With partial payments of prize money from last year a mere memory for most, Choppy and Two Fourties Productions brought back World Cup Skateboarding with a vengeance. Oregon. Yes sir, it’s all rain soaked hippies, granola eating and tree hugging up here, so let’s commence with the stereotypes.
Good Vibes: Skating! The format was excellent. Lots of mellow handstands and gorilla grabs… I mean it was pretty intense. The “Expression Session” (No, I didn’t make up that name for this story) or open jam, as the rest of us call it is by far the best value for the crowd. As far as the energy level and entertainment it can’t be beat. The riders feed off each other’s energy which in turn pumps up the crowd in a revolving circle of life where everything is beautiful, I mean the crowd pumps up the riders.
Bad Karma: Judging is tough. As far as the competitors go, you have to go big and heavy or the judges may miss some of the more intricate and subtle moves that can be more difficult. Judging in any contest can never be completely objective, and it seemed to some that there was some bias. The always humble Mark “Red” Scott threw his prize money in the bowl at Lincoln City.and later thanked the judges in Aumsville for what he called “charity” in his results. Local ripper Jeff Taylor was ripped off in Aumsville amid grumbling from the crowd. Sour grapes were heard when a Spaniard won second in West Linn and some claimed he never laid a grind in the deep end. Also filed under “Whatever” is the rumor passing around that style points were being deducted for wearing pads and helmets, which if true, is absolutely asinine.
Love Peace and Harmony: West Linn was by far the peak of the event. The compact nature of the course made for super tight lines and mind boggling Blue Angel style precision skating during the open jams. Quite simply, it was going off everywhere at once, on top of everything and each other. One of the semifinal heats was so intense that some thought the contest to be over, but it only got better. The crowd was cool. Open beers were in evidence in front of the head of Parks and Rec in this normally uptight and densely packed suburban neighborhood. I think I saw one cop there the whole day, and he was just watching the skating. Even the beer bottle breaking in the bowl was pretty much a non-hand wring affair. Who brings bottles to a cement skatepark for Hosoi’s sake??
It’s not “All Good”: The Aumsville police are dicks. Where to start? Charging $2 to park, which is not a big deal, but the money went to Aumsville’s Policeman’s Benevolent fund. Then they had the nerve to ask for donations for new street skating park. That’s bullshit. The parking money should have gone to the skate fund. Not convinced? What about an undercover cop sniffing for beer and officers peering in and under every parked car and writing down license plates, taking note, etc… Police state? Try uniformed officers illegally entering and seizing two unopened cases of beer from a parked mobile home? Multiple tickets were issued. Benji Galloway was seen being hauled off in custody shortly before his open jam, but fortunately he made it back. Aumsville city hall, through the actions of it’s police force has deemed it necessary to adopt a predatory and aggressive and antagonistic policy when they should be embracing the event, and the visiting public, not to mention their money. It’s small town bully speed trap mentality at it’s worse. Aumsville, your park is awesome, but I hope the organizers say “Fuck You” and hold it elsewhere next time. You have cut off your nose to spite your face. Your local youth will grow to resent you and will leave at the first chance.
UPDATE: Promoters have told me that the City of Aumsville has preemptively cancelled next years event due to violations of park policy and the event not being a “good fit” for Aumsville in general. If anyone knows of people (city or park officials) we can talk to in Lincoln City and West Linn, I’d like to get their impressions of the event.
At one with mother nature: Did I mention the superb level of skating? What about the Grand Masters? Vert mercenaries were coming out of the woodwork for this one. They brought lots of pads and tricks that previously existed only in musty issues of defunct skate magazines. They came, they saw, they rode hard. From the legendary to the obscure, they all charged.
Buzz Kill: Can we retire the phrase “back in the day” please? Do we need to hear more than once who and where you used to skate with? Do we care? Dinosaurs failed to adapt and are thus extinct. That’s why they call us “Barneys.” And most surprisingly, no matter how cool you are, basing your group identity on the name of a gang in a crappy B movie is not cool unless you have a sense of irony about it. If you have to keep telling everyone how cool you are… What about Mike Rogers? I would imagine he would be tired of hearing “cancer survivor” every time he takes a run. I’m sure there’s more to his life than that.
No Worries: Did I mention the skating? The friends from different parts of the world? It’s all good.
You’re bringing me down, man: Olson and Blender were there but did not skate for public consumption.
Cosmic Awareness: The best series ever. Amazing skating. Fun was had by all, spectator and participant. Three days is almost too much. Let’s do it again!
Final Results
|
Pro |
Grand Masters |
Women |
| Benji Galloway | Mike Sanders | Heidi Fitzgerald |
| Jimmy The Greek | Pat Ngoho | Jessica Starkweather |
| Dave Palmer | Chris Cooksie Cook | Kim Kimba Petersen |
| Ryan Johnson | Pat Black | Melissa Dafnos |
| Omar Hassan | John Fudala | Liz Brandenburg |
| Mark Red Scott | Mike Mr. Rodgers | Angela Shorty Straight |
| Jeff Taylor | Scott Lambright | Caylen Dakin |
Do you want more complete results? That’s a lot of work, but I’ll do it.
This is bullshit. Lets get to the pictures.
Video and photogs were climbing over everythng like ants with cheap electronc equipment. Some people got snooty, most flowed. The public has a right to know! I must have taken about a million pictures. To be sure, I could edit these more, but what the hell, it’s the web, not print. You might see some pics in the major mags from other photographers, but that’s not the only thing that happened. Oh my god! Look at this hipper!
Next: Lincoln City
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