Jeanette Blain | News Editor | jblain.uvu@gmail.com
Utah County longboarding enthusiasts gathered at UVU’s northwest parking lot on Aug. 29 for a day of music, food and push racing.
The event was the first of its kind in Utah and was hosted by UVU’s Enactus club and longboarding company Jaseboards.
Push racing entails racing longboards propelled by human power over a flat surface. The day’s events included several heats with both children’s and adult races.
The Enactus club is part of a worldwide organization. According to their website, their mission is “inspiring students to improve the world through entrepreneurial action.” Students in the club aim to build businesses that not only sustain profits to keep the business going, but also provide ongoing support to communities in need.
“We try to identify problems that exist in the world and provide sustainable solutions,” Brandon Reas, Enactus club member said.
The Push Race event was designed to raise awareness for the Enactus club and several companies that started out as Enactus projects like Jaseboards, Akin Clothing and Pomelo Travel.
Local bands Mimi Knowles and The Vibrant Sound played for participants and spectators between and during races. There were also vendor booths like Slug Magazine and ComicCon and several food trucks including Sweeto Burrito and Waffle Love.
“We wanted to do something fun, something to engage in the community,” Reas said, “We saw that there’s a strong longboarding community in Utah County, and we know that Utahns love to race, so we just tried to combine the two.”
Kevin Castle, UVU Enactus adviser, said the Enactus philosophy fits perfectly with UVU’s commitment to engaged learning. In January of this year Castle came to UVU from BYU-Hawaii, where he led the BYUH Enactus team from 2010-1014. He has been heading the UVU Enactus club, along with Bill Neil, since March.
He said it’s important for Enactus projects to develop sustainable solutions. Even after the project is over, he said, the value stays with the people they are trying to help.
This article was corrected, Sept. 4, 2015 at 6:27 p.m., to reflect that Kevin Castle came to UVU in January of this year from BYU-Hawaii, not BYU, Provo.
