COMPETITION
On the Southern California amateur trail
the skating is everything it's cracked up to
be... and more.
TURKEY SHOOT III
By Steve Steadham
Edited by KT
The Turkey Shoot, Skate City's third
annual showcase for L.A.'s hottest
amateur skate talent, was held on the last
weekend in November, the 26th and 27th.
Thanksgiving was only a day behind and
everyone was a little overweight. The
prospect of having the contest one day
after a holiday had its doubts. All the
manufacturers that meant anything to the
sport had been called in anticipation of one
of the biggest raffle/drawings in quite some
time. Sponsors were Variflex, Powell,
G&S, Tracker, Indy Gullwing, Sims,
Zorlac, Santa Cruz, THRASHER (by the
way, whoever stole the THRASHER
banner is in heavy disfavor with this
magazine although we are flattered that
you took ours over the wide selection that
was available.-KT), Madrid, Walker,
Pro-tec, Vans, SIO, Norcon, Rector,
Motobuilt, Sure Grip, and, of course, Skate
City. Because all of the top manufacturers
were in on this event, everyone had an
idea that something was brewing. The
events were Keyhole, Highest Air, Longest
Slide 'n' Roll, and Doubles. Divisions were
Semi Pro (sponsored AMs), Unsponsored
(3A), and 1A and 2A levels for unspon-
sored. Semi Pro was an open division
because most of the skaters already had
Pro/Am experience.
The contest was originally going to be a
one-day event, but with the unexpected
turnout and heavy abundance of prizes,
we just had to make it a two-day affair (with
no regrets). Judges included the likes of:
Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain, Chris-
tian Hosoi, Neil Blender, Lester Kasai,
32
John Lucero, ollie air, Turkey Shoot.
Tony Magnusson, and Tony Hawk. Other
notables present were Jim Gray, Mike
Smith, rollerskater Craig Carter and totally
insane biker Fred Becker. All of the Pro
boarders, bikers and rollerskaters put on
one or two demos per day. The Pro
boarders gave the curious spectators an
idea of how far the Am skaters have to go
before Pro.
All of the amateur unsponsored skaters
were up for their events. In the 1A, 13 and
under, division, Greg Nichols, Troy Lorita
and Myron Samiano were first, second and
third, respectively; 13 and under, 2A,
ended up in this order: first, Jeff Heath,
second, Al Hale, and third, Eric Sanderson,
in a close heat. 1A, 14 and over, had Jason
Catalano and Andy Gage battling it out.
Gage was the full-on aggressor and go for
it skater but Catalano threw in a few extra
tricks to take over first and a signature
model of his choice. 14 and over, 2A
division, saw B. Taulbee totally ripping and
taking first with Rick Demontron hanging
onto second and Gary Sanderson dropping
back to a respectable third.
At this point the Pro skaters in atten-
dance donned their protective gear for a
smooth demo session while prizes of every
description were being raffled off every half
hour or so.
Next on the agenda was the Semi Pro
qualifying, 18 skaters ranging from diverse
locations such as San Jose and So. Cal.
(of course) to Arizona and even New
Zealand. The top 12 cut had locals taking
the top spots. John Lucero, skating to the
song "My Sharona," got the crowd scream-
ing and cheering. Not far behind was local
Steve Steadham, and third spot had
Gregor Rankine (Variflex's New Zealand
connection). The rest of the cut, in no
Turkey trophy and sponsored winner, Kevin Staab.
special order, looked something like this:
E. Reutigui, K. Staab, T. Nicodimo, S.
Dyer, C. May, C. Tabbytite, Gator (who
suffered an untimely ankle injury), J.
Grusso, B. Wahl and E. Nash.
The first day ended with more drawings
and another Pro demo session. After-
wards, everyone crowded inside for Lynn
Cooper's excellent skate films. Heavy
cheering and applauding were heard,
WOW!
The first day had been long (for most),
but some restless soles were not yet
satisfied. It was then that notables like
Chris Stagg (from Berkeley), Steve Cab,
Wayne, Lance Mountain and girlfriend
Evette exited to the Galaxy for some rad
slamming and thrashing. Music courtesy of
Circle Jerks, D.I. Vandals and Bad
Religion. We all blazed until Staballero
informed me that his knee got slammed
upon by some big ugly PUNX. Bad scene.
We left. Our ears were still ringing.
Saturday morning everyone was trying
to get in a little last minute practice. Roller-
skating was an interesting event. Jamie
Ide was rad, aggressive and as smooth as
carpet. Paul Votava showed that he was
completely insane, doing inverts and flips
(yeah, flips with NO HANDS!). When the
dust settled it was Ide taking it with Paul
second and John Tassi in a close third.
Okay, back to boardskating. The side
events were about to begin so everybody
was going for high airs and long slide 'n'
rolls. Doubles practice was also in order.
The loftiest aerial went to Steve Steadham
at 5'7". John Lucero stepped in to take the
longest S-n-R with 12 coping blocks and
doubles went to B. Wahl and B. Taulbee.
They deserved it.
The top 12 Semi Pros dropped in to cut
it down to a half dozen. The six cut was
announced: Steadham, Lucero, Rankine,
Reutigui, Staab and Tabbytite (unspon-
sored). In the head to head Staab beats
Steadham, Rankine beats Lucero and
Reutigui beats Tabbytite. Next round:
Rankine loses to Staab, Steadham
(highest loser) beats Reutigui and Lucero
takes fifth over Tabbytite (sixth).
So Kevin Staab and Steve Steadham
advance to a skate-off for first. Because of
Staab's consistency and Steadham's falls,
they tie at 85.00. Next run: Staab stays on,
while Steadham falls, to take the Turkey
Shoot III. Congratulations, Kevin. After the
finals the remaining spectators pulled out
their tickets for the final drawing of the day.
So, that wraps up the Turkey Shoot III.
We would like to thank all the sponsors,
Pros, spectators and especially Dan-O of
Skate City, Whittier, for allowing us to
organize this event. Have a good one, till
the next time....later.
RESULTS
SPONSORED AMS
1. Kevin Staab
2. Steve Steadham
3. Gregor Rankine
4. Eddie Reutiqui
5. John Lucero
6. Cameron Tabbytite
14 & Over 2A
1. Barry Taulbee
2. Rick Demontron
3. Gary Sanderson
14 & Over 1A
1. Jason Catalano
2. Andy Gage
3. John Chiala
13 & Under 2A
1. Jeff Heath
2. Albert Hale
3. Eric Sanderson
13 & Under 1A.
1. Greg Nichols
2. Troy Lorita
3. Myron Samiano
ROLLERSKATERS
1. Jamie Ide
2. Paul Votova
3. John Tassi
4. Jimie Scott
SIDE EVENTS
DOUBLES
B. Taulbee
B. Wahl
HIGHEST AIR
Steve Steadham 57
LONGEST S-N-R
John Lucero
12 blocks
Steve Steadham tops out with the highest
aerial of the day; 5'6" above the lip.
SURE GRIP
SKATE BOARDS
&OUTDOOR SKATES
A