2010 WILD IN THE PARKS STOP #7 - VANCOUVER, BC! 7/21/2010
Volcom Stone’s 2010 North American Wild in the Parks tour was back on the West Coast for a stop at Vancouver, Canada’s Railside Skatepark on Saturday, July 17th, 2010!
Ahhh, Vancouver. The Pacific ocean, Coast Mountains and more skatepark options than you know what to do with all lie within this modern metropolis. Summer was late to arrive here but it’s now predictably 70-80 degrees and sunny nearly every day.
Volcom's Jeff Arnold rallying the troops
With such close proximity to nature, people can get outside for a few minutes and enjoy it anytime. Several of the annual Wild in the Parks competitors also ride the Peanut Butter & Rail Jam snowboard contest at Mount Seymour each season. As a result, we’re able to watch these kids progress at both disciplines during the year. Railside skatepark is located in area of greater Vancouver called Port Coquitlam (“co-quit-lam”) and is absolutely teeming with talent. Needless to say, a lot was expected of these competitors and a lot was delivered!
Jordan Murray, f/s blunt, zone 3
The day’s proceedings got underway a few minutes beyond 12 noon with the 14 & Under Division. While a few of the groms we remembered from 2009 had graduated to the 15 & Over division, the majority were back for one last go at taking home an invite to the 2010 WITP Championships (Arizona, Sat Oct 2, $25,000 Cash Purse)! At the top of that list were Sam Hampton Michael Ray and Jaxon Porter. It didn’t take long for all three WITP zones to be attacked with attitude, skills and style. Brothers Cole and Luke Thodos were both under 4 feet tall but were in the hunt and showing up many of the apparently full-grown men in the 14 & Under category (there’s always a half dozen or so). After all was said and skated, Sam Hampton claimed 1st, Jaxon Porter 2nd and Michael Ray squeaked into 3rd!
Michael Ray was on a mission from start to finish
The 15 & Over division took a cue from the knee-highs and competed like they had a chip on their shoulder. The tricks started hitting home right off the bat and had the judges doing double takes and running out of ink! Nollie b/s flips up the step-up, a kickflip down the 9-set and a b/s 360 over the zone 2 pyramid was just the beginning.
A little free food is a lot of good thing
The action was heated despite the camaraderie each competitor had for the other. You could tell they would be friends later but for now, it was war! The battle went back and forth for what seemed to be the blink of an eye. After the blink, Gabby Ivanov stood atop the podium while Brad Danyluk took 2nd and Andrew Classon 3rd. Well done gentlemen!
Backside smith grind, zone 3
Finally it was time for the Pro-Am division. For one reason or another, the Vancouver pro-am skaters seem to all be in cahoots. It’s easy to tell that many of these guys are tight friends and skate together everyday. Several notable names were in this one and those people whom hadn’t heard of them didn’t have time to ask why before the answer was clear.
Brad Danyluk giving the paparazzi something to chew on
Adam Fontaine, Dustin Locke, Jordan Repin (last year’s 15 & Over Division WITP Tour Champion) and Mike “Hashbrown” Shulze were on patrol and making arrests. Utter destruction was what the judges and spectators were subjected to at the hands of these brutes! Adam Fontaine took 1st this year, Dustin Locke 2nd and Jordan Repin 3rd!
Dustin Locke, gap back lip in zone 3
Thanks to the City of Port Coquitlam’s Russ Brummer for supporting the WITP and making our lives easy in general. Thanks also to Aby Schupp, Adam Field and Scott Fierevach for judging, Michelle Smith for tabulating, Jake Gelowitz and Liam Ellicott for handling the photos and video. Another big thanks to Ryley Ellement and Greg Fujiwara for helping us hold things down from A to Z. Thanks to Neil Callahan at Second Wave boardshop for hooking up the goods. Lastly, thanks to Electric, Vestal, Gatorade, Hobo Skates, Skull Candy and SBC Magazine for supporting the WITP with prizes!
The sun sets on the 2010 Vancouver Wild in the Parks
Results:
14 & Under:
1st: Sam Hampton
2nd: Jaxon Porter
3rd: Michael Ray
4th: Cole Thodos
5th: Connor Smith
6th: Dominic Devries
7th: Luke Thodos
15 & Over:
1st: Gabby Ivanov
2nd: Brad Danyluk
3rd: Andrew Classon
4th: Ryan Barron
5th: Dustin Colombo
6th: Antosh Cimoszko
7th: Matt Cook
Pro-Am:
1st: Adam Fontaine
2nd: Dustin Locke
3rd: Jordan Repin
4th: Tyler Helm
5th: Jordan Murray
6th: Mike “Hashbrown” Shulze
7th: Tommy Gudmundson
Electrics $50 “Hype of the Day” award: Adam Fontaine!
