| Have you ever wondered whether or not is was going to be worth it to go to
a contest? I finished the Shimersville contest with
two people that were psyched up to go to Ohio and said "CAN'T WAIT!!!"
Three days before the contest... neither one of them can go. Now yours
truly is
based out of the Washington, DC area... That means that Cincinnati is a seven hour
drive at 70MPH the whole way. To make it really fun, I had a show on Saturday night
at 7:00... 11:00PM- Saturday Feb. 20th.- Get in car, start driving...
4:00AM- Zonk in passenger seat somewhere in Ohio for three hours...
9:00AM- Show up at Phase III skatepark in Cincinnati to find out that I am the first
person there... kinda weird for 9:00AM...
11:00AM- Contest starts- No flatland contest will be held since there were only
about 5 people that showed up riding ANY flatland. Let's just say that they were a
little bit bummed, but seemed to enjoy just hangin out and having fun.
Street- If you haven't been to the park then you have missed one of the BEST
parks that I have ever ridden. The lines are basic but the ramps are well built and
VERY transferable. This invoked a ton of creativity among the riders.
Shimersville had about eight times as many people show up to a park that was mediocre and
crowded. This place had good ramps and some good lines available and nobody showed
up... EXCEPT- LOTS OF LOCALS...
The locals were absolutely going off. Beginner class consisted of only two
riders, the winner of which was doing suicide no-handed transfers between the ramps
(beginner trick?)...
Intermediate only had a few riders in it as well but made it more obvious why the
beginner class ended up being sandbagged- It seems that crazy manuals, suicide
no-handers, and 360's are just standard tricks for the riders here. They were used
sparingly in the intermediate class and were just a warm up for...
Experts (Pro): There was originally going to be both an expert class and a pro
class but due to the low rider turn out they decided that it would be better just to have
a combined class. So about 9 of the best expert riders I have ever seen were tearing
the place apart like it was nothing. HUGE transfers, wall rides, 360's, and
combinations and variations left me wondering why I ever try street.
The low rider turn out and a TON of T-shirts (and other prizes) provided by Play Clothes meant that everyone (including
myself) walked away with about 3-5 free things. I have 3 new shirts, a video, and a
Force Field (thanks Hal) for last place!
5:00PM- The park is closed up for the day and I get in my car, VERY tired for a long
lonely drive home. Show up at 7:00AM on Monday morning and sleep all day.
~P~
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