Damn Am Canada 2009 Presented by Billabong
Posted on Monday, September 21, 2009 by Ryan
Words by Ryan Clements
Photos and Captions by Rob Meronek
The next day was absolutely beautiful outside. It warmed up to about 75 without a cloud in the sky as we registered the skaters and they got their practice on to DJ Wade’s tunes. Later in the afternoon the grill got kicking and we did a little Bowl Jam where we gave away about $300. Highlights include…
One huge advantage of making the top 12 in a Damn Am event is that you’re automatically qualified for Tampa Am in December. Yet an even better advantage would be placing 1st or 2nd because that means that you don’t have to skate in the Tampa Am Qualifiers at all and you got straight to the Semi-Finals. Not a bad deal. I think that I say this every time, but the consistent upping of the level of skating never ceases to amaze me. No Semi-Finals are needed for a one-day Damn Am, so it was Qualifiers straight to Finals:
Thanks to Billabong for kicking down $1,000 in travel for 1st and 2nd so they can make it to Tampa and Zumiez for the $500 Gift Certificates for top five.
Without Risto from Billabong Canada and Rodney from Billabong here in the States working on this event, it wouldn’t have happened, so thanks fellas. Thanks to all of our Canadian friends and especially Alex Chalmers and Paul Machnau for judging. Also, thanks to Push.ca, Monster, Zumiez, Ollie Pop, Indy, Dakine, Dean Guitars, Push Skate Shop, Momentum, Underworld, and Toy Machine for stepping up, too.
Photos and Captions by Rob Meronek
The next day was absolutely beautiful outside. It warmed up to about 75 without a cloud in the sky as we registered the skaters and they got their practice on to DJ Wade’s tunes. Later in the afternoon the grill got kicking and we did a little Bowl Jam where we gave away about $300. Highlights include…
- Local Alex Chalmers tailsliding around the big corner
- Nathan LaCoste bs smithing, bs tailing, and nailing a stylish half cab stalefish
- Adam Hopkins skating like a Canadian maniac and spinning 540’s with no luck on the landing
Ollie Pop High Ollie Contest
Right after the Bowl Jam we got our snaps on with a High Ollie Contest courtesy of our pal Nik at Ollie Pop, who barely made it over the border in time with the gear. The bar started at 30”, with several skaters making it over that height. As the height increased the skaters started getting weeded out, with only five guys left at the 38” mark. But three of them couldn’t clear it, so their highest point was 36”. The final two skaters cleared 38”, but couldn’t quite get over the 39” point, ending in a tie.
- 1st (tie) – 38” – $250 each – Jeffrey Marshall and Chad Dickson
- 3rd – 5th (tie) – 36” – $35 each – John Hanlon, Joe Buffalo, and Adam Hopkins
Qualifiers & Finals
We awoke to a wet and dreary Downtown Vancouver, but by the time we made it over to Bonsor Skatepark at about 10am on the outskirts of town, it was sunny with barely a cloud in the sky. Canadians apparently sleep in, so we started the Contest a little bit late, but since the weather was cooperating, it really didn’t make a difference. There were a total of 11 Jams with three or four skaters each and they all got five minutes to make the top 12 for the Finals.
One huge advantage of making the top 12 in a Damn Am event is that you’re automatically qualified for Tampa Am in December. Yet an even better advantage would be placing 1st or 2nd because that means that you don’t have to skate in the Tampa Am Qualifiers at all and you got straight to the Semi-Finals. Not a bad deal. I think that I say this every time, but the consistent upping of the level of skating never ceases to amaze me. No Semi-Finals are needed for a one-day Damn Am, so it was Qualifiers straight to Finals:
Thanks to Billabong for kicking down $1,000 in travel for 1st and 2nd so they can make it to Tampa and Zumiez for the $500 Gift Certificates for top five.
- 1st – Matt Berger – I heard that Matt had a five-hour train ride home after the Finals. That leaves him plenty of time to think about his tricks like the fs bluntslide bs flip out
- 2nd – Magnus Hanson – local from Vancouver that is residing in Huntington, but made it up to kill it for the event
- 3rd – Jeff Marshall – tie for 1st in the High Ollie, 3rd in the Contest, and 3rd in Best Trick…our boy from Tampa is on the come up
- 4th – Brandon Del Bianco – repping Element and straight outta’ Mississauga
- 5th – Will Cristofaro – came from Montreal with a bigger bag of tricks than I realized he had at the King of Vancouver a few weeks ago
- 6th – Arte Lew – who is this guy? Don’t know, but he certainly surprised us with his skills
- 7th – Micky Papa – everyone knows Mickey rips and if he would have landed more of his tricks, he would have been top three
- 8th – Desmond Hoostie – kickflip manual up the curb to nose manual up the ledge to nollie flip out pretty much says it all
- 9th – TJ Rogers – I will remember TJ for his outgoingness and good attitude
- 10th – Will Marshall – he made the trek from Toronto and is now taller than his dad
- 11th – Cory Wilson – Vancouver local and crowd favorite
- 12th – Adam Fontaine – hurt his knee so he couldn’t knock out all of the switch moves he has on lock
Best Trick
Immediately following the Final Jams, the Best Trick took place on the stairs, rail, and natural rock/big three area. The natural rock was gnarly and it would have been sick to see Brian Wherry pull his 360 flip manual on it.
- 1st – $500 Zumiez Travel Voucher – Dallas Ives – switch fs 360 ollie over the rail and switch fs bigspin boardslide on the rail
- 2nd – $200 – Brandon Del Bianco – switch bs flip, switch varial flip, and switch 360 flip the stairs
- 3rd – $100 – Jeff Marshall – backside noseblunt and kickflip back lip on the rail
- 4th – Tyler Gaucher – kickflip crooks and nollie noseblunt slide on the rail
- 5th – Dustin Montie – frontside shuv it to backside lipslide on the handrail
Zumiez Destroyer Award – Brandon Del Bianco
Zumiez hooks it up tight with an award for the overall ripper of the weekend at every Damn Am. This time it went to Mississauga resident Brandon Del Bianco. After killing it all day he walked away with a custom Sawzall and knowing that amongst his peers he stood out as the destroyer of the day.
Thanks
Without Risto from Billabong Canada and Rodney from Billabong here in the States working on this event, it wouldn’t have happened, so thanks fellas. Thanks to all of our Canadian friends and especially Alex Chalmers and Paul Machnau for judging. Also, thanks to Push.ca, Monster, Zumiez, Ollie Pop, Indy, Dakine, Dean Guitars, Push Skate Shop, Momentum, Underworld, and Toy Machine for stepping up, too.
Colin Clark Footage from Damn Am Canada
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