ay FS fens rolis with t NORTH VANCOUVER skateboarder Dan Arnold may have onlv placed 15th in the recent bank bowl riding com- petition at Seylynn Park, but the 21-year-old is happy he got a chance to compete against the professionals. By STEPHEN BARRINGTON Contributing Writer “They would come up to me and say ‘It’s too bad you bailed but we think you're radical anyway.”’ Arnold, who placed 15th out of a field of 18 contenders, came off his board during the contest. ‘‘On the’ first ride I stepped off my board,’’ he remembers. ‘*T lost 30 points out of a possi- ble 100.” The 10-year skateboarding veteran admits he felt ‘‘pretty stupid’? when his feet uninten- tionally left the board, a definite no-no in the world of skateboard competition. Bidding for the championship against professionals such as even- tual winner Steve Caballero, Per Wilinder and Alien Losi was an in- timidating experience, says Ar- nold. “Td seen them skating in the magazines for about five years but when I saw them it was intimida- tion,” he laughs. But competition is different than just practicing. “Skating for fun (with them) is Oyster bar reopens PAGE 24 a lot easier than skating against them,’’ he says. ‘In practice with them I did eveything perfectly.”’ CONTROL AND PATIENCE One of the hardest skateboar- ding tricks is the 360 aerial. “You and the board spin 360 degrees when you’re about five feet in the air,”’ Arnold. The feat takes concentration, control and practice. Though he put in close to a year’s practice for the Aug. 25 event, a bad wrist hindered Ar- nold’s performance in the com- petition. ‘‘It was all taped up,’’ he laments. At a retail cost of $220, Ar- nold’s skateboard falls in the ‘average’ price range. Coupled with safety equipment — helmet, knee and elbow pads, wrist protec- tors — his total price-tag runs to around $400. Although he did not capture any of the $10,000 in prize money — ‘the pro money only went down to sixth place’? — he did not loose any money either. ‘But there was the $50 entry fee,’’ he points out. POPULARITY RETURNS For a few years, skateboarding lost popularity, only recently mak- ing its return. During that time, Arnold just used his skateboard to get to work. ‘‘And then [I started riding BMX bikes for a few years when I was working in a BMX shop.” Sponsored by North Van- couver’s Zero Gravity skateboard shop, the North Vancouver-born Arnold plans to compete in many other skateboarding events before the bank bowl riding champion- ship returns to Vancouver in July of 1987. “This was a world-class con- test,’ he says. ‘“‘The next will probably be just the United States and Canada.’’ Of this year’s competition he says: ‘‘I could have done a lot bet- RUCANOR FULL LEATHER UPPER MOULDED SOLE forty Rucanor sporting goods sizes: children 10-6 adults 6%-11 Lo pd raelnenvt th0 Mirl adobey vicute we O41 Speier is ine 98 reg. $19:98 TIME OUT SPORTS : 980-9211 +) Lynn VaLLey Centre = NEWS photo Mike Wakelieid LOCAL skatebvardists Dan Arnold (left) and Dave Opko ho!d onto their wheels. Arnold, sponsored by North Vancouver’s Zero Gravity Sports, finished 15th overall in the Aug. 25 international Transworld Skateboard Championships bank bow! riding category staged at the Seylynn Skateboard Bow). Opko finished ninth. The recent championships heralded the pair's entry into the world of professional skateboard competitions.