Two brothers have been dominating the South Colorado skateboard scene of late. In fact give them any form of board and they will master it.So far they have proven their abilities on land with skateboards, on the water, and if South Carolina were permitting, they would perhaps be as adept on the snow.Drew and Pierce Ridout are both masters of the board, whichever guise it comes in.
But their true passion is the skate board and have been firm staples in the south Carolina skate scene for many years. This weekend they are set to dazzle crowds as they skate out for the second annual Al Carter Memorial Competition.The contest is named after another local skater who certainly made his mark on the local boarding scene, before sadly passing young. Both Ridouts are said to be good friends with the former rider, giving a personal edge to their upcoming performances at the competition.
The money raised during this event will go to Carter's family, as well as Surfer healing, a boarder's charity which was set up to make money for autistic children.So this weekend promises to be an extremely exciting weekend of skating, with pros and amateurs all competing together, going all out to make the best tricks they possibly can on a range of medium. Though the main setting is the street course in which skaters show their ramp, grinding and manual skills. The tournament is not just about the glory of winning but also paying tribute to a much admired and sadly missed figure.
The town has now become well established as a skating town, with its local celebrities well established, but it is also a popular tourist town, with Myrtle Beach accommodations proving successful tourist pullers the whole year round and it's easy to see why.
There is the obvious draw of the skating, which provides a spectacle all year round. Even when there is no competition on crowds gather round to see the committed skaters perform, trying new tricks and sometimes painfully failing. This has also led to a clever enterprise with tourists in which they can rent a board and try their luck out on the ramps here.
Yet there is much more to Myrtle Beach than just the skating, it is naturally a very popular surfing town. The surfing tradition goes way back here and yet it is one of the more overlooked surfing spots in the US, in fact it has wonderful clear waters and some great big waves to latch on to.
The water is also surprisingly clear for a US beach and this makes it a great location for scuba diving, You may be pleasantly shocked at what you find in these waters, there is a great deal of subterranean beauty and a lot of sea life to admire, furthermore you can go out deep in to the ocean.
Yet if you want to just lie down on a beach, relax and read as you sun yourself, that is easy to do too. There is after all 60 kilometres of beach here.
Martin Wynn
