Broadway Bomb

Broadway Bomb
You Could Die
Event type	Longboarding street race
Distance	7.9 miles
Established	2002
Official site	www.olympicskateboarders.com

The Broadway Bomb is a longboarding race held every third Saturday in October through the streets of Manhattan. The event was founded in October 2002 with an initial set of sixteen competitors. After growing in size every year, by 2012 more than 4,000 riders were registered to compete.^[1]

The event is unsanctioned by the City of New York, meaning that the race takes place in ordinary city traffic with no organized protection for riders, vehicles or pedestrians.

When participation reached thousands of riders in 2012, the New York Supreme Court granted an injunction declaring the race unlawful. ^{[2] [3]} Since that time the New York City Police Department has deployed in force to prevent or disrupt the event. ^[4] However, in the most recent event held on October 15, 2016 the NYPD did not interfere in the race in anyway, and in fact there was nigh zero presence of patrol cars or foot patrols nor any announcements that the race was illegal. Additionally participation was down markedly in 2016 compared to the last few years.

The element of danger involved with unsanctioned street racing is reflected in the race's slogan, You Could Die, albeit there hasn't been any deaths associated with the race.

Local professional skateboarder Jimmy Soladay has worked with the city to make the event enforcement free and safe for all.

Overview

The race was founded in 2002 by two local longboarding enthusiasts - Jimmy Soladay and Matt Alther - as a more challenging alternative to another longboarding event, the Central Park Race. ^[5]

The inaugural Bomb took place with sixteen riders. By 2010, the event had grown to include over one thousand competitors on the streets of Manhattan.^[5]

The race's growing popularity drew concern from city law enforcement. In 2012, organizer Ian Nichols cancelled and disassociated himself from the race, facing a formal injunction from Justice George Miller of the New York Supreme Court. ^{[2] [3] [6]}

The website for the race is unchanged since 2012, and as of October 2013 reads,^[7] 1.) Pursuant to Court order, the Broadway Bomb race and flash mob will not occur on October 20, 2012. 2.) Participants in any such event will be subject to arrest.

In spite of official cancellation since 2012 and active NYPD opposition, the race has gone ahead in every year since then.

Rules

Always held on the 3rd Saturday in October, the race begins at noon, beginning at the intersection of 116th St and Riverside Drive in Upper Manhattan. The route closely follows Broadway and concludes eight miles later at the Charging Bull sculpture in Lower Manhattan.

The rules as defined on the official website^[8] are:

• Wear a helmet
• No skitching
• No knocking other riders off their boards
• No knocking down pedestrians
• Stay on Broadway as much as possible

The rule forbidding skitching - the use of motor vehicles to gain extra speed - led to disqualification of the apparent winner Adam Crigler in 2009.^[9]

Participants and winners

Official participation numbers are not recorded and vary according to sources. An indication of popularity can be gauged by the number of registrants on the unofficial contest calendar maintained by the Northern California Downhill Skateboarding Association.

October 19th, 2002

The inaugural race. Participation: 14-20 riders.^[2][10] Winner: Aussi Richard, with a time of 34 minutes.^[10]

2009

Participation: 38 registered.^[11]

Men's winner: Mark Schaperow. Disqualified: Adam Crigler (skitching).

Women's winner: Sara Paulshock.

2010

Participation: 423 registered.^[12]

Men's winner: Mark Schaperow.

Women's winner: Sara Paulshock.

2011

Participation: 1,256 registered.^[13]

Men's winner: Kiefer Dixon.

2012

Participation: 1,937 registered.^[1] Despite police activity, attendance was reported as high as 1,500.^[14]

Police action and arrests

2013 leaflet issued to competitors

Since 2012, the race has been formally outlawed and actively obstructed by the NYPD.

2012

In the year the race was declared unlawful, a major police presence prevented the competitors from massing at the start line. Orange crowd control nets were deployed at intersections along Broadway to trap and divert riders from the main route. Police vehicles and scooters were used as barriers. ^{[15] [16]}

Despite the significant deployment by the NYPD, no arrests were reported.^[15]

2013

As in the previous year, police deployed orange nets to trap and obstruct participants.^{[17] [18]} Among the police forces arrayed at the starting line were a number of NYPD mounted police.

Police officers near the starting line distributed leaflets to riders, describing the legal consequences of participation.

News outlets reported that up to 38 arrests and summonses were issued to individuals, ^{[19] [20] [21] [14]} with some of those detained as young as thirteen.^[14] Arrests along the route were concentrated at the starting line, around 105th St and at Columbus Circle.

There was at least one claim of assault against a participant by NYPD officers,^[22] and one report of a rider being Tasered. ^{[20] [21]}

Video documentary

In the 2010 Broadway Bomb, Robin McGuirk recorded a first-person video of his seventh-place performance, making it available on the video sharing site Vimeo.

In 2011, Joe Goodman produced the documentary Push Culture - The Broadway Bomb, describing the history of the race and examining longboard culture in New York City. The film is available on Vimeo.

In 2013, 3rd-place winner Miles Evans recorded a first-person video of his ride, making it available on youtube.

See also

• Longboarding

References