2010 was the first year the National Championship was held here in South Africa. With 44 riders competing in the Downhill Skateboard Category, 7 in Junior Skateboard, 16 in Street Luge and 10 in Classic Luge it is clear that the “Downhill Family” is growing rapidly. There were a total of 6 races held in South Africa in 2010 with the King of the Fort, held in Pretoria, being the first race outside of the Western Cape since 2004. It is anticipated that there will be races held in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces in the near future which will complement the National League and promote the development of Gravity Racing.

Congratulations to Matt Arderne for placing first in the Downhill Skateboard Category and Russell Naude for placing first in both Street Luge and Classic Luge.

In 2010 we had the first females to compete; Maryka Marais in Street Luge, Nikki Coromba in Street Luge and Classic Luge and Amy Murgatroyd in Junior Skateboard.

Glen Phillips is recognized for being the only rider to compete in all three categories at every single race. And he didn’t just race for the sake of it; he finished in the top three in every category! Richard Dweza is our second all rounder, he raced in all three categories at the last two races on the 2010 calendar. These two have certainly inspired more all rounders for 2011.

These are the winners of the “Best First Time Racer” Award sponsored by First Nature in 2010:

Reece Trout – Fair Cape Downhill challenge 1

Dean Engela – High Rising Downhill Xtreme

Stephen Gant – King of the Fort

Gerhard Nel – Houwteq Downhill Xtreme

Graham Newton – Fair Cape Downhill Challenge 2

Murray Chandler was awarded the “Rookie of the Year” Award sponsored by First Nature at the final race of the year, Hot Heels Africa. Murray did extremely well in all the races he competed in during his first year of racing and we’ll surely be seeing him on a lot more podiums in 2011.

Special thanks to Justin Boast and Anton Pratt from SAGRA for organizing all of the races. And also to Justin Leslie and all the other marshals for keeping us safe at the races, the importance of your role is unfortunately only fully realized when something goes wrong.

Here are the overall results according to SAGRA and the IGSA: