20th-21st May 06
May 20th saw the first ‘Saaf of the River Skate jam’ in Deptford South East London. How did this all come about? I hear the voices ask!
Well, long story short, I’ve got myself a pukka little Demo Mini-Ramp that until recently was dwelling, all neatly stacked up in my parents garage (cheers Ma + Pa) from the elements but unfortunately unskateable.
Now I’ve got a pal, whose got a pal who runs an arts exhibition/workshop type of affair in Deptford, who just so happened to have a lock up available which was just big enough to house a pukka little mini ramp…Bish-Bash-Bosh, Robert’s your Fathers Brother, couple of weeks of monkeying about with wood and screws and the ramp was up and ready for a thrashing.
Putting on an event is a real pain in the jacksy but that’s a different story altogether . After spreading the word about, and with a little bit of very generous help from some sponsors (Big Up Phil at Snickers, all at A4, Howies, Death and everyone else who chipped in) it looked like a good couple of days of skating were about to go down. It being an Am comp on the Saturday and the big spuds coming out for a Sunday sesh. Saturday was actually the most fun I’d had in quite a while, quite a few heads turned up for a mellow days skate. Little Ellie from Finsbury Park took some proddy for an array of sick lip tricks and some nice flippery.
Chris Jackson from Greenpeace smashed it all day with long, sick runs of some of the hardest lips tricks I’ve witnessed in a while. Glory boy of the day though was Jake Harris representing Repent Skateboards who glided through the nicest alley-oop BS Ollies, long BS Smiths and took home a firsta first try Switch Tre in exchange for some spanking new E’s shoes! Nice one son! Jobs a-good-un.
Sunday was the day of reckoning and despite all my fears of no one turning up and looking like a right Pilchard were dashed as a ton of my favorite ramp skaters all showed and tore my ramp a new arsehole! Not one to name drop but Nowick, Churchill, Jed, Stevie Thompson, Zorlac, and a chunk of the Death Squad, plus Bay 66 Crew and a sprinkle of some less known but ripping talent all threw down in exchange for some cash loot via an increasingly drunk MC Mark Brewster.
Highlights of the day for me were Nowick’s Blunt Tre flip in ala Deawon and India Matt Aka Steak’s early grab BS 540! Everyone who was there will probably have they’re own favorite parts of the day and if you want to know more, then you should have turned up you bunch of mugs!!
Basically, you’re only mugging yourself off if you don’t show for the next one, I can confidently say, if you ask anyone who was there and they will tell you they had a stonkingly good time. Picture it, good ramp, good music, shocking skating, beers flowing. Events run by skaters, for skaters are definitely the way forward!
Keep a beady one open and at www.rampjam.co.uk for info of the next one, it’s gonna be a cracker!
Thanks to everyone who helped with building the ramp, all who turned up and the sponsors who, without their support could not have made this happened.
Dave Chesson
All pics by Gorm
