On September 1, 2007, the second éS Game of SKATE was held at Thrasher’s Skatepark in Pretoria, South Africa. Skaters from all over Pretoria and even some from Johannesburg gathered to show off some skills. The crowd was treated to some great skating from Semi-Finalists Skippy, Andre Coetzee, Loucas Polydorou and Thabo Nage. Both éS teamriders Thabo and Loucas battled it out for a spot in the Finals.
Loucas, being closely watched by his younger brother wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt, got white-washed by Thabo. The other spot in the Finals was reserved for Andre, after a nail-biter round with Skippy. Thabo had a lot of confidence going into the Finals, claiming he was going to buy everyone lunch with his prize money, but at the end of the day, Andre Coetzee was triumphant and took home the loot.--Ockie Fourie
Alex Mizurov did it again! For the second year in a row, he won the éS Game of SKATE European Finals in Milan, Italy. The national winners from 18 European countries traveled to Milan to compete, and Alex came out on top to win a free trip to San Diego, California, where he will enter the éS Game of SKATE Amateur World Championships.
In Milan, everybody knew that the winner would have to beat Alex, who won the éS Game of SKATE 2006 Pro Finals in San Diego. But, he was hot to go to California again, and didn’t give up a single letter in the final match against Sewa Kroetkov from Holland. Congrats once again to Alex Mizurov!
August 18, 2007: The forecast called for an 80% chance of rain, but a miracle happened and it stayed dry for the whole day! It was seriously unbelievable, as if the clouds had parted especially for the éS Game of SKATE. Miracles can happen, if you just believe! The turnout for the game was impressive, considering it was threatening to rain the whole time--even with sprinkles coming down every once in a while. As you know, this event takes about four hours to run its course. In the end, éS Canada team rider Arte Lew emerged victorious.
It's the hottest month of the Summer, so you would probably expect everyone to stay at home indoors rather than go out and skate. But to your surprise, nearly 40 skateboarders came out of their air-conditioned homes to skate in the all-new and very air-cooled Dubai Festival City on Friday, August 17.
What was going on? The éS Game of SKATE, presented by Rage skate shop. What else? Not a drop of sweat was dropped nor a shoe found melted to the ground. Thanks to DFC, Rage was able to set-up our new game runway inside the main hallway just around the corner from the shop. There were plenty of mesmerized onlookers as the skaters tossed their tricks back and forth. If you got there late, you probably could have heard them stomping their tricks from the other end of the mall!
Since last year’s éS Game of SKATE in Dubai, many kids have really progressed and were brave enough to step up to the big guns. Among the standouts were Ryan Chambers, who rifled off tricks on lock, even beating his older brother in his first round! Megan, the only girl to compete, showed everyone it wasn’t just the guys who knew how to hold their game. Lil' Philipino ripper Edward 'EJ' Brioso and Mikhayel both held it down with really buttery styles for such a young age. There was plenty of promising young talent in the mix--a good sign for the future!
When it came down to the older guys, everyone seemed to have their eyes on a select handful of skaters to take the win. But it didn’t take much attention to notice that Ibrahim Wadhai was on a clear winning streak from the start. Having to pass through the Rage team riders who were present--Maysam Faraj, Evan Collisson and Alex Medvedev--Ibrahim made it straight to the Finals, with Essam winning all of group one, and Greg Charbien, who fiercefully snuck his way up!
It eventually came down to Ibrahim and Essam battling it out alone. It was the nollie backside full Cab flip from Ibrahim which ultimately sealed the deal and took Essam out! Ibrahim Wadhai won the éS Game of SKATE 2007 in Dubai! He will now go on to Milan, Italy to compete in the European Finals on August 26. The trip will be supported courtesy of Rage and éS Footwear. Good luck to Ibrahim, who'll be the first real Arab skater (of Iraqi descent) to represent Dubai and the Middle East in Europe. Make us proud! Thanks to everyone who took part.
The éS Game of SKATE went down in Brighton, England on Friday, August 17, 2007. Between 70 and 80 people turned up, and around 40-50 participated. It could have been bigger, but the flyers confused the kids a bit, plus a lot of local skaters that I know wanted to come, but were at work or on holiday. Maybe a Saturday or Sunday would be better next time. Photos? Afraid not, but Andy Evans shot some video, coming soon!
Much love and thanks to: éS Footwear, Re-al Skate Shop of Brighton, Emma Reynolds from A4, Andy Evans, Hove Lagoon Skatepark, Brighton and Hove City Council, and finally, all of the skateboarders from Brighton, Hove and surrounding areas who turned up, skated and supported the event. It was amazing!
Results
1. James Kilpatrick
2. Nathan
3. Ollie Smith
All of the above received generous prizes from éS, and the overall winner, James Kilpatrick, is now officially on Re-al shop flow. Well done, James! Once again, thanks to everyone for making it such a cool afternoon.--Kevin Eason
The last stop on the éS Game of SKATE 2007 tour was in La Verne, California, and it was good to be home—nice weather, our own beds, and familiar faces. It wasn’t cool that someone snagged our prizes, or that it was the smallest crowd on the entire tour, but that didn’t stop Matt LeMond from smashing the rest of the field, and repping for the young guns. Matt’s 14 and will be turning heads in San Diego, courtesy of Boost Mobile and éS Footwear.
View the brackets from this game. Click on 'em to enlarge.
The second annual éS Game of SKATE in Riga, Latvia went down on August 11, 2007, and there was no place to hide from the sun on Grizinkalna Skatepark's asphalt. In fact, it was one of the hottest days of Summer here, and it demanded a lot of endurance from all of the participants, judges, DJs and everyone else involved.
Eighty kids showed up to take part, and knowing that our best guys are in Barcelona, Amsterdam and touring Russia at the moment, I'd say it was a great success! After four hours of non-stop skating, music and lazy summer atmosphere, it was finally over. In the end, five guys battled it out in the Finals, and for the second year in row, Miks Grantins took the top spot. Enjoy the photos!--Kaspars
The éS Game of SKATE in Las Vegas was held in mid-August. What were we thinking? Although we started the game later in the evening at 6:00 p.m., it might’ve been a better idea to start it in April, as it was 105 degrees out.
The Vegas kids were somewhat used to the heat, and everyone was anxious to get their SKATE on when local legend Braydon Szafranski showed up. It’s always nice to see the Boost Mobile phone, Nixon watch and éS footwear and apparel go to a winner with proper style and good tricks, and Eddie Perez had both—nice!
View the brackets from this game. Click on 'em to enlarge.
We started off our San Antonio visit with some good ol’ Texas BBQ, which was a great way to get in the Texas spirit. Goodtimes Skateboards was our excellent host, and although the ground at the spot was a little rough, the kids didn’t mind at all, and came out in full force, with more than 150 skaters entering the contest.
The young man still alive at the end of the game was our youngest winner all year: 13-year-old Drake Flores took out the entire field of rippers and is on his way to San Diego with his new Boost Mobile phone! Good times, for sure!
View the brackets from this game. Click on 'em to enlarge.
