Wednesday, October 10

Vans Triple Crown Womens Finals

By Julie Gengo
EXPN.com

Overlooking the placid waters off of Oceanside, California, the Vans "Soul Bowl" created a venue where the top vert girls could let loose and have some fun too. The surf was low but the riding was high on this opening evening. Done in deep-dish style, the bowl is, believe it or not, tougher than vert and harder on your legs than biking up a hill carrying weights. But that's okay 'cause Cara-Beth, Jen O'Brien and even 12 year-old Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins were among the seven that had that pumping action down in the thirty-minute jam format session.

Jen O'Brien working the Soul Bowl.

World-class CB was red hot as usual, hitting the extension every other pass and attempting but not quite executing a kick-flip indy grab. With speed and intensity she made it look all too easy. First place was in the bag for sure. Following close behind her was Jen O'Brien who is probably one of the most graceful skaters out there. She too was on fire, executing backside Smith grinds, frontside carve grinds and backside ollies. My favorite bit was just watching her race around high on the coping. She's a natural and it is clear that she finds comfort here. Jen came in a cozy second. With the absence of Jodi McDonald, Holly Lyons and Candy Hiler (all due to injuries), third place was easily claimed by Heidi Fitzgerald who is one of the few with skills to skate both street and vert. Heidi flew all the way in from Florida and was quite happy with her finish. "This event is great…the Soul Bowl is really all about having fun," mentions Fitzgerald. Tiny Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins may not have had the power and size in her favor, but she went for it anyway without fear or hesitation. It is evident that when little Lyn-Z becomes big Lyn-Z the girls better watch out because she is going to supersede expectations. Lyn-Z placed fifth while veteran skater Lynn Kramer finished in fourth.

Red hot Cara-Beth Burnside with a Rock n' Roll on the Soul Bowl extension.

The next day brought in even more female skaters, twelve in all, to try their luck tackling the obstacle-ridden street course. Local pros as well as ams from as far away as Portland Oregon came out to play. If you didn't get your fix by the end of the contest, then you could have gotten your hair done by Oceanside Ghetto Skate Shop owner and street/bowl competitor Lindsi Thompson who has a few tricks up her sleeve when it comes to scissors.

The course set-up resembled the Cleveland course with a few added attractions. According to Vanessa Torres, three time All Girl Skate Jam champ, and winner at the Cleveland Triple Crown stop: "They brought in some of the same parts that they had in Cleveland and they put in some extra stuff in here that I haven't seen before so it made it fun to skate." Vanessa skated in primo style, taking advantage of all the new toys on course and clinched not only the win but the overall Triple Crown win earning herself $2000 and a trip to Hawaii to watch some Triple Crown surfing action. For the 15 year-old who is "just happy to get out of Modesto," life is pretty sugary at the moment. "I just stuck my run," claims Torres whose rail slides were as sweet as pie and kickflips ever tastier. Her level of difficulty earned her an 87.25 on her first run enough to sync the title.

Dave Duncan (on the mic) and the lovely ladies.

Last year's winner, El Granda California local Amy Caron rolled down the goods on her first run to score high enough for second place. Her response to her finish was a mere, "What's up doglet?" and quite frankly I couldn't have said it better. Amy's bombastic style and red boxers wowed the crowd. The bigger she went the more her pants slid down. I'm sure this contributed to the style category of her runs. Her top run scored an 82.75 and she walked away with 1,000 bucks. However there may be a rivalry brewing as her best friend is Vanessa Torres who just happened to beat her today. Stay tuned as this saga may or may not be continued or even develop for that matter.

On a lighter note or maybe just another note…..Amateur skater Lauren Perkins, of Huntington Beach managed to take away the third spot from Van's pro rider Cindy Gorset who by the way busted out a nice phat rail slide. For the seventh grader, the $600 will surly top her annual allowance rate. Way to go Lauren.

For more info on the Vans Triple Crown and complete contest results visit www.wcsk8.com