Donkin Downhill Dash: Event Review

by adminNovember 24, 2014

Organised by Numb City Productions and the members of Downhill Eastern Cape (known as the DEC Heads), this was the third annual DDD. With a few extra categories added and plenty of sideline entertainment this year, this event really puts PE’s longboarding community on the map.

Standing true to the reputation of skateboarding events, things got started a little later than expected but in defense of the skaters, the hour delay was mainly due to power generators and hay bales. Luckily the delays didn’t prevent the skaters from getting in a few extra practice runs so there were no complaints. In the best weather seen this season so far, those who came unprepared thinking PE’s summer had been cancelled for the year went home with sunburned faces. But even the few with mild sunstroke wouldn’t have been capable of wiping the smile from their faces after this action-packed event.

Although the downhill skateboarding race was the main event, there were plenty of other activities going on keeping the spectators entertained. There was a mini halfpipe for skaters and BMXers, DJ’s and a few live acts added to the vibe and there were even live graffiti demonstrations to visually stimulate the crowd.

This year the organizers added an informal bicycle race to the day’s activities where cyclists raced through central PE choosing their own route. They also included an “anything goes” race down the Donkin path. This consisted of skaters sitting on their boards, one guy on an oversized bicycle and someone even raced with a Shoprite trolley! This event was a great way to get everyone involved.

The racing format used at the Donkin is based on timed runs where each rider goes down the hill on their own to race against the clock. This is due to the course being very narrow. Too narrow to safely send even two skaters racing down at the same time. Each skater had 4 chances to set their fastest time. 2 heats were run in the morning and another 2 in the afternoon with a rather long break in-between the two sessions. In between the racing the skaters enjoyed the opportunity to skate the hill at a more relaxed pace and have a bit of fun together.

The overall winner of Donkin Downhill Dash 2014 was Jason Brown who set a new record for the track with a time of 1:11. Kyle Seale took the top spot in the grom category with his brother Dylan in second. Craig Seale, father of Kyle and Dylan took second in the open category. Congratulations to the Seale family for all the podium positions they claimed!

Well done to the organizers for another successful event! Plenty of fun was had and although there were a few sunburned faces at the end of the day, everyone went home with a smile.

A shout out to the sponsors since these events aren’t possible without them!