While visiting my family in Kiev, Ukraine, I thought of the possibility of holding a slalom session in my hometown. I asked Ramón, who was coming to check out the city for 9 days, if he could bring along his board and some cones. Unfortunately, the airline's tight weight restrictions meant that we had to ride without a helmet and pads. Since, as far as we know, the slalom scene in the city is nonexistent (we could not find any online forums or websites), I could only invite my cousins, aunts and uncles, to whom the sport was totally unknown, to come and see what it is all about. The following is an account of the day written by my cousin Danyil, with my assistance. Some additional historical information has been placed in square brackets.

Words by Danyil Grybchuk
Photos by Yuryi & Danyil Grybchuk 

The 13^th of September was not an ordinary day in Kiev. The wheels of a slalom board touched the city's asphalt for the first time in its 1,500-year history. 

[Kiev or Kyiv (Ukrainian: Київ), is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. The name Kiev is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of four legendary founders of the city (brothers Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and sister Lybid'). During its history, Kiev, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of great prominence and relative obscurity. The city may have been founded in the 5th century as a trading post, perhaps part of the land of the early Slavs. It gradually acquired eminence as the centre of the East Slavic civilization, becoming in the tenth to twelfth centuries a political and cultural capital of Rus', a medieval East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. (Wikipedia)]

It was a warm day and the sun was beating down when we arrived at Kreschatyk, the most central street in Kiev.

[Khreshchatyk (Ukrainian: Хрещатик). The name is derived from the Slavic word krest or khrest (cross). It lies in a valley that is crossed by several ravines. When looked at from above, the valley resembles a cross. The entire street was completely destroyed during World War II by the retreating Red Army and rebuilt in the neo-classical style of post-war Stalinist architecture. On May 1, 1986, a few days after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, Soviet authorities held a traditional May Day parade on Khreshchatyk, in order to "calm people" and "prevent panic" caused by the disaster. Thousands of Kievans, including many children, were exposed to dangerous doses of radiation. Due to its central location, the street became the traditional place for political rallies. In the winter of 2004, Khreshchatyk and became the centre of the main public protests of the Orange Revolution. At its peak, over a million people from all around Ukraine attended the rally. (Wikipedia)]

On weekends, this street is closed to traffic and open only to pedestrians. Thus, there were many spectators for our impromptu session. After choosing a part of the road, Ramón began installing the cones. At first, nobody could guess what these cones were for, having never seen slalom performed. Many walked into the way of the cones, especially small children who treated them as a toy, picking them up and moving them. Only when Ramón began testing the course he had set up, did the parents pull their kids out of the way. By-passers stopped to watch him in awe. Watching him, I wondered how it was physically possible to do such things. I had the impression that he was floating or flying over the road. His movements were so fast and precise, he reminded me of a very fast Swiss clock, the arms moving back and forth, back and forth, and it seemed that he could do it forever.

When he went down the second time, I finally understood that what I saw was happening in real-time and not fast-forwarded. The people that were watching with me were constantly saying “wow”, “amazing”, “well done”, “he's crazy”, but no one was indifferent. Perhaps this sport is not so popular in our country because of the roads—the quality of which leaves more to be desired. It would be hard to find a place to practice. However, we managed to find a good spot, not at Kreschatyk, because this street is one of the busiest in the city and thus cars leave much oil, which makes for a slippery surface. Even Ramón, a world champion, managed to fall and hurt his palm because of this. He said that here, he could only ride at 60% of his maximum speed. For this reason, we decided to take our session somewhere else, where the pavement was not “sketchy”, as Ramón described. And so we went to the nearby Mariinskyi Park.

[Mariinsky Park is the central park of Kiev, founded in 1874, and is one of the favorite places of city dwellers and visitors. Especially in the morning, away from the city's noise, it is very pleasant to take a walk in the park, where in shady alleys, beneath the huge crowns of centenary old trees it is still peaceful and quiet. There is also the legendary “bridge of lovers” where couples still go and place locks to symbolize the strength of their love. The park is located right next to the Mariinsky Palace, which was requested to be constructed in 1744 by the Russian Empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter I. It was designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the most famous architect working in the Russian empire at that time, in the Baroque style and was intended to echo French Versailles in miniature. During World War II it was badly damaged but later reconstructed, and is an official residence of the Ukrainian president. (Wikipedia)]

On weekends, this park is crowded with people, so we had lots of spectators here as well. Cars are not allowed to enter the park, but there were still some drivers who ignored the rules (a common thing for Ukrainian drivers :-). The pavement here was much better and there was more of a slope. Ramón and Dasha appeared much happier to be skateboarding here and were able to ride at their full speed. They both were great.

So this made me want to try slalom as well. I was on my roller-blades and attempted to go through the course. At first it was surprisingly different, and later became unexpectedly pleasant. I was trying hard, but in comparison to Ramón, I was hardly trying. After one of his rides, I told him his speed was unreachable. Before long, Dasha and Ramón convinced us to try their boards. I found it very scary, but my girlfriend. Nastya, looked more confident when she stood on the board. She said, “Balance is important in different aspects of life... especially in such cases.” (Nastya Yeremenko). My cousins Pasha and Olya also tried, with the help of Dasha and Ramón.

Even their father, Sergei, was very enthusiastic and gave it a go. Although he was constantly hitting the cones, he kept trying. He said, “In ten years, I will be as cool as Ramón is now” (meaning, he will be riding as well as him).

My cousin Olya was so happy to try it that she is now looking forward to having a board of her own. She was more careful than her brother, Pasha, who rode independently and managed to not to hit the cones. However, his innate expertise did not save him from a fall, when he had to avoid a woman with a stroller. At first it seemed that he only got a few scratches, but later, following an x-ray, it turned out that he got a hairline fracture in his shoulder and must wear a cast for 3-4 weeks. However, he made sure to tell us that this will not stop him from skateboarding again.

  

The first slalom session in Kiev was very successful for us and very surprising for the pedestrians that happened to pass by. Few people know that the first electric tram line in Europe (arguably, the first in the world) was established in Kiev in 1892. Thus, Kievans are not so behind in transport development. However, longboards are still unknown to us. This is why I think we should engage more people in riding longboards and slalom boards. I hope that the first slalom session was not the last and that Ramón's idea of holding a competition here will be brought to life.

We hope you enjoyed this account of slalom in Ukraine. We think that Mariinskyi Park would truly be an ideal venue for a race. We would love to hear what you think of the possibility of holding an event Kiev in the future! Email us at: dasha@airflow-skateboards.com or ramon@airflow-skateboards.com.