Protecting the noggin.
Thatās what it was all about Friday as students from Skaha Lake Middle School cruised Skaha Lake on their long boards from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Taking part in the third annual 12-hour Long Board Relay was roughly 100 students from SLMS whipping around the beach while wearing helmets.
āEverybody has been enjoying themselves,ā said Gurman Toor, 13, who has been long boarding for four years and made his own board in school.
Toor said this event was important as a lot of kids donāt wear their helmets because āthey donāt think it looks cool.ā
āWe just want to show that you can have fun and stay safe,ā he said. āIt matters because we donāt want kids to bail and hurt themselves and end up in the hospital.ā
Jared Lowenstein said itās easy to ignore the peer pressure from the minority of students who mock those that wear helmets.
āItās really important to wear a helmet. A lot of people donāt,ā he said, adding itās easy for him to ignore others as he only has one brain.
Lowenstein had been out the entire day and said it went great.
āItās really fun,ā he said. āItās a great way to get around. Itās just a good pastime.ā
SLMS Tech Ed teacher Travis Kroschinsky, who was out riding with the students,Ā said he feels a great responsibility because students are making long boards in his class. He wants to make sure they are protecting themselves.
The group worked in conjunction with South Okanagan Similkameen Brain Injury Society and the students raised nearly $500.
With nearly 100 participants, Kroschinsky called it a starting point to growing the event.
āIād like to see us build on this. Our focus this year is more on our school. Iād like to see more community participation,ā he said. āI think there is definitely room to improve that way. Unfortunately, because of the teacher action last year, we werenāt able to put on the event.ā
Kroschinsky is optimistic they are going to see this grow.
In being out with his students, Kroschinsky is sharing his passion with them as he loves long boarding and uses his to commute to work once a week.
āIām not a hill bomber, more of a hill cruiser,ā he said. āI got into it because I really enjoyed it.ā
Kroschinsky also felt the students building boards in class would be something they would enjoy, rather than ājust do the cookie cutter projects that have been done in the past.ā
āThis is something the kids would be passionate about,ā he added.
Kroschinsky added that a lot of the kids donāt have transportation unless their parents drive them. Aside from it being good for the environment, the teachers said it also provides good physical fitness.
āThey are fired up,ā he said. āIām not pushing anybody. There is no one standing around, they are all out there. Only rule is the wheels have to keep turning for the whole 12 hours.ā
The kids took turns cruising, then just before five, they all filled up on pizza from Dominoes. They also received support from LandYachtz, Pentagon, Freeride and Bear Trucks.
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