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Welinder and McGill lead a class through the early morning stretching session before skating.
Instructor Caballero demonstrates how to get higher backsides by grabbing the inside rail.
The normal procedure is they will demonstrate a trick
and then stand at the bottom of the ramp and watch
each skater attempt it. Each skater is coached after
each try. It's a perfect set-up. The skaters learn from
Mike, Steve, Per, Jan, and most importantly from each
other. By watching each other's progress, they can
spot and discuss the do's and don't's.
If a skater has a request for a certain move, he is also
taken care of. The skaters range in ability also. A skater
can learn a basic rock 'n' roll or how to put together a
winning line. There are no prerequisites for joining the
camp. It is for all abilities.
At 12:00 the skaters break for a two-hour lunch
break. The first hour is spent in the restaurant stuffing
out while the second hour is spent relaxing. Skaters are
free to wander around town, nap out, swim in the lake,
waterslide, skate, or do just about anything.
By two o'clock everybody is back starting off the rest
of the day's session with more skating. They practice
from 2:30 until 5:00, at which time everyone goes back
to the camp to shower up and have dinner. Dinner
finishes up about 7:00, after that skaters are free to do
whatever, free skating, go see the local movie, eat
more, go to the amusement park, or just hang around
the camp.
The camp consists of approximately 12 cabins with
many beds inside. Once in a while, when Goran
Nordguvist, the camp director, takes off for a liquid
evening, the skaters might have a decent food or water
fight, or they might hang a bicycle on the flagpole; the
usual summer madness. Keed in mind that the sun
never sets in northern Sweden in the summertime, so
at 12:00 midnight it's light enough to do anything. One
notable night, McGill and Puttis Jacobsson were
attacked by a bunch of German skaters from cabin no.
6. The Germans gnarled them with heavy doses of
water; Mike and Puttis retaliated with pots and buckets
of water going straight into the cabin of the German
skaters. Not to be outdone, the Germans (after being
flooded out of their cabin) attacked McGill and Puttis
and all other bystanders with MILK and SHAVING
CREAM.
The camp was looking more like winter by this time.
Before this international tournament was finished, the
boys were suddenly surprised to see Goran back early
from his evening departure. Let's say Goran was far
from ecstatic when he saw the milk puddles and
shaving creamed heads, and wet floors. Within
seconds, the boys mutually agreed it was time for bed.
Above, Hans "Bauta" Gothberg, quite possibly the best
verticalist in Sweden if not all Europe.
Everyone questioned seemed to think the camp was
a success this year. Here were skaters from Finland,
Norway, France, Switzerland, Germany, England, and
of course Sweden. Twice a week the teachers would do
a demo for approximately 300 passing tourists; Per and
his students for freestyle, Jan Soderhal on slalom, Mike
and Steve on the ramp ending with a full on doubles run.
As far as some happenings that occurred at the
camp, I will write a few down here.
Steve, being the big sausage eater he is, was asked
politely to stop eating it due to what it does to his breath,
it seems even dogs would turn away from him after
breakfast. While butt-boarding down a hill in the rain
after breakfast one morning, McGill lost control and
was said to have pulled off three complete butt-sliding
360's (he would have kept going had it not been for the
stupid tree that just happened to have gotten in his
way). After many heated arguments on the positive and
negative aspects of jogging, Per (pro jogging) and
Steve (con jogging) decided to have an endurance test
to see if jogging or skating builds better endurance.
They had a kickturn endurance contest to see who
could go the longest. Per started and went an amazing
45 minutes. Steve climbed aboard the ramp and
started kickturning. McGill, realizing there were better
things to do, went to the store to get more soft ice
cream. Arriving one hour later, Mike was astonished to
find Stevie still kickturning after all that time. I guess
that says something about skateboarding.
Since the skaters the last week had such a great
time, they decided to pay tribute to McGill with an
honorary appreciation. Mike, wearing all his skate gear,
was picked up by ten skaters with all the others
following, and carried nicely over to the swampy part of
the lake. Upon reaching the lake the ten skaters
thanked Mike for such a wonderful time and then
heaved him into the mossy water, helmet and all. We're
sure Mike was probably flattered by the sincere
appreciation as he wringed scummy water out of his
only pair of Van's tennis shoes. Stevie was seen
somewhere in the midst of this incident bending over
and holding his side. It seems that it is a "yearly" camp
ritual to throw Mike in the water. Mike was asked why
this keeps happening and his simple reply was
"because they like to."
So, this concludes another year of the best
skateboarding camp in the world. The skaters learned
new moves, improved their styles, met new friends,
and, most of all, had a ball. Until next year, HAYDA!
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