The 3rd Annual Skate Swap and Sock Drive is a long name for an event. But it’s sort of a big deal event here in New Mexico. It’s quite the event on the skater social calendar, if you’re in this part of the world. The basis is super simple. Have a skate swap, similar to a ski swap. This is basically a community of people showing up at a predetermined spot with all the gear they want to sell or trade. What this does is increase the skateboard supply a hundred times over, which can drop the price of some gear by half. It also brings the entire community together in a non-competitive setting allowing for the free flow of stoke, knowledge and gear.
Some of the Duke City Swappers
So you start with the Swap. You invite some companies to sponsor. We like to invite the two skate shops in town, plus companies from the larger world scene. This year our sponsors were Rayne Longboards, Big Myth Skateboards, Orangatang Wheels, Timeship Racing, Skate City Supply, 4D’s Board shop and the SuperSalve Co. But sponsors for what you ask? Why for the Sock Drive of course!
The swap has tons of tables, both personal skaters selling gear, and shops selling product. The Charity Table is where skaters donate new or used clothes in exchange for raffle tickets. Then we raffle off the prizes from the companies! This does several things. It improves our standing in the wider community. It allows these major companies, local shops, and skaters to directly help those less fortunate. It brings the community together for an afternoon, with a common sense of purpose. Not to mention we donate a ton of clothes to St. Martins Hospitality Center, one of Albuquerque’s oldest shelters serving New Mexicans without a home.
Karen Navarro of St. Martins Hospitality Center
We also have a race in the morning but that’s basically just for those who are interested in showing up early and skating before the swap. Not to mention you can win prizes. The entry fees are donated to the Duke City Bombers, and some prizes are handed out to the winners! In New Mexico, both the DCB and Timeship Racing will hand out extra prizes, for hardest wreck, youngest rider, jankiest gloves and the like. Luckily this year we had enough prizes for 1st-4th in open, 1st-3rd in groms, youngest rider, hardest hit, and best dressed (a hilarious add-on to any race). Then we still had twelve prizes to raffle off! Huge thanks to our amazing sponsors for their support!
Jory Boone and Craig Costley get some hang time off the first kicker. Photo Manuel Hernandez
Adam Snider of Silver City crosses the hump, steeze wings extended. Photo: Manuel Hernandez
This guy loves the additions to the neighborhood bike path! Photo: Manuel Hernandez
Racers Podium: Phil Ginn 1st place, Chris Cade 2nd, Kyler WIlloughby 3rd. Peter Seaton won the Groms Division. Photo: Manuel Hernandez
The soul skaters who came out early for a race! Photo: Manuel Hernandez
In the end of the day, we had raced a cool bike path in Albuquerque that we made our own for 4 hours and all the neighbors were super awesome about it. We went a skated a ditch in a mob, got lunch as a group, and swapped like a community. We collected over a hundred bags of clothing, enough to fill a CRV to bulging capacity. Karen Navarro from St. Martins is an inspiring volunteer, and was very excited about such a great turnout. We had over 70 people show up throughout the day! We laughed, skated, lounged, and got stoked. We’ve got an amazing community in this part of the world, and it just keeps on getting more amazing! If you ever come through town, hit up the Duke City Bombers on Facebook. We’ll be skating. See you then.
