Editor:
Re: Safety of long boarders top-of-mind, July 17 letters.
I read the letter to the editor about the longboard community and ‘problem’ in White Rock and would like to share my view.
As an avid boarder myself, I think I can shed more light on the current situations.
To begin, this is not a game or something that we do just for fun; we consider this a legitimate sport. We all are here because we have a true passion for it.
Nobody realizes how much control we truly have. People seem to think we just ‘step on the board roll down the hill and pray’, but this is far from the case.
Until one can truly understand our sport can they judge it.
We stay as safe as possible with spotters for corners, but none of this matters to the residents; all they see is a bunch of kids rolling down 25 per cent grade hills.
Granted, there are they occasional longboarders who cause trouble, but that’s expected with any sport and the whole group of us cannot be blamed.
Just because the longboard sport is not understood does not mean it should be banned.
Like true athletes, nothing is going to prevent us. If you don’t understand, that’s fine, but do not tell us how dangerous it is or we are going to get killed.
I hope I educated you a little bit on the situation, and I hope in the future you wouldn’t write articles about things you are not fully aware of.
Joel Sukkau, Delta
