follow some of these simple suggestions if you're intending on riding at a busy mountain resort:

If the sign says SLOW, it's there for a reason. People have been killed from colliding with others.
Call your drop. If you know there are others that have been waiting longer than you to take their run through the park, respect that.
Don't intentionally cut through the line. There is a reason for the line.
There is no need to yell profanities from the chair. As well, it's disrespectful to yell from above at someone downgrading their level of riding. YOU were there too!
Believe it or not, there are people that don't enjoy being on the chair, so swinging them around isn't going to help them out any.
Many know right from wrong, it's not a rule you have to live by, but if you want to continue riding the rest of the day/night, it's a great idea to follow the specific rules a resort may ask. You can have your ticket clipped, or your pass pulled. In the worst case scenario, you or someone can be seriously injured or killed.

I could not have said it better myself.
www.getvertical.ca

Skateboard Tricks and Tips

How to skateboard Tricks for beginners - Ollie

How to Skateboard For Beginners Part 1