Pro Bowl Jam Qualifier results
Posted 05/14/2007 04:31:00 by i am vans
The main event, the big show, the madness... whatever you might call it the Pro Division at the Vans ProTec Pool Party, it supersedes any and all expectations. I tend to look at all things with a critical eye and a cynicism that I employ to temper my reaction to anything but the real deal. I've seen a lot over the years, and nothing quite comes close to what goes down at the Pool Party. Even after being on the decks last year, my high expectations were once again blown away. These skateboarders are the best of the best, they are professionals in every sense of the term, from the youngest guns to the seasoned vets. They are the select few who can bring it on when others' cannot, the guys that are made of the toughest components, the guys who check what little fear they might have at the door, and put it all on the line.
Heat #1 featured Brian Patch, Bob Burnquist, Bruno Passos, Lincoln Ueda, Daniel Cardone, Chris Cudlipp, Tyler Mumma, and Remy Stratton. Patch was out to better his 3rd place finish from last year and he started out looking like a shoe-in for the finals, but things seemed to get a bit beyond his control. Always a contender, Patch hucked some large 360 airs, high speed lip tricks through the corners and big tail grabs out of the square in the 7 foot plus range, but unfortunately for Brian he couldn't string together enough of his arsenal into consistent and long runs. Bob Burnquist was out of his mind. Bob is that guy who can somehow pull things that no one else can, often appearing on the edge of a complete disaster only to somehow retain his balance and continue his epic runs. There aren't even names for some of the things Bob does, and quite frankly, he might not even know what they are. Bob cemented his way into the finals with his signature switch madness, huge frontside rodeo 540's in the square, big method airs, switch 360 ollies and more. Bruno Passos skates like a man possessed. Impossibly smooth, impossibly fast, and impossibly big might be one way of describing it. To name just a few, Bruno threw down insanely long tailslides, massive stale fish grabs, smoking feeble fakies through the corners, and an assortment of roll-in, roll out variations in a well-rounded vicious onslaught. The other third of the Brazilian triple threat in this heat was none other than Lincoln Ueda. Lincoln is know for the massive air tactics, and last year, to the casual observer, that might have seemed like all he would bring out. This year saw a different version of Mr. Ueda, of course nothing changed about his air time and altitude, but Lincoln mixed up his 8 foot plus one-footed japan slobs and 9 foot body jars with high speed lip attacks to secure a berth in the finals. The crowd lost it during each and every one of Lincoln's runs, and with good reason. Chris Cudlipp made a very impressive showing in this heat with a unique mix of moves including acid drops, massive frontside airs, and an ollie from the mouth of the round, clearing the saddle and landing in the down slope of the square and attacking the formidable face wall. If Cudlipp can spend enough time away from Hawaii to ride the Combi this year he could steer himself right into the finals next year without a doubt. Local favorite Tyler Mumma has been making some serious noise of late at various bowl contests, and the Pool Party was no exception. Tyler attacked the Combi's new coping with his own brand of high-speed controlled demolition lip tricks as well as a dialed in air game and reverts on lock. the final rider in Heat #1 was none other than Remy Stratton. I had never seen Remy skate a contest in the past and only had the experience of watching Thursday's qualifier to get a gauge on how Remy would fair in a competitive setting. Remy ripped, with stalled and twisted invert variations, eggplants, ollies and a strong and powerful lip game. In a heat with Bob, Bruno, Lincoln, and Patch it was going to be tough no matter how you sliced it, and Remy laid down a super strong effort, just missing the cut.
