Back to School Jam 2007

Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 by Rob

By Rob Meronek

Jorge took my camera during the first two divisions and it came back to me with a bunch of Mongolian BBQ shots. Thanks Porpe

These are the 8 and Under division winners. Ryan Sheckler used to come to the Park when he was 8. Now he’s the Backstreet Boy of skateboarding on MTV. Time sure flies. Look at BGP kid in the back there. He’s more psyched than the winners

These are the 9 to 12 division winners. BGP kid is still super hyped. How many Red Bulls did that kid have?

Who dat? Kickflip

Who dat? I don’t know, but I bet it will be his default profile pic on myspace as soon as he sees it here. Our site gets about 10% of its traffic from myspace lurkers thanks to you guys sending people here. Then they buy stuff online which pays the bills. Thanks! Add the SPoT myspace to your friends list here. UPDATE: Yep, it's his default pic now

Didn’t I already take a photo of Josiah Portillo doing a switch frontside 180 down the double at the last contest? Yeah, I need to switch things up here. Let’s see what’s going on outside...

Outside, Allen Russell is back from swinging hammers on the X-Games street course and getting ready for a heated first division in the 16 and Up consisting of fellow old guys Mike Derewenko and I

I like Levi's surf style on the wooden wave outside. That's a sugar cane at my request

This is my new friend James. He's fairly new to skateboarding. I made him learn Bertlemans. Now I just have to teach him not to beam after he makes a trick

Porpe has a light bulb going on above his head. The idea that lit it is that he should get a new alarm clock so he’s not late for three contests in a row when the next one comes around

Who dat? Feeble grind

Barak made the trophies. Since you’re all going back to school, maybe someone in shop class can make us trophies for the Harvest Jam in November. Hit us up with your ideas

That’s the 13 to 15 division winners. Where’s BGP kid?

It's good to see kids keeping it fun and creative. Cody Arnold has a long Primo slide for you. Back when your dad was cool, Primo Desiderio and his wife Diane were a freestyle skateboarding circus act. They spent more time on their board sideways than on the wheels. This was one of Primo's tricks. Landing Primo sure sucks, huh?

Angel and Online Guy almost died upstairs this week due to the A/C being busted up there. That’s a half cab on the kiddie course

Jonathon Mann is taking it in the ASS (Asian Sweat Shop – online order processing) pretty hard this week with the Back to School Sale going on

Who dat? Backside flip on the kiddie course

Curtis Valentine – thanks for the microphone entertainment all day

During these summer days in Florida, a day doesn’t go by without an afternoon torrential downpour. Robbie Kirkland can still hold it together on the oil slick. Other kids were not so lucky and ate mountain sized piles of poop. Thanks for the laughs

DJ Craig Kaths took over for DJ Blenda later in the day. There was nothing but good jams all day. It’s amazing what a difference good music makes at an event

Jordan Price learned these smith grind pop outs while we were taking this photo. Don’t get decapitated by the Big Ass Fan

Ian Gow’s on the banana board everyone uses throughout the workday to go back and forth between the warehouses

Ricky Martin – frontside 180 cannonball with a blood alcohol content higher than your GPA

Anthony Henderson – frontside boardslide. Anthony, if you want the other version of this, send me an email

When Alex Brawley came out swinging with a benni-hanna, all the usual assumptions about him were made. Then he proved us all wrong by ripping with varial flips and perfect 360 flips down the double set

There’s Alex Brawley’s varial flip

Malcom Seeman – switch frontside flip

Years ago Matt Giles and I got in a hair growing contest and I lost. Now we’ve both got the hair bomb again and there’s not even any money on the line. We should cut ours into mullets and see who can last the longest like that. Giles has an unfair advantage though because he would look natural with a hair cape. Oh yeah, this is a kickflip

Who dat? Backside 180 over the rail

Straight from the golf course to a frontside nosegrind, it’s Dylan Durgin

T4PREZ did a perfect switch backside tailslide to forward as well as this switch back smith during the Jam to win Sponsored Division, but I missed the sequence of that

I bet Red Bull Sarah is popping open a new can every time that log appears in a photo. That’s Jason Pagett on a back tail

Well this kid sure ripped. 13-year-old Paul Hart heelflipped into frontside boardslides on the big and small rail to end up in 2nd in the Sponsored Division

Joe Grant went to redo this backside 360 to remove the pattycakes landing, but a heel bruise put a stop to that

Dylan Durgin - kickflip

Who dat? Back smith with Florida shark bite right arm cutoff. UPDATE: It's Brent Sowinski. ANOTHER UPDATE: Ok, I don't know who it is. Check the comments

Jimmy Mastracola – nollie half cab

Dylan Durgin – frontside nosegrind

Zach Easey – switch heel

It’s always hard to get up at the ass crack of dawn to be here to work the Contest all day, especially if you had a great time the Friday night before