2007 Oregon Trifecta in Battle Ground Washington (?!) - By Kilwag: Posted 8-17-07
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2007 Oregon Trifecta at Battle Ground Washington.

First up, let's address the fact that the third day of the OREGON Trifecta was held in Battle Ground Washington. I can't blame 'em, cause Battle Ground is a stellar skatepark, and It's only officially been open for a few months. I heard there were plans to hold one day in Vancouver Wa next year. Another great spot for a contest, but it's not uhm... not in Oregon. As long as they don't change the name to the Northwest Trifecta.

 

Day three of the Trifecta has traditionally been a bit more mellow a lot of the time. Both spectator and contestants seem to be be a little bit burnt out by the time Sunday morning rolls around. This year on the drive out there, things did not bode well as rain drops were hitting our windshield occasionally, but you never know out here, sometimes these things blow over and dry up quickly.

 

Not seeming too concerned about the weather, the event got a late start again. Duncan kept offering more contest runs and then reneging them for the ladies division. They were having to take contest runs in the rain, wheels tracking for a while. It must have been annoying for them, but they are probably used to it by now since they always seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to event time. Others might say that if the competition levels were higher there would be more interest and the women's contests would become more of a priority. Then again it's hard to get stoked for a competition if you know you aren't being taken seriously. A lot of the women were MIA again on Sunday. Third place winner Gaby Ponce was going a magnitude higher than any of her competitors in practice, but couldn't beat Jodi MacDonald for second and Julie Kindstrand who scored her second win in two days.

 

On Saturday someone overheard Steve Olson saying he didn't think there should be contests for old men. That wouldn't be a problem for Glen Charnoski. He's a strong and consistent ripper that could place well in the regular division if he wanted, but he blew his hat trick placing second under Buck Smith who was turning it on. Third went to Pat Ngoho who is so much better than he was the year of his first Trifecta a couple years back when eyebrows were raised by his bro-deal judging. These past few years he's been totally earning it though. It's like a different person entirely. Local prankster Steve Grover finally got his props when he came in 4th. Duncan was reading the results over the mic and mumbled something about how he didn't know how Grover beat Salba and Reategui, but he did.

 

They were struggling to make a dent in the local/pro division when the rain got out of hand. A rowdy and impromptu capsule session broke out while everyone was trying to wait out the rain. Jim Gray refused to act his age and got in there with the rest of the scrappers for the over vert session under cover from the rain. Eventually it became clear that the Battle Ground pro event wasn't going to happen. Calls went out for weather reports in nearby Portland. Duncan mentioned Glenhaven as a possibility, and incredulously, Tobin's private backyard bowl as a possibility. He even started giving out directions, but it wasn't clear if it was going to happen anywhere, and people gradually dispersed. A hour or so later, after about a couple thousand cell phone calls transpired, the event was on. There ended up being quite a crowd at Glenhaven, so it wasn't really an option, plus there wasn't enough daylight left. So Tobin's it was, but that's a story for another day. Stay tuned for pictures from the first backyard pro contest since the 80's.

Thanks to Shawn Reinert for the extra photos.

Official results available from the World Cup web site: Pro Results | Ladies Results | Masters Results

 

2007 Oregon Trifecta in Battle Ground Washington (?!) - By Kilwag: Posted 8-17-07
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photos © The guys who took them.