June 21st started off not looking so good. Everyone in the city woke up to dark storm clouds, rain and the wet ground, not an ideal day to go skateboarding. By 12pm, the destined kick-off time for the celebration at the Kitchener skatepark the storm clouds had blown over and the sun had come out. It was so hot and sunny people were complaining and I even got a sunburn...perfect weather for the day!
Back to the day, everything got going quick. There was a jam session for about an hour and at 1pm best trick on the pyramid started up. Carcass tossing and crushing everywhere. I really have never seen so many people running into eachother wanting to skate the pyramid at the Kitchener skatepark, it was insane but I guess that's what happens when you throw up $100 for a damn good trick. The original jam sesh ended with a three-way tie between Erik, Josh and Byron so they had to duel that out. In the end Byron ended with first, Erik with second and Josh with third. Pretty heated but these dudes were HUNGRY!
Next up! Rail session. Quite possibly even crazier than the pyramid jam. I think I might have been way to worried about getting my camera smoked by flying boards than anything. Just picture 4 dudes each coming from left and right trying to hit both sides of the rail. How anyone got tricks in, I'm not sure but Mr. Isaac Watamaniuk ended up walking away with a hundred bucks. Word up!
After (probably) dealing with a head ache from trying to judge kids coming from every direction at the rail the judges decided to get on with bowl session. This was probably the best of all the things to hit because you can use the lip, fly out of the deep end or get some decent gnarpopz out of the shallow end. At this point you could see some people really getting heated from getting snaked so badly but you have to expect that at an event like this. Regardless, shit went right off. John Powers took first with his fucking massive kickflip indy out of the deepness of the bowl while other honourable mentions go out to Scooter for his first backside 360 kickflip out of the shallow and Plamer busting a blunt finger flip on the REAL lip of the bowl. Hypehypehypehypehype!
I imagine everyone has seen those videos of crowds of kids going absolutely crazy over a product toss. Piling on top of each other, sometimes fighting, the whole works. Well today there wasn't any fighting but there definitely was an entire mob jumping on Isaac and then the nice guy decided to toss that board in which case Palmer caught it. Now this dude is a grown adult, probably six feet or more but kids are ruthless and just jumped on him. In the end he was victorious in owning the board but I don't think I'd ever want to be in that position.
By this time all the people that hadn't won anything were really looking to get some. What had also become apparent to everyone in the park that some dark storm clouds were moving in fairly quick. What went from harmless drops turned into heavy rain and even a bit of hail very fast. People were trying to get the free food and as much redbull as possible before finally heading for the trees and what little coverage there actually was at the park. The rain had put an end to an extremely great day that nobody thought would turn out very well to begin with but everyone was stoked regardless! I know I was and still am as I write this, I even came right home and did all the sequences really quick so I could get them on the blog, how unlike myself!
All in all, thanks to every one that came out and made this day a success, without the real skateboarders the west49 bandanas would have taken over the park, and really, who wants that?
Now feast your eyes on the photos of the day. Sorry about the contact sheets, that's all your getting in regards to sequences, click them to see them larger.
I told you it was intense! Jame Harmer can't
even contain himself on his skateboard.
Scoot busting trix.
A busy intersection on the way to a
$100 prize.
Mackenzie in full attack mode.
The line up.
Bunch of dudes.
Bunch of dudes and Dalton's mug.
It was a high-fiving type of
day.
Stu and Damien were there,
all grins.
Frontal view of the pyramid best trick line
up.
Shreddin'.
FACT: TUAN IS THE BEST
BLACK SKATER EVER.
This was during the finalist
best trick on the pyramid, no
word of a lie. Shred 'till you're
dead!
Crew of dudes round 2.
...more dudes.
Taylor coming in with the graf, word up!
Justin handing out Diamond prizes to the
pyramid shredders.
Byron deserved a high five
for first place. Front 360 over
the top? No jokes.
Justin thought Byron deserved
another.
Oliver and the main brains
behind the day's operation.
Thanks a mill!
PRODUCT TOSS! KILL YOURSELF FOR A
SKATEBOARD!
Palmer is in there.
Told you.
A rained out Go Skate Day calls for more product
tossing, this time things get slippery.
Tossin'.
Redbullin'.
Chillin'.
Flossin'.
Ah yes, the Redbull ladies. Free
Redbull and goodlooks, I'm not
complaining.
Really, where the fuck is True Love?
Byron bigspin heelflipping his way to first place.
Eric Griffiths bigspin flipping into a frontboard.
Cool eh?
Eric throwing a tweaked grab over the top
for second place. Yeah dude!
Backside 360 kickflip by Scooter Varney
himself, yeah dude!
This was before Palmer got mauled by little
skate kids. Blunt finger flip in the bowl.
That's it for now, my stomach is killing me from all the free Redbull. See everyone and then some next year!
