Skateboarding and longboarding: a club, not a crime

That rush hour around noon can be quite hectic on Chancellor's Walk. And, for some of us, we like to push the envelope when it comes to arriving to class promptly. So, how do you get to class quicker, aside from running wildly?

You could bike, but that provides quite the hassle considering the amount of people congesting the area. Instead, what seems to have become popular among UNC Wilmington students is longboarding.

It is not uncommon to see a skater weaving in and out of traffic freely, challenging themselves to successfully dodge all of the students clogging Chancellor's Walk. And now, for those that are interested in becoming involved with the sport, there is a new club on campus for your skateboarding and longboarding needs.

"Students should join the club to explore and expand as a human," said club president Shayne Carlson. "You will enter a new world of an exponentially evolving sport. Everybody has a longboard, but we will show you a means to use it other than just transportation. We will show you how to use it as a creative outlet and a means of growth."

The club recently began holding meetings every Wednesday, followed by a group skate session after the meeting. The price to join the club is $30 and with that members will be able to participate in group trips to different cities to skate, receive sliding gloves to help learn how to slide their board and get several discounts from local skate shops.

"We hope to get a strong group of members that are passionate about skating and want to challenge themselves to improve," said club treasurer Tom Byrnes. "We hope to go on many skate trips to different parts of the state to expose skaters to downhill longboarding and skateboarding, and we hope to host events here on campus not just for the UNCW club members, but also other longboarding and skateboarding clubs within the UNC family of schools."

The club has much larger aspirations than just being a group of skaters that all ride their boards to class. They hope to branch out and connect with other schools in the area, introducing and sharing their ideals of longboarding and skateboarding and the art of the sports. By beginning new relationships with fellow skaters that share a common bond, the UNCW longboard/skateboard club hopes to open up people's eyes to the world of skating and help popularize the sport.

"We created the club to form a home where the ideal of longboard skateboarding and skateboarding is practiced as a state of mind," said Carlson. "It's a place to lose yourself and find yourself at the same time; the constant evolvement into progression from exploration, reaching out to others rather than maintaining a selfish mindsetgrowth from competition, charity, and a common bond among friends."