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Oregon Trifecta 2006 – Lincoln City – See also West Linn – Newberg
2006 marks the third year of the Oregon Trifecta. The first year nobody knew what to expect and everyone got blown away by the “shock and awe” bombardment level of skateboarding that went down, particularly at West Linn. The second year everyone was expecting the best. There certainly was some incredible skating, but there was also a lot of drama and confusion and generally sloppy execution on the part of the staff that was kind of a buzz kill. This year things got back on track for the most part. There were a few surprises, but for the most part this was just another skateboard contest with some solid competition. Those expecting drama and a major reason to bitch were mostly without cause to complain. World Cup Skateboarding, and Omega Entertainment pulled off this year’s Trifecta with nary a hitch that went beyond the normal drudgery of your typical skateboard contest. If you want to skip to the results you can find them here. Thanks to Don Bostick at World Cup Sakteboarding for that, and to Mike Estes for doing my job and helping me put a name on some of these faces. This year I’m doing it one event at a time.
Madness! OK? After last year’s event, I was not alone in expecting the worst for this year. That’s a bit dramatic to be sure. But I wrote a bit of a harsh criticism of the way things were run and of some of the parties involved. I figured hey, it’s just my little internet site, nobody reads it anyway, right? Well, I got some peeved emails from promoter Choppy Omega and even a somewhat defensive phone call from major sponsor Volcom’s Remy Stratton. I backed up my opinions and made an addendum to the original post, but stuck to my guns for the most part. This year I was expecting a bit of a backlash. Ah.. vanity on my part. I’m sure they didn’t remember something as trivial as the rantings on a regional web site. Hopefully they would remember the three pages of positive un-editorialized coverage I got into Concrete Wave, but those guys probably never see that mag, even if Olson’s racing club advertises in it. Not sure what that’s about since as near as I can tell they don’t actually sell anything, so why advertise? What’s this got to do withthe Trifecta? Nothing. I’ve got to fill paragraphs between the 40 plus thumbnail teasers.
Typically, before these types of events a few wandering pros and rippers will blow into town like a tumbleweed. You’ll be at a local park and suddenly the guy dropping in next to you is someone like Steve Olson or Lance Mountain. This time a buddy of mine decided to start skating again while his wife was out of town, only to have Christian Hosoi pull up and ask him how the transitions were at Newberg. Hosoi as a confirmed judge? That should be interesting. At the very least he will probably take the occasional run now and then. I’ve seen a few pics of him ripping it up since his release. I had seen him skate in person at some large arena-type events in the late 80’s, but seeing a legend skate your local parks is a little different. Plus at my age I can approach them as an adult instead of acting like that little kid in the Coke commercial with Mean Joe Green.
So Hosoi, right? Big ego, throw in the Dave Duncan Dagger Bro Factor and that’s a recipe for a whole lot of annoying nostalgia, especially when amplified over the P.A. system. Not the case, really, and the biggest surprise to many. Hosoi was extremely laid back. If Duncan had occasionally mentioned him you’d never know Christian was there. And speaking of Christian being, well.. Christian, there was no proselytizing (I had to look it up too) to speak of, save for a brief thanks to Jesus from Cabellero in Newberg.
Lincoln City. Licoln City has it’s own scene. Red lives there and the local kids rip more often than not, disproportionately so. I missed the women’s and the local’s events. I asked a friend who is infamously pro-women’s skateboarding to the point where we all feel creeped out by him, and he said it was lame. A highlight of the event was when local favorite, ripper, and hard partier Wade barged Cohort Johhny’s contest run and Duncan jokingly played up a hesher vs. punker conflict. This is Oregon man, and as much as I hate it, it’s speed metal central here. A cartoon punk gets no respect here. I like Johnny’s style for sure man. I wish I had the balls and conviction to carry it off on a daily basis. Anyway, Johnny might as well be named Rodney Dangerfield here. I think he does better on his own turf. The park was packed with spectators and skaters alike who overflowed into the other two parts of the park. Chet Childress was spotted in the LC III bowl and lurking in the periphery but not entering the contest. Caballero, Jim Gray, Salba, Dave Ruel, Chris Cook, and Duane Peters also sessioned the bowl. Not sure if Olson set foot in it. It’d be hard to believe he didn’t.
I also missed the Grand Master’s event. Hey, I gotta work my real job to pay the bills man. Cab won it, and Glen Charnoski came in second. The cool thing about this series is that they allow local talent a chance to make the cut and show what they can do against the heavies. Lincoln City local Kenneth Laguna was there quietly astounding people with his flowing style and unassuming demeanor. Man, this kid is good. Watch for him. Mason Huggins just missed the money cut to Tim Johnson from Florida was ruling and came in third. Every once in a while he would bust out something over your head and jaws would drop. Chris Cudlipp came in second. He’s always a steady performer. He lives in Hawaii but I swear he’s a West Linn local or has family in Portland. First place went to Rune Glifberg. He kind of cruised through the opening rounds but ramped it up noticeably for the finals. One thing that was annoying was his own personal videographer who was following him on the floor of the park during some of the contest jams, at one point almost taking out another contestant. I’m going to call bullshit on that. Had he been anyone other than a well known pro he would have and should have had his ass handed to him. No matter though, cause he ended up the winner.
Lincoln City was packed, yes. Lots of spectators, a few drunks, some alternate sessions in the newer parts of the park. I hear they raised about a grand to further develop the snake run of death that will connect the upper and lower parts of the park. Choppy had a brand new Cadillac, kids screamed for metal and all was well. Day one was a success.
Oregon Trifecta 2006 – West Linn: Skip to Results – See also West Linn – Newberg
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