pacific northwest amateur skateboard series
Saturday, October 5, 9:30 am, 8 am for Competitory Savier Building Skatepark, 334 SE Main St. www.theleaguenorthwest.org www.savier.com
Tired of anti-skateboarding ordinances? Are the cops a buzzkill to your god-given, true-blue American right to skate where and when you want? Sick of downtown companies installing elbow curbs to ruin perfectly good rails? This Saturday, the Portland-based skateboarding company Savier is opening up its private 15,000 square foot indoor skate park. The coming-out party hosts the ongoing Pacific Northwest Amateur Skateboard Contest Series. Think that you have what it takes? Walk-on entries will be accepted!
The enormous indoor park is remarkable. For the general public, so far it has only been seen in video clips and magazines like Thrasher, Slap, and Transworld. Newly renovated, the park is impressive both for size and its dynamic landscape. The Euro-style street course design is anchored by two large ramps, each at opposite ends of the park. These steep runways should provide ample speed for contestants to hit the tabletops and rails in the center of the park. If it's fun for pros like Brian Anderson, Tim O'Connor, and Brad Staba to skate, it should probably satisfy even the most ego-tripped park rats.
A variety of notables are expected to show. Among them, Savier's own flow team riders, Ams Jesse Bracewell and Phil Trotter. Also onhand will be the precocious peewee sensation Mitchie Brusco. Only five years old, Brusco learned ollies and nollies before his reading and arithmetic. This summer he has wowed audiences around the country, pulling down victories with high-energy performances in the nine-and-under divisions. His remarkable skating even earned him a recent invitation to the Today Show.
But perhaps most exciting: You, too, could be part of the competition. Walk-on entries will be given a shot at titles and prizes!
Get there early because the contest is limited to 150 entries and the park has limited spectator space. Registration begins at 8 am and costs $15 for Pacific NW Amateur Skateboard Series members; $25 for non-members. Spectator admission is free. ANDREW DUTTERER
