The One Movement Skateboard Invitational Competition 2012
It was all about skating and styling on Sunday (August 19) as the 3rd annual, One Movement Skate Invitational went down on the hard courts at Dover Beach, Christ Church, Barbados. Every year, this themed competition brings out the best skaters from Barbados as well as some special guests from throughout the Caribbean. Last year, the guys were in search of the mysterious Kwami Jones, this time, the skaters came out in their finest fashions, racking up as many style points as they could to see who could earn the title of “Steeze Urkel”. While there were a few falls that reminded us of our favorite suspender wearing, next door neighbor from the 90′s, this was a competition and it was all about landing the radical tricks that would make a skater scream, “Did I do that?”
First was the Big Air Contest, where contestants had to step up to see who could get the most height off of the ramp. The Control Tower at the Grantley Adams Airport was notified and all low flying aircraft were redirected as the skaters charged the ramps and got to heights that would make any NBA player jealous. In the end, it was Brett Thomas of Irie One who recorded the day’s biggest jump at 6ft 4ins.
Simon Juicy J on his way to winning the U-16 division
Next was the keenly contested Under-16 competition, where finalists; Hakeem ‘Cream O’ Wheat’ Scott (Movement Skate Team), Adiel Batson and Simon “Juicy J” Joosten (Irie One) made it clear that they each should be crowned the best Under-16 skater at the competition. It was then that “Juicy J” switched gears and the biggest lil man at the comp landed a flawless run to win the division, with Cream O’Wheat placing 2nd and Batson 3rd.
Local Bajan group, Azman then took the stage (or in this case the ramp) to entertain the crowd with their lyrical style known as fling (a combination of spoken word and rap). Each verse was crammed with witty word play and intelligent metaphors which kept the crowd begging for more.
When the flingsters flung their final flows, it was back to the comp where the heats for the Open competition went down and then local rollerbladers were invited to shred the course after the sun set. At this point, the rain began to make it’s presence felt and after about 3 minutes of very light showers, the skaters were able to hit the picnic table obstacle for the “Best Trick Competition“. In a 5 minute freestyle battle which saw some of the day’s best tricks, Brett Thomas once again came out on top with a Crooked Grind across the picnic table ledge.
Unfortunately, the rains brought the nights activities to an early end with only one segment of the Open competition completed. In a true display of democracy, the skaters agreed that they would use the scores from the previous heat to decide a winner. In the end, it was Juicy J who took the podium, with the Irie One Head Honcho, Paul Wilson coming in 2nd and not to be left out of the runnings, Trinidad’s Justin “JJ” De Verteuil (IJAH) grabbed 3rd place.
The rain didn’t get a chance to ruin the event’s main theme as Michael Belle made sure that he stayed ‘so fresh so clean’ to earn the name, Steeze Urkel. The rain didn’t wash away the smiles of the competitors nor the enjoyment of the fans either and for a fun filled day with all of the skate crews representing in their numbers, they truly showed that family matters.
See more action from this year’s One Movement Skateboard Invitational at the Adrenaline Sun Facebook page by clicking the link.
Adrenaline Sun
Adrenaline Sun is a new-media action sports magazine that gets inside the world of Caribbean extreme sports to bring you every thrilling event through original content, videos, e-publications and social media. We don’t focus only on the biggest sporting events. We engage regional and international fans and athletes in key action sports niches including skateboarding, paintball, BMX, and off-roading. We also attract a highly enthusiastic local fan base that includes avid sailors, surfers and motorsports junkies.
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