withstood the test of time and the bombs of
war. Once you've settled in to this idyllic sur-
rounding with your feet up and your favorite
stein in hand, you start to notice how pre-
cisely engineered everything in Germany
is-from the Mercedes taxi that brought you
from the airport at 90 mph on the autobahn
to the way they hang the toilet paper in the
hotel bathroom. Everything is trick and effi-
cient. Then, just as you lean back and think
that you might get used to living in a well-
oiled precision machine like Germany, you
hear it: clack clack clackity pop dab smackity
pip ssscchitttzzz whap. THE SKATERS
HAVE ARRIVED!
Yes it was time for the 1989 Skateboard
World Championships in Münster. Titus Ditt-
man had once again invited the world to his
hamlet for a full schedule of skate events and
social functions. By train, plane, bus, van and
auto, the skaters and their fans (who of
course are 90% skaters), began showing up
for this major world skate event. By Wed-
nesday, everybody who was anybody and
who didn't have prior commitments (Chris-
tian?, Eric D.?) was already in Münster en-
joying the freshly-poured, steel pipe-rimmed.
government-sponsored concrete bowl and
snakerun, or Titus' very own halfpipe and
mini ramp skate camp housed in an aban-
doned ice palace. Halle Munsterland, site of
the competition, was undergoing blatant
snake sessions late into the night on the wide
but not super fast blue ramp. The town
swarmed with skaters. Everywhere you went,
any time of the day or night, you saw skaters.
Word was that Herr Titus himself had made
a special appeal to the polezei to use a light-
handed approach when dealing with the
four-wheeled aliens. The locals generally
understand and have gotten used to the idea
of skating after a half dozen annual comps
over the years. Now, six months of work had
culminated in the arrival of pros from Brazil,
America, Australia, and Europe, and stoked
flocks of kids from everywhere. It was cer-
tainly much more than a local shop contest.
With the general German tendency toward
perfection, it was surprising to find flaws in
Opening Page: Ultra-extended Bod Boyle fastplant.
Photo: Mike John. Previous Page: On his way to the
top, Tony Hawk ollies-to-fakle. Photo: K.T. Clockwise
from Upper Left: Old-style, brah-Lance and Lee
Ralph. Stale(fish) am Omar Hassan. Rising freestyle
star Don Brown. Slalom thrills. Barbee teeters a May-
day. The patented Pat Ngoho pipe-edge tailslide."
PASCIONON
the street and ramp set-ups. The street
course was outside in the parking lot on
rough, slow, brick terrain so common in Euro
pean skate towns. The skate furniture was
fully spraypainted and consisted of a large
corner ramp with at least six.
feet of vert, a bench, a wooden
dock, a rail, a wooden thing
that resembled a small ditch.
or a driveway, a Venice high
corner replica complete with
fence, a platform with quarter-
pipes, one with a handrail in
the middle, two ramps forming
a hip, and a harsh transitioned
bank to wall. Oh, I almost
forget, there was also a jump
ramp! The large vert ramp in-
side the hall was somewhat
slow, a little on the flimsy side
and had a sticky paint job that didn't seem
quite dry. It had a nasty way with knee slides
until it got worked in. Worst of all, the steel
coping pipe was uneven in spots, especially
in the escalator, and pitched a few riders from
50/50 and boardslide attempts. However, as
Lance Mountain reminded nobody in par-
ticular, "Everything sucks on the first day and
progresses along until finally, 'that was the
best comp this year.""
The amateur division was, as expected,
peppy and energetic. Master
Clyde Semmoh from Amster-
dam outstyled the street rats
until he slashed his hand.
Even with the injury, he
managed to snag second
place behind Jan Waage of
Denmark.
In the pro division, many
guys ripped from the very
start. Doug Smith's fast lines
and clean style ollies made
me happy. Matt Hensley's
ollies-to-grab and ollies-to-
handrail left everyone stoked.
Lee Ralph was also impressive, skating wild
in leather boots. During the finals Pat Ngoho
pulled off a hurricane stop on top of the
corner ramp and tail-slid down the side.
Lester footplanted the handrail and landed
on the other side of the same quarterpipe.
EF