2007 Vans ProTec Pool Party Women's division wrap-up
Posted 05/14/2007 06:49:00 by i am vans
There might be people out in the world who could care less about the results of the Women's division in a skate contest. I might not be able to influence those of weaker minded constitutions, but I'd advise any doubters of the women to reconsider. If you happened to be at the event yesterday or watched the Vans webcast, you probably have a good sense of what these ladies are capable of, and most likely a good deal of respect for their prowess as well. Much like every other division in the event, the styles are varied, and the skating is aggressive. These girls mean business and with a good chunk of change on the line, not to mention the prestige of a top finish at the Pool Party, They weren't holding back at all. None of the top women skate tentatively under any circumstances, and the way they attack the combi should leave no doubt of their fearlessness.
11 skaters were divided into 2 jams and the hotly contested heat #1 consisted of Holly Lyons, Nicole Zuck, Mandy Esch, Cressey Rice, Kim Petersen, and Jodie McDonald. In this heat, the competition was tight, with explosive skating from the first intro runs, through the final second of the jam. Holly Lyons brought out her signature A-game throwing airs and putting together clean high-speed lines. Nicole Zuck was classic Nicole, punching out lengthy coping-abusing grinds, air transfers, and all with heavy duty speed and power. Mandy Esch, who is still recovering from knee surgery, looked as if she was feeling no ill effects from having recently gone under the knife. Mandy's skating was on-point and she attacked the new combi coping with authority. Kim Petersen skated with her signature powerful style, mixing a good variety of lines up to keep the competition guessing. I had heard that Jodie McDonald travelled a good distance to skate this event, but no jet lag or road weariness was visible in her skating as she tore up the Combi aggressively. Rounding out the first heat was none other than Cressey Rice coming in blazing out of Phoenix, Arizona. Cressey was the only girl to run it with no pads, no helmet, and with a huge grin on her face the entire time. Right on Cressey, that was tough as nails!
The #2 heat was epic, pitting veterans Mimi Knoop and 2-time Pool Party champ Cara-Beth Burnside against the young upstarts, 17 year old Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins. 15 year old Apryl Woodcock, and 14 year old Julie Kindstrand. Julie made her debut at last year's Pool Party, at age 13 and showed a skill and fearlessness well beyond her years. This year she had a couple of new lines up her sleeve, and wasn't afraid to mix it up with the big girls and get a lot of runs. Apryl Woodcock is constantly progressing, at a scary speed in fact. So when halfway through her heat Apryl was nowhere to be found, the others in her heat must have felt a bit more confident. She did emerge with about 8 minutes left and throw down a barrage of moves including front feebles in the round. Insanity! Lyn-Z Adams has a lot of game in her bag, invert variations, a solid air attack, and a dominance over the coping. These 3 youngsters had to battle against defending champion Cara-Beth Burnside, and all around top contender and ripper, Mimi Knoop. Between these two, they have about 4 decades worth of experience, and yet the 3 young upstarts gave them a solid run for the money. Mimi's runs were punctuated by Indy airs, frontside inverts, and a barrage of difficult moves as she looked to take CB down. Cara-Beth was unstoppable though. The two-time champion had no intention of relinquishing the crown as she hucked huge mute airs, hefty ollies, feeble fakies, and inverts into the mix. A bit of tension flared up between CB and young Julie Kindstrand towards the end of this extremely heated jam, possibly based on the fact that Julie skated very aggressively and got a lot of long runs in, without showing the slightest indication of being intimidated by the veterans. Remember there's a decent amount of money riding on this thing, and after all it is a jam format, meaning get your runs in or go home. At any rate, when the dust cleared, each of the youngest riders had bettered their finishes from last year and CB retained her crown to become the only 3-time winner of the Vans ProTec Pool Party. Here are your final results:
Womens' division results: 1.Carabeth Burnside- $4000.00
2. Lyn-Z Adams hawkins- $2500.00
3. Mimi Knoop- $1500.00
4. Julie Kindstrand- $650.00
5. Jodi McDonald- $350.00
6. Apryl Woodcock- $100.00
7. Nicole Zuck- $100.00
8. Holly Lyons- $100.00
9. Mandy Esch- $100.00
10. Cressey Rice- $100.00
11. Kim Petersen
A hearty congratulations goes out to each and every one of the Women, The skateboarding was unbelievably good, and everyone came ready to do battle. Epic stuff from epic skateboarders, but of course we expect nothing less from riders of this caliber. Thank you Ladies for giving us the most exciting competition yet!
