DC King of Vancouver 2009
Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 by Ryan
Words by Ryan Clements
Photos, Captions, and Footage by Rob Meronek
Schaefer flew up a day early to check out the event site while Rob and I rock-starred it and showed up the night before the event. After a long-ass flight with a layover in SLC, we arrived safely in beautiful Vancouver, but not before a full-on interrogation session with Canadian Customs and Immigration. I don’t know what the deal with that country is, but it’s really a hassle as an American to enter.
Everything was going smooth, we were about to walk freely out of the airport at the last Customs check-point, and then the officer said, “Step this way please.” From there we were placed into a room with about 20 “stations” that looked like grocery store check-out counters covered completely in stainless steel. As they went through my pockets, backpack, and other bag, the questions started coming. Here is a compilation of the questions that Rob and I had to deal with:
By the time we hopped on the train, found our hotel, and got to our room it was nearly 2am. That’s three and a half hours after the plane landed! After being up for 23 hours, working all day, and flying to Vancouver, there wasn’t much left to do but sleep.
The Contest got started at 1pm and was short and sweet, with four, 16-minute action packed jams. Each jam had an average of 10 skaters, so there was plenty of skating to watch at all times on the small four set and rail, banked hubba, long three, flat bar, and ledge. Here’s how it broke down by mid-afternoon:
In the early evening, Chris Conway was gracious enough to give us a lift in the DC RV over to one of the world’s oldest skate parks, where a session was going down for a friend of the Vancouver scene that passed away due to a head injury that actually occurred at the same skate park. The BBQ was cranking, drinks were had, and the smell of marijuana was constantly in the air due to Vancouver’s lenient laws on the substance. We carved the over 30-year-old snake run until darkness fell and we could no longer see. Good times and a great way to end the day.
The event started at 1pm and we were walking out of there at 4pm. That’s just how we like it…
When I got to my room, my key didn’t work. After three different keys, assistance from the clerk, the master key, the “real” key, me lying on the floor for two hours out front of my room, calling the manager, and finally calling in a maintenance worker to work, they literally used a crowbar and destroyed my door in order to get it open. I finally got to bed by 11:30pm and got up bright and early at 3am to catch our plane back to Tampa.
Upon arriving at Customs at Vancouver Airport at 4:30am, we were expecting another hassle. But pleasantly to our surprise, we actually dealt with U.S. Customs, where we were simply asked what we were doing there and then told to proceed. That was it. We got on the plane home and didn’t have to talk to another Customs person upon landing in Salt Lake City. America! F**K YEAH!
Ryan
Photos, Captions, and Footage by Rob Meronek
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Everything was going smooth, we were about to walk freely out of the airport at the last Customs check-point, and then the officer said, “Step this way please.” From there we were placed into a room with about 20 “stations” that looked like grocery store check-out counters covered completely in stainless steel. As they went through my pockets, backpack, and other bag, the questions started coming. Here is a compilation of the questions that Rob and I had to deal with:
- What are you doing here?
- Is this a tripod?
- When did you start skateboarding?
- These go on your camera?
- Is that the iPhone or iPod Touch?
- Where were these pictures taken?
- Have you ever been in a skateboard contest?
- Are you competitive?
- Be frank with me, what drugs have you done?
- Have you been to Vancouver before?
- Have you ever been anywhere else in Canada?
- Why do you have a laptop with you on two-day trip?
- Where do you work?
- What do you do there?
- Who is running the business while you are gone?
- Why would you want to skate in Vancouver?
- Where are you staying?
- Do you know anyone in Vancouver?
- Is that skateboard new?
- Have you ever been arrested?
- What was your charge after you were arrested in Tampa for skateboarding?
- Have you ever been finger-printed?
- Have you ever gotten a DUI or DWI?
- Are you sure?
- Why do you have a Concealed Weapons Permit?
- What type of guns do you own?
- Is that belt buckle a knife?
- So you’re going to a contest?
- Are you working here?
- Are you a professional skateboarder?
- Why are there two Panamanian stamps on your passport on the same day?
- When you went to Cuba, did you go anywhere other than Havana?
- Why did you go to Cuba?
- Did you enjoy it?
- Who else went with you?
- Is anyone else traveling with you?
By the time we hopped on the train, found our hotel, and got to our room it was nearly 2am. That’s three and a half hours after the plane landed! After being up for 23 hours, working all day, and flying to Vancouver, there wasn’t much left to do but sleep.
Saturday – Tech Zone
The next morning we met up with the crew (Schaefer, Vern, Pang, and Fat Bob) and skated over to the site of the event, Vancouver Skate Plaza, which is a very street oriented spot with stairs, rails, and ledges galore. The City sure did it right with this public, no rules, and free skate park located under a bridge/overpass. Just roll up and skate…exactly how it should be in every city.
