RAL
SKATEBOARDS
The weather in Charleston was warm...well,
hot...okay, boiling. The contest was supposed to
begin at 11, well 12, ah heck, let's make it 3.
Dave Duncan and Big Don Bostick pulled out the
score cards, adjusted the mike and announced
the pro line-up, all eleven of them. A handful of
skate masters and sponsored ams would also
compete. It was easy to appreciate the local
knowledge shining through during practice ses-
sions. By run time, the regulars were in full effect.
Blaize Blouin and Buck Smith went at it tooth
and nail. Blaize snapped slob fastplants way
across the sharp-hipped pool lip, while Buck
matched him with lien tailslides and back-to-back
edge carves that pulled him out front as the
judges favorite. Not backing down, Adam Luxdford,
who makes his home in Daytona Beach, flew
double or nothing speed lines with bigger, faster
and, at times, gnarlier moves. However, his runs
were less consistent. Mike Crum and Chris Gen-
try, the Texas twosome, were right there applying
pressure with consistent tricks, airs and lip work.
Seasoned legends of the East Coast scene
were there to skate, as always, and skate they
did. Tom Groholski spiced the bowl with his
unique flavoring as he laid down smooth, clean
lines that included an extra-large indy grab over
the hip. Morris Wainwright conquered the masters
ranks with loose style and speed. Amateur loke
Jimmy Leaphart's backside air-to-Japan grab had
the skateheads in the crowd yelling. Chet Chil-
dress busted burly backside Smiths, long and
lapped frontside growlers and Madonnas to boot.
After it was announced that Buck Smith was king
of the Hangar (many from Blaize's camp dis-
agreed), Chet Childress was the top am and Mor-
ris Wainwright the masters champion, the barbe-
cue shifted to the parking lot with kegger and
smorgy in tow. The general consensus was the
that the makeshift Hangar skate party went off
(Results on page 102)
assuring me I was on (and had been at) the
right track.
Jacksonville, Florida - Saturday, April 28
Kona Skatepark was a sight for sore (old?)
eyes. First opened in the summer of '77, it's
everything the "good old days" used to be:
snake runs, concrete bowls, exorbitant pro
shop prices and an endless number of rules,
along with easily agitated people to enforce
them. Even so, one high-speed trip through the
snake runs or a few rides on the excellent mini-
ramp are enough to make you forget all the
shortcomings, including throngs of overweight
grems with popsicle-stained Mutant Ninja Tur-
tle T's screaming. "Bowl!" and "Afters" and
"Wasn't that totally one-footed?"
Twenty-three pros had found their way to
Jacksonville to compete on Kona's newest half-
pipe, an eleven-and-a-half by 32-foot orange
colored, steel-plated masterpiece. Five qual
ifying heats would see each skater getting two
runs, with the top five going straight into the
finals, six through sixteen going to the semi-
finals and seventeen through twenty-three
going to the showers. The qualifying heats saw
the skaters going for broke right away, hoping
to end up on the good side of the cutting blade.
Five or six hours, three coats of sunscreen and
a thundershower or two later, qualifying was
another page in the book.
The "thrill of victory" category consisted of
Hawk, Miller, Lynch, Rogers and Hassan. The
"agony of defeat" division claimed O'Dowd,
Clockwise from
right Buck
Smith yanks a
mean lien off the
sharp Charles
ton hip and goes
on to win first
place. Tony
Hawk proves
that gravity is
still just a theory
with a 360° vari
al over the Kona
ramp Hawk and
Miller accept
trophies for first
and second vert,
respectively at
Kona Aerial
artist Danny
Way didn't win
the cross country
race, but his
interpretation of
the course was
original. Jen and
Mary, winners of
thesuntan
portion of the
Kona event
Who's this
T-shirt going to
fit after the tug
of war is over?
Chris Miller
cranks a speed
carve and heads
for the next come
in the bank
slalom course.
Midgette, Gentry, Sonner,
Mayer, Luxford and Sluggo.
The "happy-to-be-alives"
included Sergie, Hosoi, Buck
Smith, Way, Crum, McGill,
Tom Boyle, Chris Livingston,
Remy Stratton, Sean Miller
and Alfonso Rawls. The "hap-
pies" would skate the next
day, after which the five best
would face the "thrill of victo-
ries" in the finals. Rumor con-
cerning aprés-skate festivities
had the "Milk Bar" as the
place to scene and be seen.
Sunday, April 29
A hot, sticky, Florida Sunday
morning was merely the pre-
lude to what was promising to
be a long day. With the bank.
slalom event squeezed
between the semis and finals
on the halfpipe, Kona specta-
tors would get their money's
worth and like it. Each skater
took three rides, with the best-
ride counting in their quest
for a berth in the finals.
Hosol, Crum, Livingston,
McGill and Smith skated into
the final jam portion of the
program where Hawk, Miller,
Lynch, Rogers and Hassan.
were waiting for them.
The stench of grilled cow
meat signaled a "barbecue"
break in the action, giving
everyone a chance to fill up
and out before the beginning
of the end. I dropped green on
cow, a Coke and a contest T,
made a note to bill it to skate central and returned
to my power spot to take in the long-awaited final
jam.
Christian Hosoi and Jason Rogers fell prey to
the sketch monster in the finals. Christian's feet
were working fine, but he couldn't seem to find
the handle on his board, twice missing the grab
on early air in his runs. His sticky fingers.
returned on his final run and he threw down with
nine gigantic, back-to-back airs before bailing on
a McTwist. When Christian is on he's on, and
when he's off...he still gets ninth place. For Jason
Rogers, it was his feet that failed him in the finals,
knocking him down from the number four quali-
fying spot on Saturday to tenth in the final jam.
One too many first wall rebates took their toll on
Jason, but he still managed to (Continand on page 86)