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Eisenbergs Report: Inline Amateur Finals
by Mike Opalek
It’s impossible to tell you everything that happened at the amateur finals, but diggety darn it! I’m gonna try. So the day started off entirely way too early. Luckily I’ve recently succumbed to the pressures of everyday coffee! Honestly, it helps!
With over 100 athletes coming from all over the world, you could tell this was gonna be a kickass event! We had kids from such foreign countries as Thailand, France, England, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Puerto Rico, Canada and Texas.
I want to take this time to let everyone know that I recently moved to San Francisco, where I work as the head llama shaver at the new DSI shop. I also want to thank all the kids and their parents for coming out. It was a long day and nearly everyone stayed until the end.
The prelims had some really exciting skating. Kai Hung-Chien, or Killer K as we like to call him, has been tearing it up in Taiwan for years. Now, he’s jumped the pond and is showing all of us what he’s made of. He made the finals with some clean 450 frontside farfegnugen and massive 540s over the box. When Frenchman, Julien Cudot hit a smooth 270 backside farfegnugen, I wet myself a little! Neil Heary had a decent first run, but just before his second run, he ran into Woropaj Boonim of Thailand during practice and banged himself up. Unluckily for Woropaj, he sustained a knee injury and couldn’t walk, let alone skate. France’s Adrienne Anne killed it with a front torque down the handrail and a royale to soul on the box.
But it was the finals that brought out the best skating of the day. Gavin Grumm finished first in the prelims. The Australian was smooth and very deserving of that position . . . Sick! His first finals run, he fell on a triple combo (wallride to soul to fishbrain; in his second run, he skated much better, but after slipping out on the handrail and popping his shoulder out, he couldn’t continue. Gavin placed 9th, and that’s good enough to go pro. Willi Woo it seems has been competing on the am tour since his birth year. Willie’s disaster soul on the Bauer box, topside acid soul and stylish 360s put him in 7th position. Rian Arnold who placed 2nd last week at Eisenbergs Showdown at the Hoedown had a terrible first run, but came out and killed it in the second run. 270 frontside farfegnugen, 540s and a 450 royale on the Bauer box was laced with perfection, The Australian placed 5th. Los Angeles’ David Jones placed 15th in the prelims, barely making it in, but he proved to everyone that he deserved to be there. With a massive 540 over the launch box and a backslide on the rail, he secured himself 4th place.
The top 3 was a fight to the finish: Keaton Newsom didn’t have a good first run at all, but came out in his second run with a vengeance. He was one of the most stylish skaters of the day. His fakie 540 was on point, but his 360 to soul down the hand rail was one of the best tricks of the day, and his 3rd place was well deserved. Stephen Swain from England killed it. A backside farfegnugen and an alley-oop topside pornstar were just some of his favorite things. 2nd place and the king of England for the day was his title. But the number one man was a very small surprise, as 13 year old Julien Cudot from France was unbelievable. A nice 630 over the hip, a 360 backside royale and a 360 frontside royale along with his almost perfect line. This kid was unbelievable. He was the man of the day and now gets to join the ranks as a pro, we’ll get to see how he does on the pro tour sooner then we think. The top 3 get to compete against the pro’s this Sunday at the LG action sports world championships.
The women’s event was amazing. So many talented girls gave it their all to try to make it to the pros. Naomi Serrano from Bayamon, Puerto Rico just missed the medal spot and came in 4th place. Her topside pornstar and topsoul were solid. But Bicci Wallace from Leicester, England killed it with some stylish skating. A perfect topside alley-oop pornstar and a topsoul was enough for a 3rd place. Emilie Westphal, a 16 year old from Seattle was very impressive. Topside acid to backside royale, she threw in a wall ride and a topsoul, good enough for second place. But the 15 year old from Alpharetta Georgia, Coco Sanchez was on point. Backside farfegnugen, a nice savannah down the rail and a frontside farfegnugen along the Bauer box gave her the top spot of the day. The top 3 women will all go pro next year.
The amateur vert comp seemed like a foreign affair. There were just a handful of stateside skaters and most came from overseas. Japan, Bulgaria, Spain and England were all represented. Kanta Ogino, the 11yr old from Japan took everyone to town, with stylish 4ft airs and nice 540s. You can tell the Yasutoko influence on him. Just missing out on gold, the Bulgarian, Nikolaj Jajdennov brought it showing us the eastern block is coming up in the vert world. And once again Julien Cudot the little Frenchmen goes pro once more on the day with a 3rd place finish. He was airing about 5ft out of the ramp and throwing 540s, 720’s and fakie 720s. He also threw in a 360 frontside royale just for fun.
So there you have it. I’m gonna go and get drunk now.
