Tim Brauch Memorial Contest XIV

It was a bright sun that met us early this morning at the Lake Cunningham Skate Park. The Tim Brauch Memorial Contest was in its fourteenth year and there was going to be some serious bowl destruction to commemorate the man and his special place in our world. The ladies, Ams, Masters and Pros would be hitting it hard all day. The ladies rolled and Lizzie Armanto crushed it. I didn’t feel that the ladies received a fair contest. It was kept short and they were all placed together. It didn’t really showcase what they could actually do. We were on a time constraint, so I understood. It will be nice when the ladies get a fair venue to really show the world what they can do and how important they are for skateboarders everywhere.

All the heats were heavy in the Ams and Tristan Rennie dominated. He was really throwing down some heavy tricks and his lines were amazing. Griffin Chase tore the bowl up and ended in 2nd and a teflon-smooth Bobo ended up in 3rd. When Bobo was riding, I was smiling… he is rad!

The Masters were unreal. Steve Caballero defended the title and really lit the place up. He stood on the podium triumphant. Mike McGill stood tall beside him in 2nd Place. Mike threw down a super gnarly McTwist in his final run. It was really something to see! Eddie Elguera was flowing through the pool like water. He made some serious trick combinations and was inspiring to watch. Eddie ended up 3rd and it was well-deserved. He ripped!

The Pro riders were on a tear. There was so much going down that half the time, I was standing and yelling. These guys were going crazy and staying on everything. In the end, Michael Brookman, Josh Rodriguez and Sky stood on the podium respectively.

Daniel Cuervo was ripping hard and took a serious slam after colliding with someone.  When will we stop hurting each other? I saw a good deal of disrespect this week. Riders dropping in and snaking legends and each other…  while in the middle of a run! I saw groms unregulated. I saw Daniel Cuervo flying head high and another rider just rolling right into the deep end with him. Oblivious. Collision. Daniel was hurt but came back around. He ended in 5th place and I am very stoked he is okay. My pool pal Josh Stafford took a mean slam but kept at it as well. It was a great event and WCS pulled off another fine contest. A bit of advice though… Please regulate.  I don’t like seeing my friends getting hurt. Tim Brauch lives on in the memory of all the riders and I’m sure he was smiling down on us all day long. Thanks to MRZ for the images. Skate- Ozzie