I've decided to do a series of blog posts, videos, and short podcasts about my upcoming trip to be a judge at the Tucson Thunderdome freestyle skateboarding contest. Will anyone pay attention? Maybe 2 people? We'll see.

I stole the idea for name of this series from the great old “Road to Philly” videos series that Sean Burke and Tommy Harward used to do . Mine will be less entertaining.

A few months ago Holden Bystry, a freestyler in Tucson, contacted me to see if I'd be willing to come out and be a judge at this new freestyle event. Now, we REALLY REALLY need a new, regular FS event in the North America, and in the U.S. in particular. The old-guard has been carrying this for too long, and frankly things have not been good. That isn't intended as an insult to anyone. We just need some younger people organizing and running events. It is time to hand this thing off to them and keep things vibrant and alive.

Now there is one sure thing about any contest. People will complain. So stepping up and running a contest is a big deal and can be a thankless job. So I really appreciate and admire Holden for having the gumption to do this. It's important. We actually have a lot of new freestylers here in the U.S., and a lot of them are not really connected to the older scene. They tend to be kind of Instagram-based and/or Discord. I'm hoping many of them will show up to this event.

Holden has a great venue ready to go. Nice surface. Flat. Perfect, really. And apparently it only rains once a year in Tucson. While the weather here in North Texas tends to be cold and shitty in January, apparently Tucson is quite nice, so we really don't have to worry about rain outs or other weather catasrophes.

Another thing in the Doing It Right column: judging. Holden has the judges lined up way in advance, and has published the judging system and criteria. There will be no surprises. Complete transparency. Judges who know their asses from a hole in the ground, a system they can study and practice with weeks in advance. No of this showing up and trying to round up judges, as is so often the case at skate contests.

Now, I am by far the oldest judge in this thing. At 58 years old, I am probably nearly 30 years older than anyone else involved. So I am extremely honored to have been asked to judge. I'm going to practice with the system, judging contest runs for history on Youtube, and I'll be ready.

I really can't wait to meet these new FSers in person, and to reconnect with some old friends there as well. Frankly, I can't wait to just go there and skate with everyone. I've not gotten enough skating in of late, so that will be really nice. I know this will be a first contest for a lot of people and to them I would just reiterate what I have said many times. At the contest, enjoy the skating of your fellow skaters. Contests are weird. Sometimes you don't feel like you have skated up to your potential. It can be stressful. But your friends are there with you, giving you the GIFT of their skating. They are putting themselves out there. Enjoy that! Consider it a gift. And realize that to them, your skating is a gift. They want do so you skate. That's what it's all about. I feel like I didn't learn this lesson until I was about 51 years old, but when I did it changed the way I think about contests and really improved my life.

Right now I’m just trying to decide what board(s) to take with me. More on that later, as I set up my new board and get my regular one updated a bit.