2008 Volcom Wild In The Parks: Stop 14 - The 14th stop on the 2008 WITP tour went down under dubious skies at Jacksonville, Florida's Kona Skatepark on Saturday, September 20th!
2008 Volcom Wild In The Parks: Stop 14
The 14th stop on the 2008 WITP tour went down under dubious skies at Jacksonville, Florida's Kona Skatepark on Saturday, September 20th!
This is always one of our favorite stops on the WITP tour and each year it seems to only get better. For one reason or another there seems to be two constants that accompany our annual visits: rain and ill-tempered street dwellers. As both tend to provide conversation worthy of the dinner table, you can only imagine experiencing it first hand! Despite being known as the "sunshine state", Florida gets a lot of rain. As a result, the Kona tour stop is quickly becoming known as the "Wet in the Parks". Martin Ramos, the man behind the mayhem at Kona tells us the weather improves in early October once the hurricane season has come and gone. We'll see about that. Another Jacksonville Beach attraction worth mentioning is the urban wildlife. Similar to shaking up a box of party mix, you never know what kinds your going to get, only that there will be a bunch of them. Stimulating interpretive dances and riveting stories are the result of these exceptional interactions.
Hobos and weather aside, the Kona WITP is also on the top of our list because the kids rip around the park like they've got something to prove. The 14 & Under Division was the first batch of competitors to take the floor to try to leave their mark. As the WITP's unique format dictates, time is of the essence. It was clear these groms were on our page as they laid waste to all three WITP contest zones! Despite scores that were nearly too close to call, Gio Georgallis sqeaked into 1st, Jamie Foy 2nd and WITP regular Alex Pellegrino claimed 3rd!
In the blink of an eye the 15 & Over Division competitors rolled onto the park like waves attacking the shores of Jacksonville! Make no mistake about it; these guys were hungry! With tons of prizes as well as invites to the $30,000.00 WITP Championships up for grabs, they were also cutthroat pirates! Among others, we saw nollie back lips, switch front boards, gap to back tails and a few kickflip lipslides! These guys (and girl) had game and pulled out all the stops to make their presence known. After all was said and done it was Jamal Campbell locking down 1st, Cody Nobles 2nd and Nathan Kirkland sliding deftly into 3rd!
The Pro-Am Division was up last and rounded out the day's anarchy in proper fashion! Each year we see familiar faces, but an overwhelming number of freshies are mapping out some serious crusades in their search for inner harmony and Wild in the Parks glory! This year was no different, with recognizable masterminds like Timmy Knuth, CJ Dixon and Paul Hart in attendance; the newcomers definitely had some upstanding role models! The tricks came fast, heavy and furious with the big guys burning all the gas in their tanks and left the rest of us shaking our heads! Timmy Knuth nailed down 1st, CJ Dixon 2nd and the formidable Paul Hart was hot on their heels in third!
A thanks the size of the everglades goes to Martin Ramos, Troy, Eric, Aaron and the rest of the solid individuals at Kona Skatepark. It may be the oldest skatepark in the world, but it's also got one of the freshest scenes out there. Thanks to Danny Koriath for tabulating, taking photos and being an all-around swell guy. Thanks also to Gus Cooper, Harold Henson and Mark Swinton for judging and to Volcom's own Todd Causey for helping hold things down across the board. Last but not least, thanks to Electric for stoking the kids with glasses and $50 cash for their "Hype of the Day" award!
See you at the $30,000.00 WITP Championships in October!
