THE
HISTORY OF ROCKCRAWLING
By Lil' Rich
Klein
Some might
say that the history of rock crawling is fairly short, yet high profile and
as much as that may be true for the sport, although the original, trail riding
has been long and extensive ranging from the 1950's to current times. Beginning
with the old post war military Jeeps, which were navigated on minor four-wheel
drive trails like the Rubicon Trail, most never expected the change and massive
growth towards the greatly anticipated sport of Rock Crawling in man-made race
facilities and arenas around the world.
The early days of trail riding saw many military men and women buying
the same vehicle that was used on the war fields. Willys and Jeep offered the
first military vehicles to the public, which in most cases were used by buyers
to get out of the busy urban environments and into the quiet outdoors. Soon
hundreds of four-wheel-drive trails to favorite spots for camping and fishing
opened up for recreational use. This flourish in activity caught automakers
attention creating excitement and the spark of the new but stable four-wheel-drive
industry.
With the automakers keen on the new look, many other forms of four-wheel-drive
vehicles started shooting off the assembly lines and into the homes of enthusiasts.
In very little time the originators of trail riding were surrounded by masses
of people in other makes and models of vehicles, which offered a wide array
of selection and many parts to choose from while making favorite spots too crowded.
This boom in the sport created a new venue for the tire industry and soon fueled
the idea of once again getting away from the masses and finding new quiet recreational
sites.
With the tire industry involved, the ability to naviate over tougher
terrain with larger tires was imminent. Most took advantage of the new capabilities
that their four-wheel drive had with larger tires, opening more trail systems
over rougher terrain. This process occurred several times throughout history
dwindling the amount of hardcore enthusiasts down to a select few that got thrills
from driving the most difficult terrain imaginable. These thrill seekers started
forming groups and annual trail rides that would bring people with common interests
together for a weekend of fun on the trail.
As human competitive nature would have its way on enthusiast, trail
rides with these more extreme groups became more based on the childhood game
"Follow the Leader." When a trail rider could not drive the same tracks or line
that the person in front had driven and instead took a bypass, they were looked
down upon and considered not as capable as the rest of the pack. This kids game
quickly turned into an idea that would spark the "Fastest growing sport in America,"
as labeled by Dan Rather of CBS News.
The sport of Rock Crawling's originator, Phil Howell, came up with
a points system that would penalize teams of people created of a four-wheel
drive vehicle, one driver, and one navigator known as a spotter. The idea was
to penalize teams with points for hitting navigational markers that vehicles
had to drive through, for putting the vehicle in reverse, and for using a winch
to help aid forward progress through a course. In this new sport, the lowest
score wins and there are harder, optional lines in which teams can navigate
in order to receive bonus points.
With the first nationally recognized event starting in 1998 showing
a field of 40 competitors driving highly modified vehicles over the hardest
trails in the nation, excitement only grew and more promoters popped up around
the country hosting large scale Rock Crawling competitions. At one time there
were over 25 venues and crawling circuits were an enthusiast could go compete
throughout the nation. Teams found themselves forced into having to decide which
circuit to crawl in based off of media coverage, attendance records, and demographics.
Once the sport began flourish, so did the after-market industry.
As competitors found themselves driving over more harsh terrain and breaking
more parts, the need for stronger, more sport focused four-wheel drive parts
came into the spotlight and the after-market industry used rock crawling competitions
as a platform to test new products and materials. Soon enough the weak parts
were not the cause of a team not completing a course, it was the extreme risk
of rolling a vehicle over that was the wall which teams had to overcome. During
this current era in the sport, broken parts are at a low, while excitement is
at an all-time high.
Now teams are driving to specially built Rock Crawling Facilities
made from fake rocks created with the same gunite materials as a backyard pool.
While some think the future of the sport is in the arenas, the unpredictability
is still a favorite with teams. Currently the largest crawling circuit, World
Extreme Rock Crawling Championship Series or W.E.ROCK, boasts events and sites
in seven different countries and has the U.S. circuit down to a National Series,
National Championship, and World Championship. The sport has grown so much that
teams from all over the world will congregate to the first true World Championship
in Las Vegas in 2006.
Today Rock Crawling has a huge fan base and is nationally aired
over several high profile television stations featuring over 160 teams in the
W.E.ROCK series, seven countries under the W.E.ROCK Sanctioning Body producing
over twenty-four national events, ten regional subsidiary event circuits involving
over thirty events, and a regional count of nearly 200 teams. These numbers
compared to the early days of post war four-wheel drive vehicles show that the
growth and transformation of the sport has taken huge strides in a short amount
of time. Even though the strides have been huge, they have created a strong
base with region or feeder events into a national and world championship showing
that the sport is also incredibly stable for years to come.
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