Heat #2 consisted of 3 of last year's top 10 finishers, last year's dark horse rookie, a guy who never skates contests, and 2 heavies who narrowly missed the cut last year. Rune Glifberg glided into the finals, but when I say glide, I don't mean he skated conservatively. This isn't the X-games, you're not going to see guys skate a clean run within a make-able framework to grab a final spot, they have to bring it all in the qualifier or go home. Rune gets this and his runs were high-energy and on edge with huge alley oop airs over the hips, 540's big body jars, kickflips, and other assorted madness. Andy MacDonald's runs were long and strong, and he advanced via varial heelflips, 540's, all manner of air variations, and in spite of minimal crowd support. Joshua Borden, last year's dark horse rookie, is now an expected presence in the finals for the Pool Party for the foreseeable future. Coming off of a severely fractured femur, Josh was strong and healthy and gave it all he had to make the cut. Josh spun multiple clean 540's, abused the shallow end and channel, and literally had the crowd on their feet every time he dropped in. Tim Johnson is one of my favorite guys out there, and one of the most friendly guys you will ever meet. Tim missed the cut by a hair last year, and I was hoping to see him blast his way into the finals. Tim came close with some ridiculously sick moves like overhead alley oop stale fish airs from the shallow to the round, gigantic ollies and late grab variations, and general purpose killing. Darin 'Cookiehead' Jenkins made a strong campaign for the finals with massive finger flip lien to tails, method airs in the 9 foot range, and some tall and stalled andrecht inverts, finishing just shy of the final cut mark. Matt Moffett, Nolan Johnson, and Darren Navarette all had to battle their way through Thurday's qualifier event for unseeded riders. Moffett employed his big air skills in combination with a speedy and powerful lip game. Navs was one of the surprise showings in this year's event, and an obvious crowd favorite during heat #2. Darren hurled himself into massive kickflip melon grabs, insanely drawn out high speed hurricanes, kicked out large backside airs, and his signature styled andrechts and inverts. Navs has one of the coolest styles out there, and for a guy who isn't into contests, he made a really impressive showing. This brings us to young Nolan Johnson, who might not have been taken seriously by too many people before Thursday. Knowing Nolan, I had no reason to doubt his ability to make it into the main event on Saturday, and he didn't disappoint me. Nolan skated aggressively and powerfully, mixing a unique blend of both old and new school moves, with some tricks no one else can even do. Nolan was just barely shaved out of the final, but everyone witnessed his abilities, and you can bet next year he will be going for the top spots with a vengeance.
The final qualifying heat was as tough as any with last year's champion Omar Hassan looking like the heavy favorite to take it all once again. Joining Omar in Heat #3 were Benji Galloway, Bucky Lasek, Jimmy the Greek, 13 year old Morgan Burgess, Sergie Ventura, Dave 'Science' Maxwell, and Josh 'Skreech' Sandoval. Omar put the pedal to the floor and mowed down the competition with marathon runs loaded with insanity. 540's, deck to lipslide in around almost the entire round bowl, big air variations mostly to fakie, and a laundry list of other goods, easily making the cut. Hot on Omar's trail were Benji Galloway and Bucky Lasek. Benji has been on fire for the better part of the last year and his ability to throw out a huge bag of tricks assured his presence in the finals, including positively difficult stuff like eggplant reverts and bent stale fish grabs in the 7 foot range. Last year, Bucky made a decent showing despite having one wrist in a cast and a few other injuries hindering him. This year Bucky came with his full assault force, in the form of huge 540's, massive method to fakie airs through the corner, big lien 360's huge madonnas, and a host of other impossible moves to grip a final spot. Jimmy the Greek is one of the most spontaneous and exciting riders in history, and has the uncanny ability to completely invent his runs as he goes along. Not only that but he somehow manages to avoid people on a direct collision course with him with ease and turn it into a trick on the opposing wall. The Greek might not have made the cut, but his skating was amazing as always and he got the crowd going. At age 13, Morgan Burgess appears at first glance to be a grom barging the big boy's contest, but the kid does 540's along with a truckload of other tricks that erase any doubts you might have had about his legitimacy. For most his size, the big transitions of the Combi would make retaining speed impossible but Morgan gets it done and regularly blasted well above the coping in an impressive Pool Party debut. Look out for him next year! Sergie Ventura put it all together this year. Usually known to be the guy who sets up for higher airs than anyone, possibly sacrificing a final spot for a few big tricks, Sergie strung his airs together in a seamless attack with massive 540's and every variation of backside air you can imagine, and mixed in lip tricks to keep the effects hot. Sergie blasted into the finals solidly, all while cheering on all of his fellow competitors. Coming in hot out of South Carolina was Dave 'Science' Maxwell, one of Skatopia's hell raisers and a guy who masterfully alters tricks to suit his own uniqueness. A stale fish boneless? Acid drops everywhere? Airs and inverts on edge? Yeah, Dave busted out some serious stuff and was a crowd favorite from start to finish. Rounding out Heat #3 was none other than the Fullerton freak, Josh 'Skreech' Sandoval. Skreech had powered through the qualifying event Thursday and snagged a spot in the main pro event. No pads, no sense and no fear, Skreech threw down a bunch of power moves including an acid drop revert in the corner. No final spot for Skreech, but the newlywed made some serious noise before departing into the night.
