RipStik Evening Session

All that remains of the building is the cement pad. In a town with limited recreational opportunities, an open cement pad is the next best thing to a playground. Especially for caster boarders.

The rule is that if and when you fall off, the next kid sitting on the sidewall gets to ride. Despite the hard falls, the local rule appears to be no complaining, no crying.

If a rider is good enough to remain up indefinitely, then the local rule is apparently that zoris can be thrown at the bottom front of the rider's RipStik in order to precipitate a fall. As a result of this, the local kids are generally proficient at sudden maneuvers to avoid colliding with a zori. 

Occasionally riders would attempt to knock other riders off their boards. The kids all seemed to be able to withstand these shoves and remain up and riding despite hard pushes and thrown slippers.

Meanwhile, over in a quieter and less competitive lot, my son works out the rudiments of a new sport. Some form of street hockey or polo while mounted on a RipStik. 

He has also demonstrated dribbling a basketball and playing catch while riding. Somewhere in far off suburbia some kids are using caster boards to invent some unique new sport. Caster boards have none of the limitations of a skateboard - the rider never needs to touch the ground to move over level ground. The boards can turn on a literal dime, and a good rider can put herself or himself anywhere on the field of play fairly quickly, maintaining stability despite occasional knocks or field objects.