This past November 4th saw two very important landmark elections.  The first election of that very exciting Tuesday went to Element Skateboard’s “Flow Footy Contest”, which put six of the sickest, relatively unknown skaters and their videos up against each other to award the undisputed winner with a once in a lifetime opportunity.  A skate tour with the Element team.  Imagine the kind of exposure he or she would get from this. 

The second big election of November 4th I’m sure needs no introduction.  The Jonas Brothers getting the number one slot on MTV’s TOTAL REQUEST LIVE.  How amazing was that for them?  They sure do deserve it after all the hard work and time they put in (to their hair). 

But back to the Flow Footy Contest.  Voting continued on until yesterday and after all of the votes have been tabulated, Nick Garcia won with 22%.  What an exciting time for Nick, and the Jonas Brothers for their wonderful achievements.  You can watch the Jonas Brothers here, and Nick’s winning re-edited Flow Footy video below.  Congrats! 

Oops, I forgot.  There were actually 3 important elections that day.  Congrats to everybody. 

A little over 10 years ago, the very first Reese Forbes Ollie Challenge took place at the ASR Trade Show in Long Beach California.  The contest is back after a 10-year hiatus and may probably be one of the most exciting events of the New Year.  Who knew that along with every S.K.A.T.E contest going on, that the most primitive forms of skate competition are the most fun?  It’s probably because anyone can take part and all you need is your board.  No FUNKY looking ramps. 

Along with the Guinness Book of World Records, some of the biggest poppers will be there.  I’m hoping that Kien Lieu “The Donger” will make an appearance.  I’m also calling out Jose Marabotto to come out of the woodworks.  Jose apparently did a 50-INCH OLLIE.  That’s crazy.  If he comes to this contest, it would set the record straight and be official.  He would be like BOBBY FISHER. 

Here are a few words from Reese himself.  Then check out the gnarly vintage video below. 

In 1999 I, (along with the folks at element) held an ollie contest at ASR in Long Beach.

I’ve been traveling the world skating since then and have been questioned over and over if I would ever do the contest again. The re occurring theme to all of the questioning was that I had come SO close. And people seemed to be disappointed in the fact that I had not won the contest.

Although my mission at the time was to win my own contest I felt an Enormous almost overwhelming amount of pressure to do so. After all it was called the “Reese Forbes Ollie Challenge”

My feeling was that to re create that moment in time would be near to impossible. So why try? Just leave it the way people remember it. With all of the high’s and low’s near missed and clear makes of that day.

It was truly, in my eyes skateboarding version of an Olympic style event.
I don’t feel I own in anyway the “ollie” or the “ollie contest”
But our spin on that contest was one for the history books , or the Guinness books !

Were here in 2009 and its time to bring it back!
I care for the interest in this competition and for the sport and camaraderie of skateboarding.

It’s what has always interested me. Surrounding yourself with people you respect and pushing each other beyond you’re expectations.

This year my hope and guarantee is that the record WILL be broken!!!
There will be an elimination day and a pre qualifier for the main event.

Everyone is pretty psyched for next year’s ASP World Tour. There’s a certain level of excitement in the air unlike any year prior.  Is it because of the tour locations set of next year?  Or perhaps it’s because surfing has taken a backseat to KITE SURFING and surfers are ready to take back their spot.  Nope, it’s because the ASP’s new tournament format should lead to more suspense and excitement.  And it’s for damn sure, well hopefully, dominant surfers like Kelly Slater would monopolize the competition, as he did this year. 

Here’s a rundown of the major changes that are the framework for the new format:

- 48-man format consisting of two opening elimination man-on-man rounds. This gets rid of the free three-man round-one heats, which all surfers advanced out of.

- Round one will consist of 32 surfers, those rated 17 to 27 on the ASP World Tour, three tour/injury wildcards, the top 15-rated surfers on the ASP WQS, and three event wildcards.

- The top 16 on the ASP World Tour are seeded directly in round two where they’ll meet the sixteen victors from round one in the re-seeded draw.

- The top ten from the previous year’s Dream Tour will be guaranteed a round two seed all year long, while the next six seeds have to maintain their seeded position and can be replaced by better performing back 32 surfers after the third ASP World Tour event of the year.

These modifications all serve the purposes of maximizing swell windows for events, creating a one world ranking system, making it crucial for surfers to surf every event, and of course, increasing the excitement throughout the entirety of each contest.

Tentative ASP World Tour 2009 Schedule

Feb 28-Mar 11 Quiksilver Pro (Gold Coast, Qld-Australia)

Apr 7-19 Rip Curl Pro (Bells Beach, Victoria-Australia)

May 9-20 Billabong Pro Teahupoo (Teahupoo, Taiarapu-Tahiti)

Jun 27-Jly 5 Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro (Santa Catarina-Brazil)

Jly 9-19 Billabong Pro (Jeffreys Bay-South Africa)

Sep 11-20 Boost Mobile Pro pres. by Hurley (Trestles, California-USA)

Sep 23-Oct 4 Quiksilver Pro France (South West Coast-France)

Oct 5-17 Billabong Pro (Mundaka, Euskadi-Spain)

Oct 19-28 Rip Curl Search (Somewhere…in Europe?)

Dec 8-20 Billabong Pipeline Masters (Banzai Pipeline, Oahu-Hawaii)