Volcom Stone’s 2008 Wild in the Parks Championships went off on Saturday, October 18th at Rio Vista Skatepark in Peoria, AZ!!
Click on image above to play movie!!!
On hand for the event was the finest collection of amateur skateboarders in recent memory. In addition to the North American qualifiers, both the European and Australian Wild in the Parks Champions were in the house and looking to bring the roof down! Over the past six months we’ve seen kids ripping on their home turf while laying claim to “local hero” status. The Championships is groovy because it brings the talent together and gives competitors (and everyone else) a chance to make new friends and see how they fair against the rest of the crowd. Witnessing such an expansive and diverse pool of skaters is absolutely insane and is a good way to spend a day at the park!
The park was packed!
Similar to all the regional qualifiying events, the 14 & Under animals were let off their leashes first. These groms were foaming at the mouth and proceeded to severely maul all three WITP contest zones! Everyone ripped, but there was a distinct posse that was firing on all cylinders. Everyone was skating super well, but I distinctly recall Phil Hansen, Jack Olson, Alec Majerus and Australia’s Raymond Maken making life hard for the judges. A plethora of heavies were distributed fairly evenly amongst the three zones. Heads were shaking while beholding tricks like kickflip front feeble, bigspin front board, switch heel and a three-flip down the 10-set for good measure. All in all, the scores were incredibly tight and no one had much breathing room.
Ollie melon over the picnic table!
Normally, following up such a display of trickery would be a strenuous undertaking but the 15 & Over Division dug in their heels and carried out a bold offensive with apparent ease! Once firmly entrenched, they took careful aim and fired a number of hammers downrange. The park was unmercifully attacked with tricks such as a 50-50 flip out, front blunt flip out, backside three down the 10-set, b/s flip over the down rail, and a nollie big heal just to name a few! Needless to say, these guys more then stepped up their game and put on a show that won’t soon be forgotten!
Brodie Penrod, kickflip noseslide
To this point in the event both the level of skating and the competitor’s ability to stay focused in the middle of the circus blew us away! Due to the high level of talent on display, I think everyone was unsure if the Pro-Am skaters would be able to step it up further. Apparently this was the plan all along because those guys pounced on their prey and instinctively lunged for the jugular! What ensued was the most graphic display of tech wizardry this side of the Amazon rain forest! Of course, with names like David Langston, Louie Lopez, Brodie Penrod, Jordan Maxham, John Hanlon, Bill Marshal and Nico Magalhaes this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. As far as tricks go, we were privy to see a:
- Kickflip back tail
- Three flip over the 10-set rail
- Switch hardflip
- B/S flip over the picnic table
- Kickflip back feeble
- Flip frontside 50-50, 180 out
- Kickflip nose slide, nollie shuv out
- Feeble, front bigspin out
- Nollie big heel
- Switch back lip on the down rail.
- I’m impressed if you actually read all these.
David Langston, backside flip
A HUGE thanks to everyone who took the time out of their busy school and work schedules to come down and be a part of the 2008 WITP Championships! It was really cool to catch up with everyone and hopefully we’ll see all of you again soon. Thanks also to Kevin Naughton, Steve Richardson and Ben Florine from the City of Peoria. Thanks to Electric for all their support and also for kicking in $1000 cash prize for the “Hype of the Day”. Plan B, Flip, Blind, Honest Tea and Transworld Skateboarding mag for stoking the kids with extra product. We hope everyone has a great winter and we’ll see you out at the park next year!
Results:
14 & Under:
1st -Alec Majerus - $2,500
2nd -Phil Hansen - $2,000
3rd -Jack Olson - $1,750
4th -Drake Flores - $1,500
5th -Raymond Maken - $1,250
6th -Bobby D'Andrade
7th -Wyatt Millhollan
15 & Over:
1st -Greg Dunagan - $2,500
2nd -Jordan Repin - $2,000
3rd -Mathew Richard - $1,750
4th -Roope Tonteri - $1,500
5th -Blue Headey - $1,250
6th -Joey Kirkendall
7th -Garritt Gilbert
Pro-Am:
1st -David Langston - $3,500
2nd -Louie Lopez - $2,750
3rd -Brodie Penrod - $2,250
4th -Cody Hale - $2,000
5th -Dustin Locke - $1,500
6th -John Hanlon
7th -Jordan Maxham
Electric "Hype of the Day": Brodie Penrod - $1,000
The Pro-Am winners! Look at all that prize money!
For Wild in the Parks coverage and updates, check out The Weekly Update on
Fuel TV.
