ESPN takes a refreshing step towards a legitimate street event. The 10 most recognized "street" skaters come together to compete in the first true street skateboarding contest to be televised on ESPN. In the past the X Games street courses have been full of quarter pipes and banks, making it all seem like an obstacle course to the skaters. In reality, street courses in most skate parks are just a bunch of obstacles thrown together, where tricks from actual streets are brought to the park. The upcoming event on August 11th will drastically change the mass audience's perception of skateboarding.

The event will be held at one of the most hard-core skate spots, in the one of the most hard-core street skating cities, Philadelphia. It's only right that the first true "Street" event will be held in this country's first city.

Chris Senn has got the skills to pay the bills.

The competitors are as follows:

Carlos De Andrade - the frontiersman of the Brazilian street invasion. Carlos is capable of laying down some of the most technical contest lines out there. He is an amazing all around skater, but deadly on elliptical transitions. He makes the most impossible quarterpipe tricks look as easy as doing a kick turn.

Chad Fernandez - This kid from California is largely known for his street tactics. Capable of throwing down heelflip noseslides down real handrails. His recent contest results in Europe makes him a definite threat on this terrain, which is ideal for his style of skateboarding.

Chris Senn - The San Francisco resident is a contest veteran. He very well could be one of the most successful contest skaters out of all the competitors. His high-speed lines combined with his savage attack of all terrain almost guarantees good placement in any contest.

Eric Koston - He has been on top of the game for several years now. It was no fluke that he was last year's Park champion, and was voted the best street skater by the TWS reader's poll. Pulling technical flip grind combinations switch or regular. He's one of the skaters that most people can't comprehend the difficulty of his skating. Koston is blessed with the ability to put the most difficult street variations together on any terrain, making him the most likely to run away with a victory at this event.

Geoff Rowley - Known for his unbelievable handrail antics, most of his coverage puts fear into the hearts of every person skating. It is rare that you see a normal photograph of this man, because he drops nothing but hammers. Not known for his contest results, this event could change that. Although Rowley is more at home doing the bangers, he can easily take this one home with his huge bag of tricks.

Josh Kalis - Living in the city for a number of years now, localizing Love Park. Josh has brought Philadelphia's ledge skating to a new technical level and consistency. This Philly local is an ideal candidate to win this event. His contest appearances are almost nonexistent, making this the perfect opportunity to show how deadly his skating really is.

Kerry Getz - The newest comer to the Philadelphia scene. He has had the best career in contest skating out of the city's residents. His results over the last two year have been nothing but astounding. The man is a workhorse, meticulously laying down his lines time and time again.

Rick McCrank - the unstoppable Canadian skateboarding machine. Rick combines technical skateboarding with huge handrails. During practice he will be the one to watch, laying down the law. His contest consistency almost guarantees him a top three placement.

Ricky Oyola - Has been in the spotlight the longest out of the Philadelphia residents, known for his amazing stamina, consistency, and all around skate ability. He can be seen any night blazing down the Philadelphia streets popping tricks on command.

Steve Williams - Is the only person from Philadelphia in this event. The hometown hero has one of the most amazing styles, and an effortlessly huge technical pop. Another person not known for his contest results, but his knowledge of the terrain makes him a local favorite that should be taken very seriously.

Love Park has been known over the last 10 years as one of the hearts of East Coast skateboarding. Producing some of the most recognized faces such as Steve Williams. Just across the street from Love Park is a spot just as ideal for skating, but has been a bust the entire time because it is City Hall. The good people of the Philadelphia government to have allowed this event to happen at City Hall, and that is a positive sign for skateboarding.

Because of the ideal surroundings of the city, it has attracted many more icons of modern skateboarding like Ricky Oyola, Josh Kalis, and Kerry Getz.

Any one of these boys have skated City Hall a thousand times. They know the stone floor and benches are ideal for a great session. They have skated the Hubba ledges and know how to hit the spot from all angles. Most of the time people start their lines from the top of City Hall at the perfectly waxed long stone benches. From there the most likely direction to head is down the steps, which bring you into a plaza, filled with more perfect stone benches. From there the possibilities are endless, which is the beauty of skateboarding.

The classic terrain of City Hall will have a little twist for the competitors. Obstacles are being added to the area to making it more contest friendly. Whether or not this is a good idea will be decided by the quality of the skating.

The competitors will be judged on consistency, course usage, trick variation and style. Anyone of these competitors can run away with a victory in this event. No one knows what to expect from this first true street contest, but some amazing street skating is guaranteed.

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