San Diego Skate Competition II 8/14/99

San Diego Skate Competition II
San Diego, CA - Aug. 14, 1999

SDSE and the SCVA produced its second Skate Competition at the San Diego Velodrome on 8/14. Around 25 skaters and more in spectators showed up at the 333m oval. Racing took place on the flat, level apron at the bottom of the banked cycling track. The morning clouds burned off for a sunny afternoon as temperatures rose into the lower 70s.

Each competitor started off with a 200m individual time trial. The top 8 in each class then participated in a head-to-head sprint elimination. After a break for lunch, skaters completed a 2000m (6-lap) individual time trial. The day concluded with a combined Miss & Out and a separate event for each class.

The combined Miss & Out (aka Last Wo/Man Out) came down to 3 skaters: Neal Lucey (BSI), Andy Pele (SDSE), and Howard Yeh (SDSE). Andy and Howard attempted to block Neal out, but on the last turn Neal managed to get by Andy. In the sprint down the final stretch, Neal beat Howard by just a wheel.

The Advanced skaters competed in an Unknown Distance. At some point during the race, the officials rang the bell indicating one lap to go. Luckily for Andy Pele, this occured while he had made a solo flyer a half lap ahead of the chase pack. He maintained the gap through the finish line. Competing for second, Roger Olsen (Long Beach) outpowered Marc Steiner (SDSE).

The Women skaters competed in a Hare & the Hounds race. At the beginning of the race, a volunteer, the hare, started ahead of the Women, the hounds. When the hounds caught the hare, there was one lap left to go. Wendy Holbert (SDSE) was the first to catch the hare and was also the winner of the race, followed by Michelle Fuentes (Predator) and Betsy Atwater (Empire).

The Pro/Elite skaters competed in a 6-lap Snowball. The first skater across the line each lap accumulated points equal to the lap number. At the end, the one with the most points wins. Howard Yeh collected enough points in a multi-lap flyer mid-way through the race to secure the win. Joe Prescott (SDSE) edged out Neal Lucey for second place.

Omnium points were awarded for finishing in the top 5 of each event. Total points accumulated over the day determined the overall winners. This format resulted in some closely-contested positions. Check the SDSE web site at http://sdse.sk8.org for complete results of all events.

Thanks to Hyper, Transpack, ClifBar, and FaSST for sponsoring the Skate Competition. Thanks also to the SCVA for adding speedskating to the San Diego Velodrome this year. Our next Competition is planned for early Spring 2000.

Howard
SDSE-IR