If a skate contest in Vancouver without rain is considered a
victory, then day one of the Billabong Damn Am was a downright triumph. The sun
shone, hot dogs were grilled, and plenty of gnarliness went down at the Bonsor
skatepark. A big crowd formed by mid-afternoon, with a who's-who of Van City
skaters and industry heads skating and lurking at the park. It was pretty damn
cool to see vets like Tony Fergusson and Judah Oakes working up a sweat on the
street course and skating like they were 16 years old; not guys who work day
jobs.
Adam Hopkins, wall transfer. Forsythe photo.
With Brian Schaeffer and the SPOT crew in town, a wad of $20
bills was gathered to reward the best tricks in the Push.ca Bowl Contest.
Schaeffer was on the mic, and served notice to anyone attempting tricks that
they'd better damn well land them if the wanted to earn a bill or two. A dozen
or so guys skated for 30 minutes, with plenty of cash dispensed for worthy
moves. Actually, Schaeffer even gave $20 to a girl who walked by with a massive
purple Mohawk, and slipped local legend Alex Chalmers $20, "just for being
there." So as you can appreciate, it was a loose affair without any real rules:
just the way a skate contest should go down.
The $20 mohawk. Forsythe photo.
Adam Hopkins ripped the entire session, transferring up and
over the wall-ride spine both ways and nearly landing a McTwist (no, I am not
making that up). Chalmers got in for a few runs, and slid an insane frontside
tailslide around the bowl's corner, which he later said was the first time he'd
done that trick there. Nate Lacoste was on fire (not literally, of course),
with backside Smith grinds, frontside flips, and a Half-Cab stalefish. Chris
Connelly also ripped some hurricane grinds, and Mike Kilnkhammer shredded the
entire bowl with style.
Caissie photo.
Alex Chalmers, rock 'n' roll. Forsythe photo.
Caissie photo.
Caissie photo.
A real standout, however, was an unknown kid with completely
shredded shoes (one of which was held together by a mere strand of suede over
his toes) who was maybe 15 years old at the most, but skated like he was twice
his age. He landed huge frontside airs about five feet to six feet above the
coping, and did several frontside grinds that stretched the length of an entire
wall. At Schaffer's urging, the kid even took one of the grinds all the way
through the corner, earning huge cheers and a quick payout.
[Insert generic "The bar was set" caption here] Forsythe photo.
When the all the cash was gone, the contest moved to the
street course for the Ollie Pop High Ollie Contest. A bar was set up to ollie
over, and skaters were eliminated as the bar was raised. By the time it reached
40 inches high (which is no joke, trust me), serious olliers like Jon Hanlon
and Joe Buffalo were eliminated, and it came down to Chad Dickson and Jeff
Marshal.
Caissie photo.
Caissie photo.
Chad, moments after making it into the final round. Forsythe photo.
Jeff Marshal, high marking for the judges. Forsythe photo.
Dickson and Marshal battled it out, back and forth and back
and forth, but neither could quite stick a landing above the 40-inch mark. When
it was finally declared a draw, and the prize money was split between them,
Dickson took one more crack at it and actually landed an ollie. The irony! I
think Dickson was just stoked to have done it, and earned a case of beer and
pack of smokes courtesy of his DC team manager, Trevn Sharpe (who obviously
knows how to provide extra motivation in a white-knuckle situation like this).
With all hot dogs eaten and the sun beginning to set, it was
time to wrap the day up. Check back for full coverage and more photos from day
two tomorrow, when the street contest goes down.
Something to look forward to tomorrow: Matt Berger, backside 180 fakie 5-0. Caissie sequence.
Day 1 video:
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Day 2:
In spite of a rotten weather forecast, the second day of the Billabong Damn Am was even better than the first: nothing but sun all day, until the product toss and awards began, when a light mist came down. But at the point, the dark clouds and minor rain shower were actually a welcome reprieve from the heat. And with a big crowd at Bonsor skatepark, hungry once again for free hot dogs, Monster energy drinks and sick skating, the day seemed predestined to be a banger.
Billabong's Risto Scott manning the 'q himself. Forsythe photo.
What's a contest without encouraging a fight for free product? Forsythe photo.
The morning began with qualifiers, with multiple sessions of skaters competing jam-style for a spot in the finals. Brian Schaefer and the SPOT crew were back in fine form on the mics, and kept the day flowing in an entertaining fashion. Actually, I'm going to claim they provided some of the best announcing I've ever heard at a skate contest, factoring in both jokes and accuracy of trick calling. And their habit of comparing everyone to an American skater was pretty damn funny (at the end of the day when Push.ca got a "thanks for nothing" award, which the SPOT guys gave out to sponsors and various helpers, I was referred to as the "Canadian Chet Thomas").
