Category: Skateboarding

Sat 28th January 2005

After arriving at around 9:00pm, to a minus 2 degree warehouse so I could pay to stay up all night and fall over, I saw a surprising turnout: It wasn’t that packed! Not a bad thing I hear you cry, more room to skate and makes it easier to see Rogie tearing the place apart. Speaking of which, he won the (extremely badly organised!) Game of Skate, no idea what he’s going to do with a Creme deck mind.

The night was filled with games and such, the favourite of mine being the long jump competition featuring the Leopard-skin queen herself, Rob Smith, (check pic) dressed, as the latter insult suggests, – a Leopard. After the fairly long starting distance was jumped by most, including Bones co-mogul Timmynastics, the stakes were raised so high is was just Rogie and Cat-boy left in the running, and ended with Rogie jumping a distance almost as long as the large pyramid, board to board, which I can tell you, is a feat and a half. 2-0 to Rogie. As time slipped into the wee hours of the morning, the morale was high even though the temperature was at an all time low (-6), and everyone was still skating.

Also around this time was the (late!) premiere of the rather splendid Satori vid, the review of which can be found here on this very site here. Because of the amount of knackered people sleeping/getting stoned, the product toss was pretty funny. 10 or so kids in the bowl scrambling over a board, two of which got chinned but in the end, a big bastard was victorious from holding strong and true onto his wood. Ahem. Told you it was late.

At around 3:00am, we received a short visit from the police, nothing too serious, we just thought there were noise complaints and skated on.

Then, quite a few of the more awake folk realised about the aforementioned potheads in the back, fully kitted out with a hash pipe, and that the Pulleece were heading there. *cue gulping*.

The 15 minute or so suspense ended when the Piglets..I mean, Coppers headed out the door without saying a word. Good stuff. Overall, a great allnighter, great skating and pretty much a great night. Next time I’m wrapping up warmer, mind.

Props to Crutch for being the generous hosts they are and giving out nuff proddy, and props to Ian and Tim for getting the thing organised, and props to everyone who went, all left with a tired smile on their face, even if it was a weed-induced smile.

PS: A handrail comp at 4:30 am where backlips and crooks go down is one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time. Mad props, kid!

Thanks,

Ginonix.

Links: www.bonesskatepark.com

Globe World Championships
10-11-12 Feb 06

Globe kicked off the 2006 skate contest circuit with their Global Assault which for the first time ever was broadcast live over the web to the entire planet. Skateboarding has officially hit the big time when you see the size of the course your favourite pros got to skate down under, and the number of screaming fans and groupies that lines the packed stadium bleachers. Next stop the Olympics..?

Kicking things off were the Girls Heats and finals. There is a clear divide in female skating today: On one side you have the ‘kickflip to fakie on the flatbank’ gang, and on the other side the girls have metaphorical big balls and skate like the boys. I won’t comment on the first group, but the elite few that qualify for the ballsy group are definitely worth watching. Right, Elissa Steamer won which is no great surprise, but she was under some serious competition by the likes of little Evelien Bouillart from Belgium. Evelien is coming up really fast and will sack herself on the rails if that’s what’s necessary to push the limits. No pussy footing here! Lauren Perkins stepped it up for third place, whilst last years hopefuls Amy Caron and Vanessa Torres placed further down. All that’s needs to be sorted now for the girls is bigger prize money, don’t you think?

There wasn’t so much of a vert comp as such at the Global Assault, but there was a fuck-off massive roll-in and quarter pipe! I don’t know how high things are going to get on vert in the future, but air miles must come into the equation somewhere. The vert best trick was a close call between Sandro Dias, Pierre Luc Gagnon and outsider Rob Lorifice. Sandro smacked out a huge judo 540, but Pierre Luc wouldn’t give up the first place, and in case anyone wanted to try him for it, he landed a caballerial varial heelflip! Rob made a name for himself by landing third with a lovely Misty Flip 540 a.k.a. the Rodeo. Now the men could be separated from the boys as the Highest Air comp got underway. I’m not knocking anyone here, but the veterans who learned from the school of Hosoi know what hangtime really means. In third place we had PLG (again!) with a 13ft air. Nice, but not as nice as seeing Jocke Olson nudge above him for 13ft 6 inches. Finally it was the new vertical sensation, Jake Brown, who sealed the deal with an astonishing 14 foot air straight up and out of the atmosphere- Call us when you get down, mate!

Right, now we can get down to business with the toughest discipline to judge- the street comp. The judges don’t get it easy by having to watch so much talent rip up such a massive course, so if you placed in the top5 you can call yourself a winner. Groups of skaters took their turns during the endless heats to battle it off with the rails and hips. This format was used last year and proved to work better as the skaters felt like they were taking part in a jam among other pros, instead of the focused stress and attention of a one man demo run. Being a truly Global event, there were riders from all over the world racing across the course, notably Ross McGouran from Great Britain and Danny Hamard from France- both qualified after winning different Wild Card Globe events. In the end, it was local talent Tommy Fynn and Chris Wood who wowed the judges and made the cut to the semi-finals. Despite being definite contenders for the future, the two Aussies couldn’t beat the best.

