Free Flow Contest at Vans Skatepark

Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 by Ryan

Free Flow Contest at Vans Orlando

Words by Ryan Clements
Chalkboard drawings and captions by Rob Meronek

So, we took the crew over there this past Saturday to check out the contest. Considering that basically every single event runs late, we decidedly arrived late, too. To my surprise, they started it on time. Registration was closed, but after some coaxing, I got the kiddies in the contest. There was only one spot left in the 17 & Under Division, so we put Abdias in there. The rest of the crew - Scotty, Ian, Chris, and Giles - had to skate in the Masters Division. No joke, 18 & up was called "Masters." I thought that Masters was reserved for dudes in their 30's, like me. Nothing is sacred anymore.

What Vans has done with their parks is cool in some ways, but when I'm walking through the gate to go to the course and some zit-faced, 16-year-old boy is like, "Buckle your helmet! Buckle your helmet!" I guess that's where I get frustrated. And then it's like, "Hey! Hey! You can't bring water in this area." "What?" I said, "Are you serious?"

That is the second time that I've been to Vans Orlando in one week's time. I had a great time skating the pool with different heads, but I think that I've filled my Vans-attendance-quota for the meantime. Thanks for the Platinum Card though - that comes in handy.

Oh yeah, Abdias got second place, which means $200 and a free trip to California to compete in the Mountain Dew Free Flow Tour Finals. Since he's only 17, he needs a chaperone to accompany him on the long trek...see you in CA.

Ryan

Check out this Asian shoe nerd that brought his entire collection to show off at the contest