A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
PORT JERVIS—Skateboarders from as far away as Australia, Peru, and Argentina converged in Port Jervis on Sept. 4 for the third annual ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show at Elks-Brox Memorial Park. Pascal Jean, 40, drove five hours from Montreal, Canada to be there, his third year. “There’s not many races on the east coast,” he said. “There’s like five.”
Emily Pross, from Mount Vernon, N.J. who is currently ranked number one in the world according to the International Downhill Federation (IDF) was also there. She said she practices at the Elks-Brox Memorial Park when she’s not too busy studying marketing and communications at Berkeley College in Dover, N.J. The race also drew some local talent.
Organizer Tom Barnhart, who started the event, said the City of Port Jervis has been easy to work with and he hopes to continue to have the event there.
The race is pretty straight forward: participants line up at the top of the roughly mile-long hill and try to be the first to cross the finish line at the bottom. As of last year, the race is registered with IDF so competitors can use the points they earn at the race towards their IDF score. Barnhart said that is why so many international skaters came. “There are successful races that are not IDF, but my experience with this is that IDF is crucial.”
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Pascal Jean from Montreal, Canada, during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Emily Pross, a skateboarder from Mount Vernon, N.J., who currently ranks number one in the world for downhill skateboarding. She came to Port Jervis to race in the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show on Sept. 4, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Tom Barnhart, the organizer of the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015. This is the third time Barnhart, the founder, has organized this event. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A truck carrying riders during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder on the outside of a truck that takes skateboarders from the bottom to the top during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Boards resting on a motorcycle parked next to Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder goes down Skyline Drive at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Two skateboarders go down Skyline Drive in at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Skateboarders go down Skyline Drive in at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Two skateboarders go down Skyline Drive in at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 during the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Skateboarders line up for a free ride at the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboarder with his board the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A skateboard on the pavement at Elks Brox Memorial Park in Port Jervis on Sept. 4, 2015 for the ACME Downhill Longboard and Luge Show. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
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