Any longboarding event that can be considered a comparatively tame affair with only two notable injuries - in this case, a separated shoulder and a broken wrist - promises to be a thrilling affair indeed.
Pender Harbour's asphalt hills were slick with rain and hints of motor oil May 20, when the two top titles in the 11th annual Attack of Danger Bay longboarding event went to a league champion in the men's - and a rookie in the women's.
"She's a brand new champ," said organizer Brycin Lyons of 17-year-old Maia Johnson, who drove from Calgary with four friends to compete in the races.
The seven previous Danger Bay titles had been split between two women before Johnson claimed the title in her first ever-competitive appearance.
Before taking the run that secured her a top spot among the final four racers, Johnson had few words for this reporter.
"You've got to be so focused," said the racer whose experience at that point included "a couple practice runs."
But at the finishing line after securing the title, Johnson was all smiles.
"It's creepy, [winning] my first race," she said, her face a combination of tears and giggles. "I was late off the start and I just followed. I think I passed someone around the first corner and then [the other two] tangled."
As the races began earlier that morning, a light rain gave the downhill circuit its slippery surface while also releasing the oil slicks left by parked cars, according to the racers.
The result was a winding downhill roadway ripe with uneven conditions and treacherous curves, like the notorious Carnage Corner, where more than half the racers found themselves sliding into bales of hay stacked with enthusiastic spectators.
As International Gravity Sports Association's 2011 world cup champion in the downhill skateboard, 24-year-old Patrick Switzer of Hanover, Ont. had the track down to a science.
"The road up there is a different type of pavement than the highway here, so they dry at different rates," he said at the finish line below, using the world "granulars" to explain how he handled Carnage Corner.
For those wondering, the trick is a little bit of foot brake: "go in, take a good line, turn the most on the top road."
Less lucky was 19-year-old Kieffer Lamirand of Abbotsford, whose chance at the title slipped away with a popped shoulder after two heats.
"Everything looks good, but the oil on the track that's what's making it interesting down there," the three-year veteran said from the sidelines.
Paramedic Doug House ensured the wounded would at least travel in style, thanks to a restored 1968 ambulance. But the memory of an airlift taking the severely injured from past races was on the mind of at least a few before things wrapped up.
Nevertheless, the Attack of Danger Bay has become a Coast event that caters to longboarders of many ages and origins, like 14-year-old Gonzalo Brandon of Lima, Peru who put up a top 10 finish amongst the grommits, or the 48-year-old Wes 'Hollywood' Sampson of Comox.
Sampson "accidentally" fell in love with the sport while riding different boards with his son some eight years ago. Since then he's been hooked, competing in every event his schedule will allow.
"My son started racing just last year. He can freestyle, but I can ride. I can bomb, man," he said with a grin before doing just that.
Maybe it's the danger, the notoriety or, as the racers frequently say, "all the people that come together."
Whatever the secret ingredient, the mix has turned the Attack of Danger Bay into something special amongst longboarding's most dedicated talents.
As Switzer said after crossing the finish line, you're "not champion of the world until you win Danger Bay."
