dlc | allyearlong

Many people know you already but many don´t so I think is good to ask you a few questions about

DLC and TDH

What was the original idea for Tdh

How did everything start?

Basically we simply needed an event in Romania where we could secure a road,get all together and have some fun. And then Alex, our crew member and professional snowboarder noticed the actual track during winter at Straja ski resort, while being there for snowboarding. That’s when it all started. The road is endless , fast, technical, wide,challenging and has all types of curbs, sweapers, over 10 hairpins ,long straights, it even has a natural spring in the middle of the course, the road was paved just 2 years ago, the views and air is amazing, the location is not far from our city and it seemed to be the perfect place to hold an event. We realized the gondola has access points at both ends of the most fun section of that road and we could use it for riders uplifts, the hotels are situated next to the gondola and track, this came in brilliantly so we started planning.

While planning we realized the Romanian community is not big enough to bring enough skaters to close the road and put in use the gondola for uplifts so we had to start presenting this opportunity to skate this amazing road and use its facilities to the whole longboard scene. Even though not many know about the event we had over 100 riders from over 15 countries. The whole gondola thing for rider uplifts is a game changer in the longboarding scene, it allows rider to get back to the top of race track within ten minutes, with no waiting around while the road doesn't need to be opened for shuttle buses, skating is uninterrupted with a constant flow of riders taking to the hill, this is a unique place where you can skate more kilometres a day than anywhere else.

A full run have 6 km and the average is 16 runs a day at Transylvania Downhill, it’s worth coming here from any part of the world when also knowing that everything is pretty cheap in Romania,from renting a car 10 Euro a day to having a beer for less than 1 Euro.

How do you see the changes in this

sport looking back 20 years ?

We can’t look back for 20 years because we are concentrating on the present and future but we can clearly see the massive growth of the scene in the recent years. The communities is what make the scene grow, the ease to film a run and upload it to social media has gained more popularity to this sport than new riders, which is a good thing, although these are the best times for longboarding so whatever we are doing, we are doing it right because it’s growing visibly and we should take advantage of what we have now, skate more, skate everywhere, skate with everybody and share the stoke !

What is your plan for the future ?

Our plan is based on our objectives mentioned above. It’s all about skate, we can’t think of anything else. Priorities for 2017 is all our 3 events, Transylvania Downhill, Transylvania Freeride and Cincis Skate.

What is DLC ? Who is part of the crew ?

DEVAstation Longboard Crew is a close knit of friends from Deva,Romania a small family driven by ambition and passion for skateboarding. Over the years the crew has grown up, joining to the family riders from UK, Bulgaria and other places. We distinguish ourselfes by diversity and engagement and our aim is considering multiple aspects. One of our objectives is to define the romanian longboard community and centralize it, promote the sport and bring more riders to it, you know the saying : the more the merrier J Another objective and perhaps most important is sharing and disclosure to the necessity of safety standards, which promote the use of the adequate and appropriate protective equipment.

We want to develop the sport in the right direction by running events at national and international level and we firmly believe that Romania offers the most spectacular roads in Europe and conditions for longboarding.

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Did the Government/Council supported you from the beginning?

Yes, the authorities were very welcoming towards the whole project and without them this event wouldn’t have been possible, thanks to the local council, regional council, local associations PRO STRAJA and A.C.T.I.V. Hunedoara, Mountain Rescue (Salvamont), local police unit and gendarmerie. They all had a great contribution to running the event and we greatly appreciate.

So after the first Tdh last year, DLC came out with a really nice planning for 2k17, What can you tell us about this new Freerides? Do you think DH Skateboarding is one of the most popular extreme sport at the moment?

Ohh.. the Transylvania Freeride !! Is set between 26th and 30th of August in Pasul Valcan, Vulcan.This one might well knock your socks off ! You will get sweaty hands when you see it ! This race track is on the same mountain as TDh but in a different ski resort at only 15 km from TDh. It’s 4 km long, has a steepest point of 25%, the tarmac is freshly paved one year ago, and the course has some of the craziest curbs and hairpins ever tarmacked and top speeds might break or be very close the world speed record.

Thankfully it has a perfectly placed gondola at the both ends and it will be used for riders uplifts because the course it’s so steep, a bus full of riders wouldn’t be able to go up the road. Seriously. This event is for really skilled riders who are ready to push themselves to the next level challenging.
The registration starts 1st of May on the crew’s website but more info will be published on the event page and crew page.

We just started this new project, I hope you have been checking out All Year Long site, what do you think about us ?

Love it ! It brings a new concept for a magazine and the website it’s vital for anyone planning a skate trip to or trough Europe. Covers many interesting topics and seems to give more exposure to the amateur riders which is an amazing thing and the website is very user-friendly.

Great job AYL, keep it going!