Significant Competitive Results:

The 32-year-old Auld says, "I've always been interested in speed." Among his hobbies are, of course, Street Luge, riding motorcycles, sailing, and bicycling. He did his first century (100-mile ride) on his bicycle in 1996."Never again," he declares. Auld also enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and computers.

Dave is well-spoken and mild-mannered, as a 12-year executive with a major company should be. He got his degree in food science at the University of Massachusetts, then lived in New Jersey until about two years ago. He then transferred with Nabisco to California. That gave him a perfect chance to get more involved with Street Luging.

FAMILY PROFILE
Dave Auld says his parents aren't crazy about his hobby of luge, but they tolerate it. "My folks like it much more than the motorcycle," he says. Even after he broke his leg luging, "It still doesn't faze them," he says. His father has actually come to California to watch him race. All the rest of his family and friends have had a chance to see his exploits on video tape.

THE EARLY YEARS--TODAY
Auld was introduced to Street Luge about "five or six years ago", when he was on a business trip to California.He says he got to the Golden State a week after a French film crew had shot his friend Darren Lott riding his mahogany board. (They called it "The Flying Carpet" board, because the top of it was padded with carpeting.) Lott was still excited about the film shoot the week before, and was anxious to show Auld how to luge. Auld describes the "Flying Carpet" board as being about six inches wide at the front, and flat, unlike RAIL-style boards, which drop down low to the ground between the front and rear trucks. He says the board didn't extend behind the rider's head, which meant he had to hold his head up for the duration of the run.

Dave built his own board after that experience, and he luged with his friends in California whenever he was able to get out there on business. He was even able to race in a few organized competitions while traveling on business. That was the routine for several years, before he moved out to California. Now he's a regular on the EDI circuit, with a career-best third-place finish.

Dave prefers the EDI rules to the more restrictive RAIL rules. "It's extremely open," he says. "You can use lots of different materials." His team is called "Sportin' Wood", a take on their use of only wood boards. Teammates include fellow X Gamer Darren Lott and EDI amateur luger John Cazine. A third teammate, Dave Parry, was killed in a stand-up skateboarding race in Tuscany Hills, California.

EDI, according to Auld, is enjoyable because one can show up the day of the race and still be allowed to compete. He says that means more open racing. "They do a good job of putting on races," he says.

If he could change something in the sport, Auld says he's like to see more wood boards in luging. "People can afford wood," he says. "All you need is a hand saw, a hammer, and a screwdriver, and you can put together a safe board." He adds that many people would like to get involved in racing, but can't because of the restrictive costs of fabricating aluminum boards. Some people, he says, want to ban wood boards from the X Games because they believe they're not strong enough. "They make airplanes out of wood," he says.

MISCELLANEOUS
In May 1996, Auld broke his leg while riding with friends in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, near Mt. Whitney. He says there were cattle grates across the road. He successfully stopped for the first one he encountered, walked across it, then continued on. He didn't see the second one until it was too late. "I almost made it," he says. His leg got caught in the third or fourth rail from the end while he was braking.