Phillips Fusion Soul Bowl 2002

Another Soul Bowl Contest
I guess people in the crowd were led to believe the Monkey and Tony Hawk were gonna make an appearance, and all they got in return was slammed by mass marketing.

At the same time as the Gravity Games were going on in Cleveland OH., thousands upon thousands were treated to some old school skate action on the sands in HB. Yes folks, it didn’t matter that Tony Hawk wasn’t in attendance or that the skateboarding monkey didn’t make an appearance. The attendee’s were not your average hardcore skateboarders, they were beach goers. It’s a much different type of contest that results with these circumstances. One that is enjoyable and frustrating at the same time.

The beach going rubberneckers, I call them that because of all the EXTREME distractions around the venue, were out in full force. The OP Pro surf competition is the major attraction of the weekend and the skateboarding a mere occurrence at the Pier. This is not a bad thing. Think of all the hot bikini babes walking around. The bleachers were filled every day with the rubberneckers around the bowl to watch the “Hot Skate Action” going down.

The skating was really going strong through the whole weekend. It’s called a Masters Competition because all the skaters are over 30 years old. Grandmasters are over 35 and Young Guns are the current pros. The Young Guns field was a little slim because of the Gravity Games where the big pay outs draw the current pros. That didn’t stop Omar Hassan and Brian Patch from entering and ripping hard. The ladies were ripping hard. Jen O’brien and Carabeth Burnside were shredding the bowl and getting good girl response from the crowd. Into the Masters division I’ll go next where Tony Magnusson and Mike McGill were allowed to enter the division illegally. What’s up with the WCS making up the rules as they go along? The real winner of this division was Jake Piaseki followed by Eric Nash. Unfortunately McGill stole the winnings by getting 1st in a division he shouldn’t have been in. Lastly the Grand Masters was filled with legendary skaters from many years past. Duane Peters, Salba, Eddie Elguerra, Brewce Martin, and Eric Grisham gave me hope for my future as I head into my 30’s. These guys skated their ass’s off and some of them are over 40 years old! Much Respect goes their way! Duane pulled off a last second ‘hell ride’ beating out the ever steady Eddie E. Other side notes of interest include the best trick contests in the bowl and on the street course. Brian Patch took the street trick money. Christiano Mateus pulled a 360 varial to grab between his legs and still lands it to grab his share of the dough.

 

Well, that’s a brief recall of my recollection of the events at H.B. I guess people in the crowd were led to believe the Monkey and Tony Hawk were gonna make an appearance, and all they got in return was slammed by mass marketing. Aside from that they got a close up view of some fine skateboarding action and a better appreciation of what the vert skaters do.

Young Guns Results:

1 Omar Hassan
2 Brian Patch
3 Cristiano Mateus
4 Steve Salisian
5 Chad Vogt
6 Benji Galloway
7 Fabio Frugis
8 Darin Jenkins

Masters Results:

1 Mike McGill
2 Jake Piasecki
3 Eric Nash
4 Tony Magnusson
5 Ricky Stiles
6 Dave Reul
7 Jeff Thrush
8 Ben Schroeder

Grand Masters:

1 Duane Peters
2 Eddie El Gato Elguera
3 Brian Mank
4 Steve Alba
5 Brewce Martin
6 Eric Grisham
7 Chris Cooksie Cook
8 Cameron Tabbytite

Ladies:

1 Cara-Beth Burnside
2 Jen O’Brien
3 Jessica Starkweather
4 Heidi Fitzgerald
5 Mimi Knoop
6 Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins
7 Karena Ibe