Good crowd out on a perfect day. Forsythe photo.
TJ Rogers, switch bigspin. Caissie sequence.
When the qualifiers ended, 12 skaters advanced to the finals, with three skaters per heat skating for seven minutes. Heat one saw TJ Rogers face off against Cory Wilson and Desmond Hoostie. TJ stood out with a nollie flip and tre flip down the big stairs, and a sick big spin front blunt on the rail, while Hoostie stuck a nollie big spin down the big stairs. Heat two consisted of Will and Jeff Marshall (no relation) and Arte Lew. Jeff, one of the few Americans in the contest, landed a back Smith and kickflip back lip on the rail. Will skated with good consistency and landed a sick front blunt shove-it on the rail, while Arte stuck a switch flip down the stairs and a slick switch shove-it to nosegrind on a ledge.
Caissie photo.
Heat three was stacked, with Micky Papa, Adam Fontaine, and Ontario's Brandon del Bianco. Brandon was on fire, with a switch backside flip and nollie flip down the stairs, and Micky landed a nice kickflip crooks on the small rail. Adam owned the large rail, with a front feeble and a front Smith. It's obviously a cliché to say the best was saved for last, but it certainly seemed that way with Will Cristafaro, Magnus Hanson and Matt Berger all skating in heat four. At first Magnus was oddly silent, staying on the sidelines and not skating much at all (he was reportedly dealing with a sore back). This left plenty of space for Berger to unleash a barrage of tricks, including an unreal frontside hurricane on the big rail, a front blunt on the big rail, and a kickflip backside tail slide on the small rail. To his credit, Will landed plenty of solid tricks too, including a kickflip front board on the rail. But once Magnus started to skate, he quickly proved how damn consistent he is by knocking off banger after banger, including a big spin boardslide on the rail, a kickflip front board on the big rail, and a backside 50-50 up the big rail's hubba ledge. At that point, there was no doubt both Magnus and Berger would be at the top of the results.
Magnus Hanson, wallie 50-50. Caissie sequence.
Caissie photo.
Before the winners were announced, the best trick contest went down on the big rail staircase, which included the hubbas on each side and a weird gap-to-rock feature. Since it was open to anyone who entered, not just the finalists, the session was fast and - dare I say - furious for a solid 30 minutes. Bryan Wherry repeatedly attempted to tre flip onto the rock ride, and came within inches of landing over and over again, until he finally stomped one at the very end. Brandon ripped with a switch varial flip and switch tre flip, and Dustin Montie landed a rare (and super cool looking) frontside shove-it to back lip to fakie. In the end, former Torontonian Dallas Ives took first place, with a crazy switch frontside 360 ollie over the rail, earning a $500 travel voucher for his persistence.
Caissie photo.
Bryan Wherry, 360 flip to rock ride. Caissie sequence.
After a somewhat civilized product toss, the SPOT crew recognized the top five best trick skaters (see the end of the article for full results), and gave out the Zumiez Destroyer award to Brandon del Bianco for tearing shit up all day; Brandon got a custom sawzal, one of the best contest prizes I've ever seen, so he can de-cap skate spots and rails whenever he likes. All 12 of the finalists earned entry into the Tampa Am, with the top two skaters going directly into the semi-finals and winning $1,000 in cash and a $500 travel voucher. And no surprise, Matt Berger took first place, with Magnus Hanson in second and Jeff Marshall in third.
Caissie photo.
Apparently just over one point separated Magnus and Berger's scores, and with both Paul Machnau and Alex Chalmers on the judging panel, you know the results were accurate; not to mention extremely close. And with all of the prizes dispensed, the crowd dispersed to rest up for the after-party at Shine tonight. So if you're in Vancouver and reading this before 10 PM on Saturday, September 19th, we'll see you there.
Best Trick:
1. Dallas Ives, switch frontside 360 ollie over the rail
2. Brandon del Bianco, switch varial heelflip
3. Jeff Marshall, backside nose blunt
4. Tyler Gosher, kickflip crooked grind
5. Dustin Montie, frontside shove-it to back lip to fakie
Dallas Ives, Best Trick 1st place. Forsythe photo.
Zumiez Destroyer Award:
Brandon del Bianco
Brandon del Bianco, Zumiez Destroyer Award. Forsythe photo.
Street:
1. Matt Berger
2. Magnus Hanson
3. Jeff Marshall
4. Brandon del Bianco
5. Will Cristofaro
6. Arte Lew
7. Micky Papa
8. Desmond Hootsie
9. TJ Rogers
10. Will Marshall
11. Cory Wilson
12. Adam Fontaine
2nd place Magnus Hanson (left) slays his new axe, while Matt Berger (right) takes in his win. Forsythe photo.