Posted on Jul 12, 2008
For the third time during the 2008 éS Game of SKATE tour, Mother Nature reared her head and let loose with some 50 MPH winds. Not to be thwarted by a little wind, the GOS crew, along with local hosts Arockalypse, battened down the hatches and took shelter from the wind in the bottoms of the bowls at Edmond Skatepark. One hundred twenty-four skaters took to the lanes and in the end, locals Rocky Shaeffer and Mike Davis battled Japanese skater Kazahiro Araki for the title. Araki was offered a spot in the semi finals as one of the Regional finalists from the International Games of SKATE held in Japan but refused to play in a Game of SKATE without battling his way through the 124-skater field, like everyone else. He claimed victory with a pink slip win in the finals and showed a tremendous amount of integrity by not accepting the easy spot in the semi-finals. That’s the kind of thing we like on the Game of SKATE tour—skaters, take note for next year!
Posted on Jul 11, 2008
With a whirlwind week of travel to Hawaii and a rained out éS Game of SKATE behind us, we all looked forward to the trip out to Cowtown Skateboards in Phoenix for what was guaranteed to be a hot Game of SKATE. Cowtown always turns it up full blast and the locals in Phoenix always bring the talent. Hmmmm, do you think this might have something to do with a plethora of killer skateparks and great street spots to refine their skills on? This year’s éS Game of SKATE at Pecos Skatepark held true to everything we had learned to expect when we roll into town: hot temps, hundreds of eager kids ready to play SKATE, great hosts in Cowtown and a beautiful sunset during the finals. Locals Ryan Dent, Andrew Cannon, Simon Lambey, John Moore and Britt Rutan all battled their way into the top 10 with Britt Rutan and John Moore advancing to the finals to battle brothers Ruben and Diego Najera for that top spot. Only 13 years old, Diego Najera from El Centro, California, showed no mercy, not even for his own brother, and proved it was no fluke that he made it into the finals. Rumor has it he begged his Dad to drive him to Phoenix from El Centro and his Dad only reluctantly agreed when Diego bravely declared, “If you get me there, I will win.” We predict you’ll be seeing a lot more of this kid in the near future!
Posted on Jul 8, 2008
Here's a report on the éS Game of SKATE at Val Surf in Valley Village, CA
Posted on Jul 7, 2008
Here's the lowdown from the Brooklyn Heights, NY éS Game of SKATE!
Posted on Jul 7, 2008
The éS Game of Skate took Blacklist and LBG by storm on June 4th. A crowd of about 100-150 kids gathered around the shop for a free BBQ and 40 competitors signed up for their shot to advance to the regional finals in Chicago, IL. With a chance of rain lurking, all the skaters were informed during the rider's meeting to flock to a designated nearby pavilion once the rain hit their grip tape. As the GAME begun and a few rounds were completed, a bolt of lightning and crack of thunder sent 100+ kids fleeing for the shelter. Once we got the new lanes taped off, the GAME resumed at the LBG Skatepark pavilion surrounded by severe downpours and gusting winds. After we got a few more rounds in, all hell broke loose. The storm sent 50+ mph winds and rain into the pavilion and with the sound of the tornado sirens, I found myself directing 100+ kids towards a nearby outdoor bathroom for shelter.
2 days later, the rescheduled éS Game of Skate went off at high noon on June 6th with sunny skies and 90+ degree temps. Many kids returned from the previous date and new arrivals drove into town from over 90 minutes away. The bracket rounded off with 24 skaters and many spectators came out to watch the day’s festivities. Ghetto was the name of the game with the help of our duct taped lanes and one LBG local's car audio and mainstream hip-hop. The skaters came of firing as some local favorites got paired up in the opening rounds. In the end, it was LBG local Kyle Houze representing Blacklist taking 3rd, Hamilton OH's Jake Benz representing Demented Skateshop taking 2nd, and Cincinnati OH's Devin Abner representing Anonymous Skateshop taking 1st and advancing to the Regional Finals in Chicago, IL.
Posted on Jul 7, 2008
Have a look at the Barcelona, Spain éS Game of SKATE right here!
Posted on Jul 4, 2008
On Saturday the 14th June the last round of the German és Game of SKATE qualifications took place at the Marienplatz in Stuttgart. It was time to find the last six qualifiers for the German final. 100 skaters and nearly the same count spectators supplied a very good atmosphere and a lot of noise.
The final skaters were Pascal Reif, Oliver Hirscher, Glenn Michelfelder and the és-Europe team rider, Andi Welther, who took first place with switch bigflips, nollie 360 flip reverts and switch late shove-its.
Posted on Jul 3, 2008
The Uprise folks were unsuspecting partners in the éS Game of SKATE – Chicago is always a hard city to find spots for the Game of SKATE. This year we were able to get the game happening in Grant Park at the future skatepark spot. There were 104 skaters from all over the Great Lakes area, and the finals were Patrick Binkley, Tim Dolan, Mike Piwowar, and Weston Sparks. We got Wes’ sponsor-me video a couple years ago on the Game of SKATE tour and he’s still getting better—Weston Sparks was the man who got the top spot, earning the trip to Orange County in July. Thanks to everyone who helped us out in Chicago, and we look forward to doing the éS Game of SKATE in the same spot next year!
Posted on Jul 3, 2008
The last four year’s the éS Game of SKATE has been held at Tomkins Square Park, and while its got it’s strengths, there are definitely other places we’d like to see the Game of SKATE go, and so this year we tried out McCarren Pool in Brooklyn, near our partner KCDC. The setting was beautiful, the space was huge, and the ground was little rough. But like our boy Mike from KCDC said, “This is New York, dog!” so we dealt with it. Because the Games of SKATE have typically been huge in NYC, we made this one a two-day event, to split the Game into two four hour days instead of one eight hour event.
Day one went perfectly, with clear skies, lots of good skating, and a really good vibe throughout the event. UGO.com and Amp Energy were on hand to provide entertainment and energy drink samples, and everyone was all wound up! The field was narrowed to 16, and after the regional feeder winners were added to the mix, we had 24 skaters for day two.
Unfortunately, we also had a thunderstorm, which hit about halfway through. After waiting it out, the pool was still wet, and we moved the whole event over to North 11th street, the home of KCDC. We did the event the way skaters do things—doing whatever it takes. And that meant the skaters played SKATE in the streets. About 150 people were on hand to check it out, and in the end, Nate Rojas came out on top with a good mix of clean tricks and good style. A proud rep for New York in the finals. Thanks to KCDC, Amp Energy, UGO.com, along with Boost Mobile for all the support in New York!
Posted on Jul 3, 2008
Besides a bunch of weird makeouts, a tornado, high-school skate groupies, and breakdancers, everything in Omaha was totally normal! A hundred and ninety skaters from all over the Midwest showed up to skate and represent their neck of the woods. Last year’s champ Bruce Abraham was in the mix, along with two-time champ Rob Weezy. The éS crew’s early pick to win was Darren Miller, one of the Colorado/303 crew who made the drive across Nebraska. Darren ended up in fourth. Others in the finals were Weezy-head, Mike Benner, and Scott Cleland, and it was Scott, who was reppin’ for SubSect in Des Moines, and had won the Game of SKATE feeder event there, who took the top spot. There might be something to winning the feeder events – winners get seeded into the semi-finals and have somewhat shorter day… After the contest, the scene got a little weirder at the local pizza spot as about forty local heads showed up and the spit was swappin’ left and right. J. Eldridge was in the house makin’ friends as always, and a good time was had by all. Or at least most. And we swear they told us they were 18!