[March-2008] General information about EGC.
Who is EGC?
That would be me. My name is Eric and I’m a skating & cycling enthusiast from the GTA (Greater Toronto Area.) I have a regular day job, but I spend most of my free time skating, cycling and practicing my various arts and crafts.
My athletic experience includes 20 years of cycling and 15 years of speed skating (short track and inline). I skate for both fitness and competition. I’ve been on Canada’s National Inline Roller Speed Skating Team and have gone to the World Championships (in Belgium.)
I occasionally show photos, drawings, crafts and other works on this site. Most are my own, but I will also invite friends, guests and other sources that I’ve met throughout the years. In any case they are all licensed under the Creative Commons license or their respective owners copyrights. If you wish to use my work on your website - go ahead and do so, but please give the credit where it’s due. Please respect the copyrights of the other works.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Canada License.
For the FULL terms and conditions of EGCSkates - please see the [Terms] page.
What is EGC?
EGC is Eric Gee Custom, the name of my website and part-time craft business.
My goals are:
- To promote the sport of speed skating as a lifetime activity. Speed skating can be enjoyed by everyone, not just the elite Olympic and World Champions you hear about in the media. In some continents, this sport is a lifestyle.
- To discuss my own explorations, discoveries and learnings about the sport of speed skating, as it relates to participation in Southern Ontario (CANADA).
- To write about my various hobbies which include bicycles, photography, making shoes, boots and skates.
What I am NOT:
- I am not a professional shoe, boot, or skate maker. If you’re looking for custom shoes, boots or skates, there are plenty of them listed in my links. If you want some advice on a brand that I’m familiar with - please contact me. I will occasionally review skate boots, designs and related products (when the opportunity arises.)
- I am not in the business of regularly selling shoes, boots or skates to the public. Infrequently and from time to time, I may offer to make one-off custom skate boots available. Please contact me for more information.
About EGC:
I primarily write about speed skating boots, although I spend a lot of time researching and studying the methods of shoe making. I have several projects and articles in the works about shoe repair, sandal making and shoe making.
I am currently experimenting with a pre-fitting technique that ensures the shoe or boot will fit before I put down the first layer of carbon fiber or leather lining. As the boot is being built, it is also photographed at different stages and posted on my blog.
I’m always looking for opinions and suggestions on this topic. I would love to hear about what you’re working on. On the other hand, if you’ve got questions about my hobby, please feel free to send me an email or directly comment on my blog and I’ll do my very best to provide you with more information.
Where is EGC?
EGC is about Garage Boot & Shoe making. That means I work out of my garage. The casting process I use is complex but quite straightforward and can be done anywhere (sorry, I don’t do casting in my garage.) I also don’t accept casts done by others for my ongoing projects. As I wrote above, I am not a professional boot maker and I don’t regularly take boot orders. If you want a pair of my boots, come talk to me at a skate practice.
To find out what events and practices I will be at, please take a look at my [Project Status] page.
What is the Prototype Program?
This is an EGC program, which will allow testing of current designs and processes for the purpose of gathering information for future discussions on this topic. It also gives local skaters the opportunity to try out custom boots (as long as they meet the conditions listed below.)
There will be two programs offered on a first come, first served basis. The inline program starts in April and the Short Track program begins in July. In April you can sign up to become a participant of the program.
How much are EGC’s?
There is currently no set price. As I wrote above, I don’t regularly sell to the public. The 2008 project is part of an introductory/prototype program, please contact me if you’re interested in participating and I’ll fill you in on the details.
I am accepting between 5 - 10 skaters with:
- At least two years of racing experience OR
- Skilled skaters that are a current member of a local Ontario skating club (ice or inline) in good standing (Greater Toronto Area only please.)
- Boots are offered at no cost, but they must be returned at the end of the season. If you want to keep the prototypes, you can purchase them at the end of the program for $400.
Requirements:
- You must be at least 18 years of age OR if you are younger, a parent or guardian MUST sign a consent form. I will not accept skaters under 16 years of age.
- You must NOT already be a sponsored skater.
- Submit a bi-weekly report on the boots.
- Participate in events, activities and practices organized by EGC and the Toronto Inline Skating Club (You must attend at least three (3) Toronto Inline Skating Club practices PER MONTH, please visit http://torontoinlinespeed.com/ for more information about the club.)
- For inline: compete or participate in at least five (5) events or two (2) equivalent major events like Northshore, A2A, NYC100k, Provincials, Nationals, Worlds or the Montreal 24h.
- For Short Track: compete or participate in at least three (3) ability meets or one (1) equivalent major event like Ontario Cups, North American’s, Provincials, Masters Provincial Championships.
I reserve the right to select the skaters in the program based on location and event participation.
How do I contact EGC?
Email is a good way. I can be reached at: joyridernet[at]yahoo[dot]com. Another way is to show up to one of our local skate club practices. For a complete list - refer to my links. Throughout the summer, I regularly coach at the Toronto Inline Skating Club.
