Skateboard festival is international event

The introduction to the Cathlamet Downhill Corral (DHC) Festival is a bit calm to describe the three days of action which the festival provides.

Over 100 skateboarders from around the world will converge for the sixth edition of the festival which continues to grow in scope and popularity.

Male and female racers of all ages will show their style, their ability to sail through the air, their skill in controlling their boards through slaloms, and finally their courage to scream down Cathlamet's hills in the hotly contested downhill race.

The schedule of events changes every year. The events feature several types of races: slaloms, in which racers weave through a twisty course; slide, in which competitors show their ability to slide, spin and jump; push, in which racers propel themselves on a course over streets or roads, and downhill, in which racers clad in protective leathers and helmets shoot down the streets.

The Downhill Corral got its start six years ago when 14-year-old son Addison Fox visited his grandfather, Cameron Edmondson, on Puget Island. Addison took his board out on the Island's flat roads and said they would be a great place for a push race. He and his mother, Judy Edmondson, began brainstorming an event that could be used to raise funds for community projects.

They shared the idea with skaters in the Portland area, and when the skaters visited Cathlamet and saw the hills, the Downhill Corral was born. Originally, racers worked with the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce to put on the event, but it is now sponsored by Jp Rowan. This year Rowan has taken over as event coordinator following the retirement of Judy Edmondson, who handled the duty in previous years.

In an email earlier in May, Rowan said the event is still in the planning stage, but he set a schedule.

“Events are the same as last year but on a different schedule,” Rowan said. “We definitely will have a women’s division for the downhill race and slopestyle competition. We will also be rewarding a Queen of Cathlamet award as well.

“New times are listed ... that take into consideration the late running events from last year,” he said. “Individual awards ceremonies will be held directly after each event.”

Registration hasn’t yet opened but there’s no reason the races shouldn’t draw the world-class riders who’ve come to Cathlamet before.

Skateboarding isn’t a mainstream sport, and boarders aren’t always welcome where they go. For this reason they appreciate the welcome they receive in Cathlamet.

“Thank you, Cathlamet,” race announcer Robert J. McKendry said last year. “Thank you for letting us take over your town.

“Downhill Corral has become a destination event for skateboarders all over the world.”

One skateboarder who didn’t compete last year because because of injuries savored the environs. “I live in an apartment in downtown Portland,” he said while looking down Spring Street at the view of Puget Island, the Columbia River and the hills of Oregon. “This is so beautiful.”

One can expect to see longboard riders and personalities such as the following, who have appeared at past events:

--Paul Kent, a distance skater from Calgary, Alberta, contender for All Around Champion.

--Brandon Tissen, Medford, Ore., who won the all around skate championship last year.

--Brandon DeJarlais, who is an upcoming distance skater and winner of the 2013 Puget Island Push Race.

--Dean Ozuna, who organizes the Maryhill Freerides and the DHC Bordercross.

--J.P. Rowan, race organizer.

--Billy (Bones) Meiners, who was downhill coordinator for the first couple of years and winner of the 2013 Downhill Race.

--Robert J. McKendry, III, 41, of Denver, Colo., has been the announcer of the Downhill Race and a pioneer competitor in the sport. His insights add to the crowd's enjoyment and understanding of the race, and his warnings to keep off the hay bales that line the turns keep people safe.

--Patrick Switzer, downhill champion in the first year.

--Alex Tongue, 20, Happy Valley, Ore., downhill champion in the third year.

--Carmen Shafer and Alicia Fillback, who are becoming some of the leading female competitors.

--Kyle Wester, downhill champion in 2012.

--Australians Adam Yates or Daniel Hawes. Adam has been thrice.

--Hawaiians Nikko Kamanuwai and Mackenzie Yoshida.

--Scott Lembach of Muir Skate.

--Jeff Budro of Sector 9 who enjoyed it so much he started a slightly similar event in California.

--Jon Huey, photo editor for Concrete Wave & Skate Slate, and winner of last year's Grand Sslalom.

--Sin Cycles' Harlan Whitman and Ryan O'Brian. They build gravity bikes and drift trikes, and will probably have at least one drift trike heat this year in the downhill.

--Aidian O'Leyne, local skater who has attended and helped out at all four events.

--Max Moissanen, one of the youngest competitors.

--Cody Shay of 5 Mile Longboards, one of the boardercross sponsors and organizers.

--Skip Marcotte, world class slalomer and the organizer of the slalom events.

2014 Cathlamet Downhill Corral Festival Tentative Schedule

(Subject to change)

Thursday, August 7

12 noon: Tight Slalom: Slalom courses lead racers down streets, on sidewalks and over ramps.

3 p.m. Giant Slalom

Friday, August 8

10 a.m .: Sidewalk Showdown

1 p.m .: Slopestyle: Another slalom, designed with speed, a bigger ramp and smooth flow in mind.

Saturday, August 9

8 a.m .: Puget Island Push Race: Racers push themselves across 7.5 miles of “pancake flat pavement.”

10 a.m .: Boarder Cross (X) Practice: In boarder cross, four racers compete shoulder to shoulder in a fast course with high ramps and jumps.

2 p.m .: Boarder X Race

4 p.m .: Big Air: Who can make the biggest jump?

Sunday, August 10

9 a.m. Downhill Practice

1 p.m. Downhill Races: Helmeted, leather-clad riders start slowly at the Cathlamet schools, gain speed down Spring and Columbia streets, enter the corners on Broadway and finish on Commercial Street. There will be prize money and new this year, a women’s division sponsored by Cathlamet merchants and residents. Streets and SR 409 are closed to traffic during heats.