isn't noticed by die-hard locals along the
Potomac. A nerve center for East Coast ac-
tion, the skaters here in the backyard of our
national's capital are fast, loud, vertical and
burly. To get a little more insight into the who,
what, why, where and when, I summoned
Bruce Adams, ex-editor of Lapper magazine,
for a weekend safari in the region.
"O.K., Bon, here's the plan," Bruce began.
"We'll head to College Park, Maryland, that
pool the Tokers found. Everyone's been
skating there lately, so we'll find connects.
If not we'll head to Cedar Crest."
About halfway out, Bruce began a narra-
tion of what it is:
"Ya know, the Toke Team didn't have to
clue us in to this pool. They could've kept
it secret, but they didn't. They aren't worried
that we'll come up to Maryland and ruin their
session. Over the years, we've grown into
one big skate scene, so they let us in on new
hot spots and we do the same for th
Forty minutes later we arrived at the pool,
which was situated amongst the rubble of a
demolished motel. We reached the lip and
my heart sunk. Only one thing left to do.
"Let's give it a go," Bruce said, call-deep in
icky brown water
Buckets and trash cans were put to use,
ten minutes later a crew of "not-so-locals"
arrived and the pool was dry and ridable in
a half-hour. Heavy sessioning ensued.
despite broiling 95° heat. Still, none of the
necessary knowledgeables arrived and we
backtracked to VA, heading for the Crest.
Bruce began again, "You know this is a
rare occasion. skating a pool in the mid-
die of August. I mean, it's not like California.
We have a "pool season" which lasts for
about two weeks in the middle of May when
all the pools are drained for cleaning. From
Memorial weekend to Labor Day weekend
the pools are open to the public, and during
the winter they leave them full of water to
keep the concrete from cracking.
"So for a whole year you wait for those two
weeks. It's like a hunting season and it's
something that all of us take seriously. You
really have to go out and hustle to find 'em.
We do this ritually every year, as far back as
I can remember...and we always find pools
to skate. So, when you get to skate a peel
around here you tea to appreciat
especially now that the parks are gone!
Now, before we delve into the basic history
of the scene itself, let me first put things into
perspective. Inherently, we are dealing with
two distinctly separate skate scones. North-
em Virginia is home to a solidified group of
skaters who live speckled about in various
closely situated cities. Southern Maryland is
much the same; however, there are two
pc:
BACK S
Sid
Opposite Page: Waldorf Park under aerial
attack by Randy Hofferbert, circe 1978.
This Page: Same year, Bill "Hork"
Horvath follows instructions for a
backside grind in the Arbutus ditch.