The Banana Bunch's Freestyle Slalom Adventure 2004

The Road to Eastbourne (In at the deep end)

by Adam Buteux

I heard the MC say something like "And first up we have Adam from London".

The music started, and I start my run. As I go though my routine I completely lose track of everything else, the music, the crowd and time. At the end, as I exit the 120cm spaced cones, my legs are shaking. Looking back I see that I did not knock too many cones over. All that was left was my second run.

Slalom always seemed like the preserve of amazing, super cool skaters, who looked like they had been skating since birth. The way their legs bent and twisted look beyond the skills of someone like myself that had been skating just over a year. But it was something that I was keen to try, so I arranged to take Naomi Grigg's "Introduction to Freestyle Slalom" course one weekend.

The only prerequisite to the course was that I was able to go over a single cup forward and backward. I felt that I could achieve this, just. A few trial runs before hand showed that I could just about manage this. After what was an intensive, enjoyable and rewarding weekend I had the basics of about 5 different moves and the know how to string them together. When broken down and explained, what had seemed complex and difficult turned out to be very achievable. All that remained now was a lot of practice.

Naomi was keen that all of her pupils enter the freestyle slalom event at the Eastbourne skate festival. Freestyle slalom is still a relatively new sport in the UK and she was keen that we put on a better showing than at last year's event. I always find it easier to motivate myself if I have something to aim for, so the decision to enter was a no-brainer. The only problem was that the event was just four weeks away.

There were about a dozen or so "beginners" from Naomi's classes entering. Our skills ranged from fairly decent (by Serpentine Road standards) to complete beginners like myself. The fact that most people were entering, regardless of skill level, was a great safety net as it removed the fear that you would be made to look like a fool compared to the other, more skilful, competitors. Over the subsequent weeks, much practice and several review sessions with our coach (which helped immensely) followed. The moves that had initially seemed so difficult before became easier and started to look better. We even got tourists checking us out.

We picked the team name "The Banana Bunch" after a method of "rockering" the wheels on your skates, where the wheels in the middle of the frame have a larger diameter than those at the end. We had team t-shirts made with the team logo on the front and "How's my slalom? Call 555-NAOMI" on the back. As the day approached and nerves started to show, everyone pulled together and was very supportive of each other.

The day finally arrived. The sun was shining down on the area where we were to perform. The surface was not as nice as the Serpentine Road where we had been practicing. This made the moves slightly harder and I'm sure that nerves had something to do with it as well. Along with The Banana Bunch there were a few other UK skaters and a selection of some of the top French skaters who had come over for the event. Slalom has been going for a lot longer in France than in the UK, and these skaters certainly had it going on. I found that watching these skaters was very inspiring, seeing what was possible and working out what I would like to learn next. Eventually practice was over and the competition started.

A Freestyle Slalom competition involves competitors navigating three rows of cones (separated by 50cm, 80cm, and 120cm respectively) using a series of tricks and moves. Each run lasts a minute and a half and is performed to music. Three judges mark each skater on their technical, style and run management skills. To be honest, I did not care about the points one bit, and was under no illusions about winning; all I was here to do was have a good time. I tried to bear this in mind as I skated up to the first cone and the music started.

I had kept my routine pretty basic, and as I started, I was very glad of this. Everything seemed that little bit harder when under pressure. After I finished I sat down to watch my team-mate’s runs. On their first run it was very apparent that nerves were taking their toll on everyone. We all appeared to be a lot less smooth and skilled than in practice, but this was to be expected, and is probably the reason why you get two runs. After we had gone it was the turn of the French and the more experienced UK skaters. Without mincing words, their skills eclipsed our meagre efforts, as they spun, slid, and even did the splits over the cones. After a small break we completed our second runs. With the first run under our belts, our nerves were steadied slightly and the second runs were much better.

When it was over, everyone had done fantastically, and there was silverware to take home from the women's national competition. I think the best thing we took away was the immense sense of camaraderie and achievement. I know that I can't wait for next year, when we shall be a lot better and, hopefully, have even more people entering.

Since starting slalom I have found out:

• That it is not as hard as it looks and is accessible to all skaters
• Everyone is very friendly and happy to show you new moves
• It improves other areas of your skating by increasing your edge awareness and control over your skates
• But most of all, it's a lot of fun

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