Valentine's Day Massacre 2010 Presented by Ergo

Posted on Monday, February 15, 2010 by Rob

By Rob Meronek

Thanks to the Ergo team for skating the night before the Contest in a session with all the locals. This kid asked me all kinds of questions and wanted to shoot a photo. After I figured out he could barely push, I just asked him to do an ollie. He was beaming before even got back on the ground - so awesome. I tried to get his name but I couldn't understand him. Listen to him say it. It's nice to see real outgoing super young kids. I wish I was like that. It might be a little too late to change as a grown man, though. Don't be shy, kids. Photo geek note: The flickering in the sequence of photos where it appears the white balance is changing only happens at night in the Skatepark lighting and cannot be seen by the human eye. In the daytime, there's enough sunlight to wash out the flickering of the lights and you don't get this weird light changing.

This is from Friday night, hence the weird flicker in white balance on each frame. David Loy - lipslide.

Another Friday night disco party with the flicker. This time with Shawn Hale doing a frontside feeble transfer into the kahuna.

Shawn Hale skates this bank to wall like a tiny mini-ramp.

Joey Pellegrino is a Gucci Mane fan as you can see by his griptape.

It's now really early in the morning and the tykes in the Beginner Division are trying their hardest. This is Nick Hitzel. One day he will ollie higher than you.

Ismael Sainz hasn't graduated to the hips yet. I wonder what happens to us as we get older and we somehow gain fear of putting ourselves out there like that. I guess it's the loss of innocence?

Here's a newspaper photo of Connor Hunger. He's making it to the coping these days.

Connor's brother, Braden Hunger, is well on his way to the coping one day with this "all or nothing" approach to committing to tricks. I wish I still skated like that.

When your arms and legs are that short like AJ Dall, the nose is the easiest thing to hold on to.

Deck checks rank right up there with nose grabs as far as the tyke moves go. Nick Wallace will be clearing it by the next Contest.

Wow, somewhere out there, Nate Sherwood's ears are ringing. Where did a little dude like AJ Dall figure out pressure flips?

Justin Zaragoza started out in Lessons with Wizard Smoke. Now he needs to give the lessons to Wizard on how to do full Cabs.

Justin Zaragoza has backside flips, too? Good job, Wizard.

I can't get enough of how little kids have the "land it or pile" attitude on every trick attempt. We should all try skating like that more.

Jacob Maloy is only 10, but he's already got a good looking kickflip.

Somehow Noah Berger ended up in last place in the Intermediate Division. I didn't watch every minute of the Contest like the judges and take the kind of notes they did, but that does seem a bit odd. Skateboard contests are hard to judge - we of all people understand that the most. We are always discussing ways to improve judging so that people end up as close as possible to where they belong in the mix. We're thinking a return to the five judges panel with high/low scores dropped may be in order.

Who dat? Boardslide to fakie.

Shane Carter was putting full runs and lines together during the jams. This nollie big was just the start.

Shane Carter - hardflipping his way to 1st in the Intermediate Division.

Shane Carter - switch back heel.

Jake Hall - nollie-oop.

Thanks to Kris Markovich for making the trophies for this one.

Winners of the Beginner Division.

Winners of the Intermediate Division.

When your board lands before you like that, it reminds me of some sketchy Mega Ramp landings. That's Felipe Gouveia on the mega hip.

Clem doing his best Clyde Singleton impression on the mic.

Steven Lindgren just picked these Dunks up in the Shop then went out and skated the Contest in them. That's a newspaper photo of a pop shuv it over the hip you can't see.

Felipe Gouveia - nollie big heel with bonus powerslide.

Who dat? Frontside flip.

Shylo Tolliver - frontside feeble.

Cory Falls - is that switch?

Thanks to Porpe, Kearley, and Body for the hosting entertainment. Red Bull thanks you for the product plug.

Alex Pellegrino - sugarcane.

Kevin Sikes - back lip in one of many Tampa Kits on the course.

Speaking of Tampa Kits, here's a collage of them.

Jereme Knibbs - frontside 360.

Piro Sierra - backside tailslide.

Jacob Portillo - 360 flip with my continuous auto focus going haywire on me.

Josiah Portillo - front feeble.

Kris Markovich threw a little bit of method air in this meron fakie.

Joey Pellegrino - front blunt on the bank to wall.

Wow, Shawn Hale. Backside noseblunt backside revert on the bank to wall?

I left to go enter some scores and when I came back, this sequence was on my camera taken by David Loy. Shawn Hale is pulling a Danny Way move from Questionable. You don't see many people doing that one, even these days.