CADYSTAR
FOSO
*USTY HARRIS
PRO-AM SERIES
UPLAND, CALIFORNIA
The ultimate proving ground for
anyone who thinks that they're anything
in the world of competitive skateboard-
ing. This competition, the first in a
series, is slated to be the biggest event
since the Gold Cup Series held over a
year ago.
This series is dedicated to the
memory of Rusty Harris, well known
skatephotographer, who passed away
during the Pomona Contest last
January. He died doing what he
enjoyed most, having fun shooting the
skate competition.
FIRST DAY-MAY 28th
The trip was a long haul. Kiwi
supplied the entertainment inbetween
glory stories of our Vietnam heydays.
Upland was severely overcast and
the smell of competitiveness grasped
many that were present.
The practice sessions were heated
and intense. Those in attendance were
Bill Ruff, Lance Mountain, Christian
Hosol, Bert Lamar, Mike McGill, Micke
Alba, Potatoe Head, Tony Hawk, Gator
and a host of others, including Frank
Blood.
ON THE SECOND DAY,
COMPETITION COMMENCES
It's overcast but with the help of
Vuarnets, the world looks much better.
The sweat of competition squirted
from the pores of those involved.
The masses were beginning to
gather aound the site of the first event
of the 1982 Rusty Harris Series. The
Pipe.
PIPE PASTING
This was supposed to be an old-
timers event, but many of the modern-
day competitors entered to satisfy
their taste for skate nostalgia, or what-
ever....
Some of those who entered were
Mike McGill, Steve Alba (previous
master of this event), Steve Steadham,
Frank Blood, Tony Hawk, Mark
Rogowski and a few others.
The old-timers, namely Salba and
Blood, seemed to be the most promi-
nent in this event. It was like a kickback
in time to the first Hester Series. Both
of them being Hester Series (H.S.)
veterans, they demanded the heights
that they were nurtured on.
The object of this event is basically
to paste a numbered decal as high as
possible inside the pipe. After a short
practice session, two official runs were
made by each competitor, then the
stickers were judged for height. The
two indisputably highest stickers
belonged to Salba and Steadham. After
deliberation, Salba's sticker was
judged to be the highest.
Salba may not be able to skate at a
rigorous competitive scale any longer
(because of his knee), but that doesn't
mean he is out of the picture all
together. One doesn't forget how to
ride a pipe, once it has been bred in
him.
(above) Micke Alba displays the concentration that
took him to the top spot, as he navigates the air above
one of the corners in the square bowl.
(below) Amateur Tony Hawk twists and contorts a
handplant.
(facing page) Christian Hosoi blazes air over the hip
in full throttle fashion during the finals.
-Glen Friedman photos
BANKED SLALOM
There were eighteen entrants in this
event. The banked slalom course runs
off into the 15' Monster Bowl for the
last cone (which, incidentally, was set
about 3' down from the lip on near
vertical). The contenders consisted of
varied factions of the skate world.
Bowlriders, slalomers, thrill-seekers,
etc.
The runs proved pretty exciting, with
some of the riders' times being
duplicatedd for ties in the qualifying
proceedings (even triplicated in some
instances). Nevertheless, Frank Blood
had the fastest times of the day. He
I was holding the reins in a death grip
and he didn't look as if he was going to
let go. Behind him were Bob Denike
and Jim Korten.
THE POOL EVENT
The setting for the pool event was in
the Combi-Pool, which is two interlock-
ing pools. One round and the other
square, with a shallow rectangular
drop-in area facing a narrow hip,
joining the two. This ingenious design
provided a multitude of lines for the
pool competitors to show their stuff.
There were 20 entrants in this
portion of the contest. The Pros were
Ruff, Micke Alba, Peter Gifford, McGill,
Hosol, Mountain, B. Lamar and Mike
Smith. The Ams were Rogowski, Kasal,
Chris Miller, Hawk, Pollard, Steadham,
Grosso, Lucero, Nash and Park.
Injured and unable to fully compete
was the major threat, Steve Caballero.
He tweaked out his arm in an unfortu-
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