PET
brothers, diving in formation, encircling
the bermuda shorted blood banquet. The
swarm moved as one, like a sinewy beast
charging in a frenzy on the scabbed and
sweaty skin. Screams exploded as the
brothers were engulfed by the buzzing
cloud. They scrambled up the mountain
in the horrific flying rain yelling "BUGS!"
The tortured dudes reached the crest
heaving and panting, hardly realizing they
had juked their attackers, hardly noticing
the silent, sun-drenched calm of their new
vista. The boys rose slowly and drank in
the scene that unfolded before them. Their
mouths dropped. Their eyes got as big as
eggs. This was utterly impossible. Three
contest-ready ramps, from full-size to mini,
lay before them. A massive concrete slab
laden with strobstacles was tucked into the
forested hillside. Jason wet himself as he
turned his gaze to the most exquisite of the
sights: a perfect four-cornered bowl
cradled in the hillside, thirty feet from a
crystal clear lake. The boys knew that they
had finally reached their destination-
Sequoia Lake, home of Visalia YMCA's
SKATE CAMP 1989...
The YMCA celebrated half a decade in
the skate camp biz this year. It all started
when a skater (okay, it was me) home from
school for summer decided to look for an
alternative to the mundane activities most
kids endure. He talked then director of the
Visalia Y, Gary Curto, into trying out his
idea of a skate camp. It was such a suc-
cess the first year (1984), the Y decided to
make it a permanent program. Bobby G.
and Mike Terasky (the competent half of
62
the directorship) ran the 1985 and 1986
camps in Reedley and San Luis Obispo,
CA respectively. Due to Mr. G's alleged
mismanagement of cash (and a few
unsanctioned slugfests), the '88 camp was
turned over to Termasky who got help from
the Y's Debbie Fish and Lana Frisbee. This
year Debbie and Lana oversaw general
direction while long-time skater/nice guy
Scott Obradavich and I handled the skate
planning. Craig Shockency commanded
the army of cabin counselors. The camp
was held at Sequoia Lake in the rugged
Sierra Nevada Mountains, elevation 5,000
feet. It was the first camp not surrounded
by 7-11's and barging locals. The Y decid-
ed to give the kids, predominantly from
cities and burbs, a
chance to enjoy
some activities
normally asso-
ciated with camps
but not with skate-
boarding. There
was, of course, as
much skating as
your limbs could
handle, but there i
were extra options
for the burnt and
bone weary. How
about a sailboat
outing or a tour of
Crystal Caves? A hike around the lake can
clear a scrambled brain and renew blood
flow to mashed shins. The camp housed
about 110 rippers a week for five weeks.
Seven of these camping cruisers, ranging
Clockwise from Top Left: Mark Gonzales wraps
it up during a dusk session. Henry Sanchez pops
* 180° backside airwalk over a hip. Touring skate
counselor from down under, Gary Valentine
hoists a stylish frontside high above camp
Millwood. The camp's multi-use street obstacle.
in age from eight to forty-three (father and
son) would occupy one rustic lakeside log
cabin for a week-long session. They were
accompanied by one cabin counselor,
usually a skater, who showed them the
ropes (and ramps)..
Every day beginning at 9 a.m. the kids
would skate and receive instruction on the
various terrains, participate in skate
games and contests, watch pro and am
demos, and have enough free time to enjoy
some of the non-skate activities available.
The passel o skate and non-skate staff
made sure the campers stayed safe and
skated hard until 8 p.m. nightly. Then it
was pizza and/or ice cream with bonfires
by the lake and big screen movies.
By the end of a one-week session, the
campers had skated their brains out on
some of the best structures in the world.
honed their skills, and witnessed some of
the best pro and am skaters around (Gator,
Gonz, Bryce, Fish, Crabb, Alba, Allen,
Way, Hensley, Sonner, Cunningham,
Fellows, Valentine, Cowen, Carter,
Sorensen, Hays, Beauregard, Vost, Twiss,
Butcher, Bergthold, Levin. Hartman and
Bryant, to name a few). They had collected
a bizzillion stickers along with a camp
photo and t-shirt, and were probably about
ready to re-assume the slumped MTV
position back at home. This year the kids
were more stoked than ever, and it pro-
mises to get even better!
Special thanks go to all the staff,
especially buzz saw artist Tim Payne for
all his time and extra effort in creating the
skate environment and to Debbie Fish for
her sticktoitiveness while enlightening"
the many people who didn't want skate-
boarding at Sequoia Lake. We showed 'em
all. See you next year!
63