The Contest got started at 1pm and was short and sweet, with four, 16-minute action packed jams. Each jam had an average of 10 skaters, so there was plenty of skating to watch at all times on the small four set and rail, banked hubba, long three, flat bar, and ledge. Here’s how it broke down by mid-afternoon:
- 1st - $1,000 – JS Lapierre – came from Montreal and dominated
- 2nd - $500 – Dallas Ives – the tie-dye shirt did it for him
- 3rd - $400 – Desmond Hoostie – bs tailslide bigspin out off the four stair ledge
- 4th - $300 – John Hanlon – Wu Tang shirts are always good
- 5th - $200 – Niel Blackwood – switch nose manny up the two-stair and down the four
- 6th - $100 – William Cristofaro – lots of moves
- 7th – Adam Wade – surprised the hell out of me
- 8th – Kyle Nickoshie – super-buttery and smooth like Malto
- 9th – Mike Schulz – came out swinging and skating his ass off
- 10th – Jordan Murray – Vancouver local
In the early evening, Chris Conway was gracious enough to give us a lift in the DC RV over to one of the world’s oldest skate parks, where a session was going down for a friend of the Vancouver scene that passed away due to a head injury that actually occurred at the same skate park. The BBQ was cranking, drinks were had, and the smell of marijuana was constantly in the air due to Vancouver’s lenient laws on the substance. We carved the over 30-year-old snake run until darkness fell and we could no longer see. Good times and a great way to end the day.
Sunday – Stairs, Hubba, and Rail Zone
We arrived on site bright and early at 11am after a nice, relaxing morning hanging around the hotel. After a couple of old man games of SKATE, it was time to get the Contest going because there was certainly more excitement ahead. Once again, all of the skaters were broken into four heats of approximately 10 skaters each. Something that I found interesting was that a few of the skaters from the first say said “f-it” and pulled a cool-guy-move by not showing up the second day. That’s an interesting decision because there was a purse of $2,500 each day to be given away. Go figure.
The event started at 1pm and we were walking out of there at 4pm. That’s just how we like it…
- 1st - $1,000 – JS Lapierre – he was in the first heat and completely dominated, leaving no question that he should have been in 1st
- 2nd - $500 – John Hanlon – improved on his scores from Saturday, but JS was unbeatable
- 3rd - $400 – Dallas Ives – looking like a skinny, young Tosh Townend, Dallas had a huge bag of tricks
- 4th - $300 – Adam Fontaine – gansta’ as hell with his switch fs smith down the handrail
- 5th - $200 – Dustin Locke – I’ll be damned…can’t remember a thing about this dude
- 6th - $100 – Niel Blackwood – he wore shirts with wolves on them two days in row
- 7th – William Cristofaro – switch fs bigspin heelflip down the big set!
- 8th – Adam Wade – big ass dude with a big ass frontside flip
- 9th – Devin Morrison – at 27 I think he was the oldest guy in the event
- 10th – Kyle Nickoshie – bs smith on the handrail was perfect
King of Vancouver – JS Lapierre
As you noticed above, the event was split into two different sections. The skater with the overall highest combined score from those two events was crowned King of Vancouver. The ripper that worked the hardest and tore up both the Tech Zone and Stairs, Hubba, and Rail Zone was JS Lapierre, who walked away with the grand prize of $5,000, after winning both sections. That’s a total of seven G’s he took home with the individual prizes included! Nice work.
The Trip Home
Later that evening, with Vancouver’s Alex Chalmers as our tour guide, a nice dinner was had in the cool, hip part of town. From there it was a ride on the Coors Light bus to the After-Party. I wasn’t much in the partying mood since our flight was at 5:40am the next morning, so I opted out of the bus ride. But based on my experience back at the hotel, I should have partied.
When I got to my room, my key didn’t work. After three different keys, assistance from the clerk, the master key, the “real” key, me lying on the floor for two hours out front of my room, calling the manager, and finally calling in a maintenance worker to work, they literally used a crowbar and destroyed my door in order to get it open. I finally got to bed by 11:30pm and got up bright and early at 3am to catch our plane back to Tampa.
Upon arriving at Customs at Vancouver Airport at 4:30am, we were expecting another hassle. But pleasantly to our surprise, we actually dealt with U.S. Customs, where we were simply asked what we were doing there and then told to proceed. That was it. We got on the plane home and didn’t have to talk to another Customs person upon landing in Salt Lake City. America! F**K YEAH!
Thanks
Every time we work with DC I always feel like we’re overly kissing their asses, but I’ll say it again…they sure do it right. On top of donating $10,000 to the City of Vancouver to benefit the Vancouver Skate Plaza, they took great care of all of the skaters with a fun-ass event, free gear, and a very proper purse, all with several members of their team present. Paul Machnau and Sandro from Color, thank you very much for stepping in and judging with the SPoTlight crew. And thanks to push.ca for the support and Mild Styles for spinning the beats for the two days. See you in Chi-town for King of Chicago in October.
Ryan
Chill Cam Footage
The Bro Bowl of Vancouver
We went to that one snake run from the 70's in Vancouver today. Here's three minutes of slashing and carving.
JS Lapierre Wins DC King of Vancouver 2009
It's a short skate over a highway bridge from our hotel to the plaza where DC King of Vancouver is. Today JS Lapierre won $7,000 and DC donated $10,000 to the park for improvements.
A Small Coors Light Party Bus in Vancouver Before a 5:30am Flight
It's 3am in Vancouver and I'm waiting for a cab to the airport for a 5:30am flight. Just a few hours earlier, we attempted to drag Clements out for the DC King of Vancouver After Party and a cruise on the Coors Light party bus. What a party tornado on that thing. I managed to have just a few beers before sneaking out of the party to get a few short hours of sleep. Good bye, Vancouver. See you in three weeks for Damn Am.
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