The final was really just a personal opinion as to who wins. The last 6 were as follows: Ronnie Creager, Greg Lutzka, Chris Cole, Rick McCrank, Nyjah Huston and Ryan Sheckler. Any one of those pros could have won, but in the end it was little Sheckler, who isn’t all that little anymore, and what he does lack in height, he gains in his ability to kill a flurry of obstacles. Even tiny Nyjah Huston, who trailed second, only fell on about two of the many tricks he pulled all weekend. If this is the future, then the veterans had better be ready for a beating!

Go to www.globe.tv for all the trimings and peep at Chris Cole at the comp here.

Ralph Lloyd-Davis
13/02/2006

It’s that time of the year when we go from freezing cold weather to miserable wet days. Money is starting to appear again after the Xmas meltdown of your bank account and things are starting to look up.

The local indoor skatepark has not got the creativity to even organise a half decent event to bring everyone together, club nights have been done to death, the TV wreaks of rubbish programming and you have the horn!

Everything is a little dour, the winter has completely dominated your existance and you are fighting for a change of scenery and some fresh air to match. But will you go for sun, sea, surf and tight units sunning themselves on the beach?

Will you go for the option of amazing food freshly trickling down your gullet like never before and not out of the freezer for once? Or will you go and spend your hard earned cash on a weeks worth of carnage on the slopes where you bruise like an apple and sting like a bee on the dancefloor whilst guzzling down peach shnapps like never before until you puke?

The latter is a snowboard holiday, you know it will be the nuts, but where do you go?

Destination Unknown

Firstly choose your destination carefully, and always consider the quality of local produce. The USA boasts that they go bigger, which may be true of their waistlines, but for brains and personality the yanks don’t always come up to size. “Do they really speak English in England?” asked one chairlift flirt, in Mammoth, instantly destroying any urge for some post piste action. Mainland Europe is far more promising, especially if you go for passion, politics and poor personal hygiene. Also, look out for those suave Scandinavians- underneath that angelic exterior is a Viking bursting to pillage you (and the rest of resort.)

Bright Lights, Big City or Country House?

So you’ve chosen your country of residence; but will you base yourself in the temptations of a large ski town or choose a backcountry bachelor/ette pad? Latter resorts such as Livigno, Zermatt or Saas Fee could be perfect for some cosy small town romance. But, inbred alpine villages also limits where you sow your wild oats, leaving you to decide between cousin a or cousin b – and even then you may have to compete with their sheep.

If you want quantity not quality, the large European resorts such as Val D’Isere, Tahoe and Meribel guarantee fresh faces every week due to the high number of randy tourists but Tignes is still a Crossfire favourite as the Dragon Lodge caters for lots of skaters every year and is run by cool people. With extensive terrain to roam nightly, you’ve limitless bars to make a run at possible conquests. Then spend the rest of the week teaching them how to ride properly until changeover day, when the next set of freshies arrives for you to play with.

Pimp Rock Palace

But before you can go looking for potential sliding partners, you need to find yourself a suitable first base. Thankfully typical accommodation has moved on from the small hole in the attic, with just a mattress, cockroaches and mould for company. And despite most beds in resort now owned by the big holiday companies, you can still weasel out a plush pad to impress possible mates. You won’t be able to get anything as bling as ‘The Block’ in Tahoe or the Rider’s Palace in Laax for a season, but companies such as Seasonaires, Planet SubZero and Alpine Elements can organise a roof over your head, liftpass, food and more reasonably – leaving you more time to work on your lines.

But be prepared, as most accommodation means bunk beds so watch out for low ceilings. No one likes to get knocked out halfway through riding the pipe. Also, although you may be sharing a small space with another six sweaty shredders, try to keep things clean. Befriending a chalet assistant helps, as you can then persuade them to clean your bed linen – dirty sheets won’t make anyone act the same between them.

Rhythm and Stealth

So you know where you’re going to park your love nest but when’s the best time to go? If you can’t do a full season some forward planning is essential; so look out for any upcoming snowboard comps or events in your chosen resort. DJs, bands, media and groupies could also be in town looking for action, ready to provide some welcome variety and a window back into the real world.

It’s not credible, classy, or actually about snowboarding, but the annual end of season Snowbombing in Mayrhofen, Austria, guarantees some up for it action – even for one night. This years entertainment includes 2manydjs, Audio Bullys, Roni Size, The Cuban Brothers, DJ Yoda , Bez and parties hosted by Bugged Out!, Warp Records, Finger lickin’ Records and many more.

Home Sweet Home

But remember – home will be a long way off. Dropping out of mainstream society for a couple of weeks maybe one long idyllic haze, free from responsibility and reality, but always remember that you can’t get away with everything and just because you are on holiday, the same rules still apply. You may want to share the love, but be safe and when it’s time to come home, just don’t get caught carrying any unwanted souvenirs!

Gemma Freeman