On most days, summer streets in Antrim, New Hampshire, would be quiet.
The town houses only 2,500 people.
But last weekend was different.
The Contoocook Valley Villager's Matt Casey has the story.
ON SATURDAY, TRAFFIC CONES WEAVED A PATH DOWN A USUALLY QUIET HILL IN ANTRIM.
ORANGE CARGO-NET FENCES LINED THE STREET.
CLUSTERS OF KIDS AND ADULTS STAND BEHIND THEM, WAITING FOR THIS:
TIRE SOUND—TRACK 9, 0:41-46
THEY CALL IT SLALOM SKATEBOARDING.
START BACKGROUND CHATTER FROM TRACK 27
45 COMPETITORS SPED DOWN A HILL AND THROUGH THOSE TRAFFIC CONES.
IF THEY HIT ANY THEY WERE PENALIZED..
THE FASTEST TIME WINS.
AND THIS RACE IS FAST.
SOME COMPETITORS REACH 24 MILES AN HOUR.
JOE IACOVELLI RAN THE EVENT.
HE SAYS THE FINISHES CAN BE VERY CLOSE.
END BACKGROUND CHATTER
IACOVELLI—TRACK 30, 0:39
The races are usually decided by a tenth of a second or less. Our clocks go to a thousandth of a second, and we've had ties.
SATURDAY WAS NO EXCEPTION.
IN THE FIRST OF TWO HEAD TO HEAD RACES, 8 THOUSANDTHS OF A SECOND SEPERATED THE FIRST FROM SECOND PLACE .
PASCAL JEAN WON AFTER THE SECOND RACE BECAUSE HE HIT FEWER CONES.
HE TRAVELED 6 HOURS FROM MONTREAL QUEBEC TO RACE IN ANTRIM.
HIS PRIZE? $200 AND A GOLD-PAINTED JUG OF MAPLE SYRUP.
HE SAID IT WAS WORTH IT.
JEAN—TRACK 29, :042
I love New Hampshire. (What do you think of Antrim?) It's a nice town, i hope we're gonna do this race every year. I'll be back next year if there's another one for sure.
START TOP OF RAMP BACKGROUND FROM TRACK 12
TRAVELLING LONG DISTANCES IS NOTHING NEW FOR SLALOM SKATEBOARDERS.
AND THE RACERS USUALLY COMPETE IN LOCATIONS WITH MORE RECOGNIZABLE NAMES.
BUT IF THIS VENUE HOLDS, ANTRIM, NEW HAMPSHIRE COULD JOIN ATHENS, GEORGIA, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA AND PARIS, FRANCE IN THE SKATEBOARDING SLALOM CIRCUIT.
IF ORGANIZERS HAVE THEIR WAY, ANTRIM WILL BE TO SLALOM SKATEBOARDING WHAT LOUDON IS TO NASCAR
END TOP OF RAMP BACKGROUND
ANTRIM'S CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, ORGANIZED THE EVENT LOCALLY.
THEY NAMED IT THE RACE FOR THE OLD GOLD JUG.
THEY WANTED TO BRING A NEW EVENT TO THE TOWN'S ANNUAL HOME AND HARVEST FESTVIAL.
CHAIRMAN, BRIAN BHIELE SAYS THE CHAMBER CONSIDERED MORE MAINSTREEM FORMS OF SKATEBOARDING, BUT SLALOM STUCK.
AND HE CALLED THE EVENT A SUCCESS.
BHIELE—TRACK 34, 0:33
The crowd was larger than I expected, and the so I'm very pleased. This is a first year event. The town loved it. The kids in the town loved it and the skaters want to come back. (Are you gonna have them back?) I think we'll have em back and come back next year and have an even bigger race.>>
FOR NHPR NEWS, I'M MATT CASEY