So the stage was set for the final jam, and the qualifying riders in order were as follows:
1. Rune Glifberg
2. Omar Hassan
3. (tie) Bucky Lasek
3. (tie) Bob Burnquist
5. Andy MacDonald
6. Benji Galloway
7. (tie) Lincoln Ueda
7. (tie) Bruno Passos
9. (tie) Joshua Borden
9. (tie) Sergie Ventura
Stay tuned for the final jam coverage, there's a word limit per posting here so bear with us. It's coming right up!
Heat #1 featured Brian Patch, Bob Burnquist, Bruno Passos, Lincoln Ueda, Daniel Cardone, Chris Cudlipp, Tyler Mumma, and Remy Stratton. Patch was out to better his 3rd place finish from last year and he started out looking like a shoe-in for the finals, but things seemed to get a bit beyond his control. Always a contender, Patch hucked some large 360 airs, high speed lip tricks through the corners and big tail grabs out of the square in the 7 foot plus range, but unfortunately for Brian he couldn't string together enough of his arsenal into consistent and long runs. Bob Burnquist was out of his mind. Bob is that guy who can somehow pull things that no one else can, often appearing on the edge of a complete disaster only to somehow retain his balance and continue his epic runs. There aren't even names for some of the things Bob does, and quite frankly, he might not even know what they are. Bob cemented his way into the finals with his signature switch madness, huge frontside rodeo 540's in the square, big method airs, switch 360 ollies and more. Bruno Passos skates like a man possessed. Impossibly smooth, impossibly fast, and impossibly big might be one way of describing it. To name just a few, Bruno threw down insanely long tailslides, massive stale fish grabs, smoking feeble fakies through the corners, and an assortment of roll-in, roll out variations in a well-rounded vicious onslaught. The other third of the Brazilian triple threat in this heat was none other than Lincoln Ueda. Lincoln is know for the massive air tactics, and last year, to the casual observer, that might have seemed like all he would bring out. This year saw a different version of Mr. Ueda, of course nothing changed about his air time and altitude, but Lincoln mixed up his 8 foot plus one-footed japan slobs and 9 foot body jars with high speed lip attacks to secure a berth in the finals. The crowd lost it during each and every one of Lincoln's runs, and with good reason. Chris Cudlipp made a very impressive showing in this heat with a unique mix of moves including acid drops, massive frontside airs, and an ollie from the mouth of the round, clearing the saddle and landing in the down slope of the square and attacking the formidable face wall. If Cudlipp can spend enough time away from Hawaii to ride the Combi this year he could steer himself right into the finals next year without a doubt. Local favorite Tyler Mumma has been making some serious noise of late at various bowl contests, and the Pool Party was no exception. Tyler attacked the Combi's new coping with his own brand of high-speed controlled demolition lip tricks as well as a dialed in air game and reverts on lock. the final rider in Heat #1 was none other than Remy Stratton. I had never seen Remy skate a contest in the past and only had the experience of watching Thursday's qualifier to get a gauge on how Remy would fair in a competitive setting. Remy ripped, with stalled and twisted invert variations, eggplants, ollies and a strong and powerful lip game. In a heat with Bob, Bruno, Lincoln, and Patch it was going to be tough no matter how you sliced it, and Remy laid down a super strong effort, just missing the cut.
Heat #2 consisted of 3 of last year's top 10 finishers, last year's dark horse rookie, a guy who never skates contests, and 2 heavies who narrowly missed the cut last year. Rune Glifberg glided into the finals, but when I say glide, I don't mean he skated conservatively. This isn't the X-games, you're not going to see guys skate a clean run within a make-able framework to grab a final spot, they have to bring it all in the qualifier or go home. Rune gets this and his runs were high-energy and on edge with huge alley oop airs over the hips, 540's big body jars, kickflips, and other assorted madness. Andy MacDonald's runs were long and strong, and he advanced via varial heelflips, 540's, all manner of air variations, and in spite of minimal crowd support. Joshua Borden, last year's dark horse rookie, is now an expected presence in the finals for the Pool Party for the foreseeable future. Coming off of a severely fractured femur, Josh was strong and healthy and gave it all he had to make the cut. Josh spun multiple clean 540's, abused the shallow end and channel, and literally had the crowd on their feet every time he dropped in. Tim Johnson is one of my favorite guys out there, and one of the most friendly guys you will ever meet. Tim missed the cut by a hair last year, and I was hoping to see him blast his way into the finals. Tim came close with some ridiculously sick moves like overhead alley oop stale fish airs from the shallow to the round, gigantic ollies and late grab variations, and general purpose killing. Darin 'Cookiehead' Jenkins made a strong campaign for the finals with massive finger flip lien to tails, method airs in the 9 foot range, and some tall and stalled andrecht inverts, finishing just shy of the final cut mark. Matt Moffett, Nolan Johnson, and Darren Navarette all had to battle their way through Thurday's qualifier event for unseeded riders. Moffett employed his big air skills in combination with a speedy and powerful lip game. Navs was one of the surprise showings in this year's event, and an obvious crowd favorite during heat #2. Darren hurled himself into massive kickflip melon grabs, insanely drawn out high speed hurricanes, kicked out large backside airs, and his signature styled andrechts and inverts. Navs has one of the coolest styles out there, and for a guy who isn't into contests, he made a really impressive showing. This brings us to young Nolan Johnson, who might not have been taken seriously by too many people before Thursday. Knowing Nolan, I had no reason to doubt his ability to make it into the main event on Saturday, and he didn't disappoint me. Nolan skated aggressively and powerfully, mixing a unique blend of both old and new school moves, with some tricks no one else can even do. Nolan was just barely shaved out of the final, but everyone witnessed his abilities, and you can bet next year he will be going for the top spots with a vengeance.
