Rock A Rail Heritage
by Marlon de Gruijter of Rock A Rail
2019
2012
The start of Rock A Rail
The idea of organizing a rail battle started in 2010. Back then there were all kinds of events in Europe; like Frontline in Stockholm, TTR in Gothenburg and Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam in Czech Republic. It was all about rail battles these days and it was quite common to organize a street set-up in the middle of a city centre. Rik and I thought that The Hague would be an ideal place to organize such an event because we're surrounded by two indoor snowdomes (Snowworld and de Uithof) plus the Hague has a boardsport culture vibe. So in 2011 we came in contact with Protest, a dutch snowboard apparel brand, and they were nothing but positive from the get go. Together with Monster Energy, we organized the first edition on the 28th of October, 2011.
Location
The original location was situated next to the townhouse in The Hague, but due to the possibility of saving costs we moved to the Grote Markt. A smaller venue with a great ambiance, so the next 8 editions have been held in this unique location, surrounded by bars.
Inspiration
The main reason behind Rock A Rail is to unite the snowboard community and at the same time, to do and create something we all personally support.
The Set-Up
The terrain (set-up) is built by a variety of suppliers. The most important part, the stair set-up, is built by GV (Gerben Verweij) Construction. Gerben is a dutch street snowboard pioneer that discovered sketchy rails in the east of Europe with self made winches and a van. He also made his own rails and started his own welding business. He produces all of our rails and stair set ups each year. Together with Sander, a designer and snowboard buddy, they designed the features to determine the rails they are going to build, which theme they are going to use, and what the best gradients will be. They also have to know what will be a challenge to ride, but still doable. Sometimes we thought “Oh man, this is too sketchy.” but in the end it worked out pretty well.
The rest of the construction is made by a large scaffolding company. Snowworld produces the snow for the event.
The Goal
The main goal from the start has always been to keep the focus from a rider’s perspective. Which means that we work on a new set-up every year with different rails and new possibilities. We try to keep it fresh so the riders really want to come and ride the set-up.
The last 2 years we’ve tried to extend the momentum because it’s a single day event. We hosted some indoor dome qualifications where the riders could win wildcards to compete during the main event. At the moment, we’re exploring the possibilities of a tour through some European cities. In 2 years it will be the 10th edition, a tour would be an exciting accomplishment!
2014
2019
2016
2018
