The third annual Ultimate Boarder competition, which combines surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding to form a triathlon for boarders, found its winner after the skateboarding competition was completed Saturday at the Grand Sierra Resort.
Tim Hoover, founder of Ultimate Boarder, said the competition is a triathlon for a new generation of athletes: boarders who ride the waves, carve the snow and defy gravity on the vert ramp, which is similar to the halfpipe in snowboarding.
At Saturday’s competition, the athletes took to the custom built skate ramp inside the Grand Sierra Resort’s Silver State Pavilion. More than 50 riders, 49 men and one women, geared up for heats of five riders. Each heat was a 10-minute jam session in which the riders politely took turns doing tricks, rail grinds and kick flips for points.
Surfing in San Diego
Each rider competing in the individual competition had been selected by a panel of professional boarders to compete in the Ultimate Boarder competition. Hoover said riders were picked based on their abilities to compete in all three sports.
Hoover explained that Ultimate Boarder also holds a team competition, allowing a team to pick its best athlete to represent the team in surfing, a different member for snowboarding and another rider for skateboarding.
On Tuesday, the surf portion started ranking the athletes and giving the best surfers the advantage going into the snowboarding competition Friday at Northstar-at-Tahoe.
Mike Morrissey from Laguna Beach, Calif. took first place in the surfing competition.
“I am so happy to be atop the podium,” Morrissey said in a press release. “There was some tough competition out there, but felt comfortable in the water and just surfed to the best of my abilities. I’m stoked to be heading to the snow now.”
Morrissey’s standings were followed by Nathan Carroll, from Haleiwa, Hawaii, Bryce Young from Angourie, Australia, Shayne Nelson from Huntington Beach, Calif. and Eric McHenry from Cardiff, Calif.
Taking an early lead could be crucial in a competition in which the combined score from each leg of the race determines who takes home the title and, in this case, the $25,000 grand prize.
Snowboarding in Tahoe
After making the trek from San Diego, the boarders hit the snow-covered slopes of Northstar-at-Tahoe on Thursday to practice for Friday’s competition. Mother Nature cooperated with the riders and provided a nice, sunny day to shred the snow.
At only 16, Trevor Jacob from Mammoth Lakes, Calif. proved he has what it takes to be an Ultimate Boarder and took the top spot on the podium. Jacob’s was joined on the podium by Shayne Pospisil from Manasquan, N.J. and Todd Richards from Encinitas, Calif.
“Ultimate Boarder is really cool because it brings together all the sports that I love,” Jacob said in a press release. “We have a killer group of athletes, who I really respect, where we can just go out there and have fun.”
The team competition also brought front-runners Team Hosoi, who’s team member professional surfer Rob Machado took first in San Diego, into the spotlight with impressive riding from member Brandon Cocard from Truckee, Calif.
However, it local Team Eternal that took first place with the help of snowboarder Joshua Douglas for the youth team division. Trevor Thornton had secured the team a first place surfing finish in San Diego.
After snowboarding, the athletes had no time to rest. They had to make their way to Reno to warm up from Saturday’s final competition: skateboarding.
Skateboarding in Reno
Walking into the Silver State Pavilion on Saturday was like walking into another world. Skateboarders, professional and amateur, mingled with other athletes and members of the crowd who asked the athletes to sign skateboards and other items.
For Greg O’Neil and his daughter Riley, who made the one-hour drive from Janeville, Calif. to watch the competition, the excitement was motivating.
Riley said her brother has been teaching her to snowboard and skateboard on the family’s skate ramp in the backyard. She said watching the skaters made her feel like practicing.
Although Greg’s son, Tanner, couldn’t make it to the competition with his family, Greg said watching some of the athletes he knows from magazines was exciting.
“I think this is huge,” Greg said. “It’s bringing people here and getting people involved, it’s really huge.
“All these people I recognize,” Greg added. “It’s just a big event and there are a lot of famous athletes here.”
In heat three of the competition, skateboard legend Christian Fletcher took to the ramp with fellow skaters Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, Steven Brown, Shea Lewis, Grant Manning and Jared Hager.
What was a friendly competition between fellow boarders, looked like an all out brawl for the big points from the stands. Fletcher showed the younger boarders how it was done with his surf style carving on the vert ramp but Hawkins stepped her game up with a hand grab on the vert ramp followed by a kick flip.
Although neither Fletcher or Hawkins placed in the top three of the competition, their riding showed how fierce the competition was.
Winning the title
After about a week of tough competition and top athletic performance, the Ultimate Boarder was named.
Taking first place in the solo skate division was Chad Shetler from Dana Point, Calif. Shetler’s first place finish in skateboarding tied him for the title of Ultimate Boarder with surf champ Morrissey. Kristian Philipp took third place.
“It’s an honor to share the stage with Mike and compete alongside these other highly talented athletes,” Shetler said in a press release. “I was humbled to win the event last year and it means a lot being able to repeat my performance.”
Team Hosoi took top honors, with members surfer Machado, snowboarder Cocard and skateboarder Christian Hosoi, who placed second in the team skate competition.
Team Eternal, from Reno, took top honors for the youth division, with members surfer Thorton, snowboarder Douglas and skateboarding Nathan Alegria who placed third in the skate competition.
“This was, by far, our best year yet,” Hoover said. “Every year the athletes have stepped up their game and the caliber of performances just gets better and better overall. We had an incredible group of athletes, ideal conditions at all three stops, and a passionate fan base that kept the momentum going.”
After the winners were named, punk bands Pennywise and T.S.O.L. performed in the Grand Theater at the Grand Sierra Resort to a packed house.
For more information, or to apply for 2011 Ultimate Boarder competition, visit www.ultimateboarder.com.
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