11 skaters were divided into 2 jams and the hotly contested heat #1 consisted of Holly Lyons, Nicole Zuck, Mandy Esch, Cressey Rice, Kim Petersen, and Jodie McDonald. In this heat, the competition was tight, with explosive skating from the first intro runs, through the final second of the jam. Holly Lyons brought out her signature A-game throwing airs and putting together clean high-speed lines. Nicole Zuck was classic Nicole, punching out lengthy coping-abusing grinds, air transfers, and all with heavy duty speed and power. Mandy Esch, who is still recovering from knee surgery, looked as if she was feeling no ill effects from having recently gone under the knife. Mandy's skating was on-point and she attacked the new combi coping with authority. Kim Petersen skated with her signature powerful style, mixing a good variety of lines up to keep the competition guessing. I had heard that Jodie McDonald travelled a good distance to skate this event, but no jet lag or road weariness was visible in her skating as she tore up the Combi aggressively. Rounding out the first heat was none other than Cressey Rice coming in blazing out of Phoenix, Arizona. Cressey was the only girl to run it with no pads, no helmet, and with a huge grin on her face the entire time. Right on Cressey, that was tough as nails!
The #2 heat was epic, pitting veterans Mimi Knoop and 2-time Pool Party champ Cara-Beth Burnside against the young upstarts, 17 year old Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins. 15 year old Apryl Woodcock, and 14 year old Julie Kindstrand. Julie made her debut at last year's Pool Party, at age 13 and showed a skill and fearlessness well beyond her years. This year she had a couple of new lines up her sleeve, and wasn't afraid to mix it up with the big girls and get a lot of runs. Apryl Woodcock is constantly progressing, at a scary speed in fact. So when halfway through her heat Apryl was nowhere to be found, the others in her heat must have felt a bit more confident. She did emerge with about 8 minutes left and throw down a barrage of moves including front feebles in the round. Insanity! Lyn-Z Adams has a lot of game in her bag, invert variations, a solid air attack, and a dominance over the coping. These 3 youngsters had to battle against defending champion Cara-Beth Burnside, and all around top contender and ripper, Mimi Knoop. Between these two, they have about 4 decades worth of experience, and yet the 3 young upstarts gave them a solid run for the money. Mimi's runs were punctuated by Indy airs, frontside inverts, and a barrage of difficult moves as she looked to take CB down. Cara-Beth was unstoppable though. The two-time champion had no intention of relinquishing the crown as she hucked huge mute airs, hefty ollies, feeble fakies, and inverts into the mix. A bit of tension flared up between CB and young Julie Kindstrand towards the end of this extremely heated jam, possibly based on the fact that Julie skated very aggressively and got a lot of long runs in, without showing the slightest indication of being intimidated by the veterans. Remember there's a decent amount of money riding on this thing, and after all it is a jam format, meaning get your runs in or go home. At any rate, when the dust cleared, each of the youngest riders had bettered their finishes from last year and CB retained her crown to become the only 3-time winner of the Vans ProTec Pool Party. Here are your final results:
Womens' division results: 1.Carabeth Burnside- $4000.00
2. Lyn-Z Adams hawkins- $2500.00
3. Mimi Knoop- $1500.00
4. Julie Kindstrand- $650.00
5. Jodi McDonald- $350.00
6. Apryl Woodcock- $100.00
7. Nicole Zuck- $100.00
8. Holly Lyons- $100.00
9. Mandy Esch- $100.00
10. Cressey Rice- $100.00
11. Kim Petersen
A hearty congratulations goes out to each and every one of the Women, The skateboarding was unbelievably good, and everyone came ready to do battle. Epic stuff from epic skateboarders, but of course we expect nothing less from riders of this caliber. Thank you Ladies for giving us the most exciting competition yet!