 Leisure |
|
|
|
All Headlines |
|
||||||||
 |
Eastbourne Skate Festival Goes Global This weekend�s Eastbourne Skate Festival has developed a truly global feel this year with top performers travelling from all over Europe, as well as the USA, Australia and Russia. This weekend�s Eastbourne Skate Festival has developed a truly global feel this year with top performers travelling from all over Europe, as well as the USA, Australia and Russia. The UK�s biggest free Skate Festival in Eastbourne from 24 to 25 July, sponsored by McDonald�s Restaurants Ltd, is getting ready for the arrival of the 15,000 expected skaters and spectators, as well as the impressive list of top performers spanning the globe. 2002 Open World Champion Paul Price, is travelling all of the way from Australia to demonstrate his Championship winning slalom skateboarding skills. Competing alongside Paul is the current Open World Champion and UK pro-rider Mike Stride, and also joining the British line up is UK No. 1 Simon �Smokestack� Levene from Brighton and UK No. 2 Chris �Clingfilm� Lindfield. From France the current French Champion Monique Hemnar, and European Champion Vincent Vu-van-kha will be demonstrating their inline slalom skating, as well as giving tips to skaters who want to have a go. Fellow countryman and International Freestyle Slalom Champion Sebastian Le Frague will also be demonstrating his skills. From Moscow Elena Mourachova, provides Eastbourne with its first ever Russian competitor in the Freestyle Slalom competition, and with all points gained counting towards the International finals in Amsterdam next month, the competition will be tightly fought. Talented local lad Max Freeman, has also set his sights on a World ranking and will be competing in the International finals in Amsterdam for the first time, following his freestyle performances in his home ground of Eastbourne this weekend. Max is a regular performer at Eastbourne Skate Festival and visitors have seen his talent emerging from a young age, through his artistic skate routines. Hot on the heels of their semi-final success at the Roller Soccer World Cup in London this weekend, Bremen Skate Club from Germany, will be heading to Eastbourne to challenge Eastbourne Borough Football Club to their toughest match of the season. The team who also play Basketball, will also be facing local children from St Andrew�s School who have challenged the professional skaters to a Basketball match on skates! Finally from the USA, World No. 1 Professional Jamskating team, Team Riedell, will be bringing the new skating genre to UK shores, with high energy breakdance moves on skates, using everything from gymnastics to pop-n-locking. Organised by Eastbourne Borough Council, Eastbourne Sk8 School and sponsored by McDonald�s Restaurants Ltd, the annual Skate Festival takes place each day from 10am to 6pm on the Eastern Seafront, with indoor events from 8am in the Sovereign Centre, and it�s all free. Open to all skaters, BMX riders and skateboarders of all ages, anyone can have a go at skating for the first time with free teaching available in the Teaching Zone, or simply show off their skills in the arena. The packed programme includes a range of events in freestyle, fitness, artistic dance, speed, slalom, plus inline & roller hockey. The Extreme Skate Park also offers a professionally designed range of new ramps and grind rails alongside the East music stage with live bands. Skaters can join in competitions from Limbo Dancing to Tug of War on wheels, or join the Saturday Night Skate around Eastbourne from 7pm. Based on the popular Night Skates in Paris and London�s Hyde Park, hundreds of skaters join the 8 mile Skate route around the town at dusk, complete with flashing lights on their boots and water stations courtesy of McDonald�s. The Night Skate is open to all skaters who are able to stop with confidence. The evening ends in a roller disco and barbecue at the Redoubt Fortress. Alison Purves, Senior Regional Communications Officer for McDonald�s said ��Eat Smart. Be Active� is an important message for McDonald's. Eastbourne Skate Festival encourages people to take part in new activities as well as showcasing some of the world's most proficient skaters. McDonald's is proud to work in partnership with Eastbourne Borough Council to bring this event to Eastbourne�. Eastbourne Borough Council Spokesperson for Tourism, Councillor David Elkin said �Not only are we attracting top international performers, but as news of the UK�s biggest free Skate Festival spreads, we are attracting even more visitors from overseas and across the UK too. Eastbourne Skate Festival not only provides local people with a healthy and social activity, but also promises a busy weekend for hotels and other businesses too.� For further information on the programme of activities visit www.eastbourneskate.co.uk or telephone the Tourist Information Centre on 01323 411400. For further information on Skate lessons in Eastbourne visit www.sk8school.co.uk or for skate practice visit the weekly Wednesday evening Skate sessions at the Bandstand from 7.30pm until 9pm. |
|