THE GREAT
CANADIAN OPEN
פח נשוא
فاف
Pas P&
CON SKATEBO
CHAMPIONSHIP
DAY AT MOT
TUES JULY
Man
Mark Rogowski, amateur ace from San Diego
overcame some rough competition from his teammate
Lester Kasal as well as the best of the Canadian AM's
to take the half-pipe event at the Great Canadian Open
1981 CANADIAN &
INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR
SKATEBOARD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Four spectacular days of in-
fernational skateboard compe
tition ended last week in Van
couver. Canada THE GREAT
CANADIAN OPEN saw the
saw the best
young skaters from the l
US.
Canada and even overseas
compete in nine events that
Covered all aspects of
of
wins on the half-pipe for their
victories in both events. Half-
pipe Freestyle and Most Air
Just as the American's I
shad
dominated day one's event's
the Canadians came on strong
during the Freestyle. High Jump
and 3 I contests held on day
two. In the sponsored men's di
vision, Richmond, B.C.'s Kevin
Harris scored a a clean sweep
all three events, which were
held at t
Vancouver's Robson
Square Outdoor Roller Rink. His
Freestyle routine combined
furious footwork with
with smooth ex-
ecution of tricks such as the
double kick mou. Triple kick-
flip and world recognized one
and two board 360 spins
Teammate Mike Blake,
Пр
of the sport. Kev Richmond, narrowly
On day one, Arizona's Todd
Joseph, California's Mark
Gator Roo
Gator Rogowski and Van-
couver's Carlos Longo were the
top shredders in the
in the half-pipe
event. Skaters were judged on
the basis of two 45 second
the boi
routines executing footwork and
aerial maneuvers on the 10 foot
12 foot wide Ripper half-
pipe. Rogowski, 14. of Escon
high
dido and fellow Californian,
Lester Kasai of Anaheim took
first and second respectively in
the sponsored 16 and under
age group. Longo, 16 and
Joseph, 17 each had double
also of
also of
edged out Hans Reif of Vienna,
Austria for second place.
Other freestyle winners were
N. Vancouver Mark Gilmore in
Sr. Mens' Unsponsored and
Richmonds Mike Lien in
sored 16 & under Spon
& under, beating out
Californias
Kasal Camewski and
14
of Maple Ridge, B.C. beat On-
tarios top man, Chris Guild, in
the 13 to 16 Unsponsored div
sion. Unsponsored winners in
the 360 and High Jump were
Carlos Longo and Brent Brutus
Williams, respectively.
In day three's Giant Slalom,
Rick Howell, 23, from Upland
California was clocked at
26.49.
the t fastest time recorded
on the fight twisting course
which was se
was set up on Burnaby
Mountain. Men's Unsponsored
winner was Ottawas Claude
Regnier ( (28.66) and in
Open it was
Sophie Women's
(30.34) of Quebec who showed
us that she can blaze in Slalom
as well as Freestyle. Two
Two time
as
winner was Tim Balvan, 16 of
Montclair, California (13-16
whose firsts in
Unsponsored)
both Slalom (28.37) and Down
hill Speed Run (46.98)
proved
that he ruled the mountain that
day.
run was
Galvan's downhill run
the events best
ents best time followed
by Sponsored winner
ner Brian
Martin. 22 of Long Beach, Ca.
at 47.34 seconds. Martin beat
out Rick Howell for the title and
Galvan won over travelling
companion Barry Fields, 21, of
Orange, Co
Fours Banked Bowriding
event at North Vancouvors
Seylynn Skatepark brought a
few
Sponsored. local bowl hero, Al
w upsets. In Senior Mons
Harrison was beaten on his own
concrete by Brian Balja, 18, of
Lethbridge, Alberta Rival Gull
wing t team riders Lester Kasai
and Mark Rogowski again
battled for fin
for first place honors in
their division with Lester getting
his
his revenge this time 1 for
half-pipe win. In Un-
Rogowsk
sponsored Bowriding all the
winners wen
local talent. First in
17 & & up was Scott Kiborn, in
13-16, No. Vancouvers Rob
Lester took first with Dave Opko
of W. Vancouver a close
second. Womens Open winner
was Denise Frohlick of Coquit
lam, B.C. Contestants were
judged on two 45 second
routines utilizing the park's
downhill snake run and 20 foot
wide banked bowl.
Finally, the Barrel Jumping.
Leaping sixteen one foot barrels
for the Sponsored Open title
was flying Dave Crabb, 17, of
Surrey, B.C. Crabb beat
Calgarys' Chuck Bell
banal king C
Cory
former
Campbell, in the Unsponsored
Covey of
of Calgary
14
banels for the first
place. Left in second was big
Barry Fields, with the borrowed
SMS board he split in half dur
ing
a particularly wild jump
At the Grand Awards ban-
onsored by the BC
quet, sponsored by C. Pro
vincial
Government, contestants
enjoyed the c
the antics of the Beer
Boys and viewed video clips of
the competition while t
feasting
on a great meal After dinner
contest MC Russ Howell and
Canadian
Pro-Am:
Skateboard
Association president Monty
Little presented over $2.500 in
trophies that had been do
nated by local businesses. The
audience then settled back to
read the latest copy of
THRASHER
while 1
the t fim Crow set
up projectors and screen for the
here, not only did the gang get
to see
slides of the wooks events
big slide show. A A real t
treat
10
t
taken by photogs Mike Blake.
Bob
Nurmi i and Graham X Peat
but were also entertained by
longtime Skotographer Jim
Goodrich, who put his very best
slides from the past five years
Перо
up on the s
the screen.
The Annual John Edward
Plucha Memorial Award, a
special Canadian award given
to the most outstanding Cana-
dian skate
skater who has not only ex-
celled at the
the Championships
but who has also helped with
the growth and safety of the
sport was given to Kevin Harris
of Richmond, B.C
The Canadian Pro-Am Skate-
board Association, founded in
1977, has yearly hosted the No-
flonal Championships in Van-
Mike Negus pops an oilie in the bowl at Vancouvers Sevlyne skatepark
couver. With the completion of
THE GREAT CANADIAN OPEN, the
championships mark their fifth
year. Major sponsorship for this
years event came from the
SUPER VALUPEPSI COLA
Amateur
Sports Program Co
sponsors for the event were-
Vans-Gullwing YoYo Wheels
Santa Cruz- GOS OJ Wheels-
Sims-Independent-Protec
Rector-Varflex-Donel-Mothers
Pizza Parlors
The Great Canadian Open
shifts it's location for the first time
next year to the nation's capitol
Ottawa. Plan now to be where
the best are going to meet in
the summer of 1982. You are all
invited to be a part of what has
become one of the longest
running and most prestigeous
skateboard contests in the
world.
For further information contact
Monty Little at (604) 937-0449 or
write to the Canadian Pro-Am
Skateboard Association-P.O.
BOX 2039, Vancouver, B.C
Canada V68 351.
THE GREAT
CANADIAN OPEN
11