The final qualifying heat was as tough as any with last year's champion Omar Hassan looking like the heavy favorite to take it all once again. Joining Omar in Heat #3 were Benji Galloway, Bucky Lasek, Jimmy the Greek, 13 year old Morgan Burgess, Sergie Ventura, Dave 'Science' Maxwell, and Josh 'Skreech' Sandoval. Omar put the pedal to the floor and mowed down the competition with marathon runs loaded with insanity. 540's, deck to lipslide in around almost the entire round bowl, big air variations mostly to fakie, and a laundry list of other goods, easily making the cut. Hot on Omar's trail were Benji Galloway and Bucky Lasek. Benji has been on fire for the better part of the last year and his ability to throw out a huge bag of tricks assured his presence in the finals, including positively difficult stuff like eggplant reverts and bent stale fish grabs in the 7 foot range. Last year, Bucky made a decent showing despite having one wrist in a cast and a few other injuries hindering him. This year Bucky came with his full assault force, in the form of huge 540's, massive method to fakie airs through the corner, big lien 360's huge madonnas, and a host of other impossible moves to grip a final spot. Jimmy the Greek is one of the most spontaneous and exciting riders in history, and has the uncanny ability to completely invent his runs as he goes along. Not only that but he somehow manages to avoid people on a direct collision course with him with ease and turn it into a trick on the opposing wall. The Greek might not have made the cut, but his skating was amazing as always and he got the crowd going. At age 13, Morgan Burgess appears at first glance to be a grom barging the big boy's contest, but the kid does 540's along with a truckload of other tricks that erase any doubts you might have had about his legitimacy. For most his size, the big transitions of the Combi would make retaining speed impossible but Morgan gets it done and regularly blasted well above the coping in an impressive Pool Party debut. Look out for him next year! Sergie Ventura put it all together this year. Usually known to be the guy who sets up for higher airs than anyone, possibly sacrificing a final spot for a few big tricks, Sergie strung his airs together in a seamless attack with massive 540's and every variation of backside air you can imagine, and mixed in lip tricks to keep the effects hot. Sergie blasted into the finals solidly, all while cheering on all of his fellow competitors. Coming in hot out of South Carolina was Dave 'Science' Maxwell, one of Skatopia's hell raisers and a guy who masterfully alters tricks to suit his own uniqueness. A stale fish boneless? Acid drops everywhere? Airs and inverts on edge? Yeah, Dave busted out some serious stuff and was a crowd favorite from start to finish. Rounding out Heat #3 was none other than the Fullerton freak, Josh 'Skreech' Sandoval. Skreech had powered through the qualifying event Thursday and snagged a spot in the main pro event. No pads, no sense and no fear, Skreech threw down a bunch of power moves including an acid drop revert in the corner. No final spot for Skreech, but the newlywed made some serious noise before departing into the night.
So the stage was set for the final jam, and the qualifying riders in order were as follows:
1. Rune Glifberg
2. Omar Hassan
3. (tie) Bucky Lasek
3. (tie) Bob Burnquist
5. Andy MacDonald
6. Benji Galloway
7. (tie) Lincoln Ueda
7. (tie) Bruno Passos
9. (tie) Joshua Borden
9. (tie) Sergie Ventura
Stay tuned for the final jam coverage, there's a word limit per posting here so bear with us. It's coming right up!