Category: Skateboarding

Words and Photos by Jenna Selby

£0.01 always sounds like a good deal when you’re booking a flight for a comp…cheaper the better in most skaters books…it’s only the when the reality of that 4.30am wake up call hits is the point when you actually realise that perhaps it wasn’t such a good decision after all!

Well with only just scrapping it within the ‘2 minutes to spare’ window at the check in desk and what seemed like the 1500m sprint through Luton airport to actually catch the flight before it left without us, it was not perhaps the best start to the day! British contingent representing from the south was Fran Stroud, Georgina Winter, Helen Lovelee and myself and from a northern airport Maria Falbo and Sam Bruce. Where were we all heading? The Girls Attack, skate comp in Milan.

The park based in a slightly rundown outskirt of the city itself is perhaps not the most attractive of places to visit if you haven’t been to Italy before, but for the comp Trinity skate park itself was more than adequate, in fact it was pretty awesome. (You can view pictures of it at www.trinityskatepark.com). It’s one of those you think you’re going to have a pretty dire skate at but then you realise that it’s set up pushes you to try different tricks to those outside your comfort zone.

On arrival at the park, it was obvious a bit of genial competition was mounting between Holland’s Candy Jacobs and Belgium’s Evelien Boulliart who were already ‘bustin out the moves’! After the early morning start, it took some time to get the legs working the right way. Along with other euros who had travelled the distance, the UK girls spent a good few hours sussing out the lines of the park, Fran went straight into pulling out some double flips on the steep bank, she was pretty much happy!

Due to all the girls who had arrived on the Thursday previous, partying hard that and Friday night, Saturday night turned out to be a pretty quiet affair. A band played at the park then all were on their way home by 10pm, not exactly rock and roll but the reality of tiredness does hit at some point – even to the most hardcore of skaters.

Day of the comp. Well things were supposed to kick off by 2pm, but in good skate stylee it was evident that that wasn’t going to be the case as the organiser, Elenia Beretta, hadn’t yet arrived along with a host of other Euros who were crashing at her house. Going on 3.30pm the comp finally got underway with a weary looking bunch of 33 contestants.

The comp was not split into sections just 11 groups of 3 which were the qualifiers, where sponsored competed against non-sponsored. The groups got to ride together in 3 minute runs, for which they got two attempts at. Highlights of the qualifiers: Lisa Jacob’s kickflip into the steep bank, Andrea Wilshesen nollie impossible’s, Sam Bruce’s 50-50 down the hubba and Sabrina Goggel’s frontside flip over the hip. In the end it was Evelien Boiulliart ‘s and Candy Jacob’s runs which were the most outstanding. Candy landed trick after trick: backside 50-50 down the driveway block, feeble down the rail and ollie from flat bank over the top into the mini ramp. Evelien landed a list of tricks as long as your arm, smith and k down the rail, heel flip up the step gap and f/s 50-50’s to name but a few.

If there had been a best slam section in the comp it would have undoubtedly been awarded to Evelien who whilst competing in her first run, broke her wrist (for the third time this year) doing a feeble down the rail. Not one to shy out of a competition with a little thing like your hand swelling up and turning a funny shade of blue she continued her run til the end and proceeded to 50-50 the rail down the driveway in that time. On account of small thing like having to rush off to hospital, she unfortunately didn’t qualify for the finals.

10 girls in all qualified, this time they did single runs. Highlights included Kim’s backside 50-50 down the rail and kickflip to rock fackie, Sam’s frontside boardslide down the rail, Sabrina’s heel flip up the step gap and Andrea’s Blunt-Fakie on the big quatre. But it was Candy’s solid steam roller style that saw a varied run of tricks and good use of the park that meant she was deservedly awarded first place: kickflip 50-50 down the driveway hubba, switch heal over the hip, 5-0 and lipslide down the rail.

As soon as it had started it was over with prizes being handed out for placings 4th-10th being called out to receive a prize bag. Those who had placed 1st-3rd received their share of the 500euros prize money. All that was left was to says goodbyes and until the next one…

Results:

1st Candy Jacobs NLD
2nd Andrea Wilshesen ESP
3rd Sarah Meurle SWE
4th Sabrina Goggel DEU
5th Kim Wibbelt DEU
6th Lisa Jacob FRA
7th Elenia Beretta ITA
8th Sam Bruce GBR
9th Patricia Klemm DEU
10th Nicoline Edeberg Jepossen ESP

We’d like to say a bit thanks to Christian from Boardstein for amazingly and very kindly handing over his flat to us for the weekend. And on a final note: could I make it clear to the kid at Meanwhile who asked after reading my t-shirt from the comp (- Girls Attack Milan), “had I gone to Milan to beat up people” as he was worried about the wellbeing of his family over there, it was only for skating nothing else, girl skaters after all are surely a somewhat inoffensive breed!

Jenna Selby