High Heels and Gladrags…oh yes and surfboards!
A Busy Week at Boardmasters!
Surfers, skaters, BMXers and partygoers alike were treated to glorious sunshine at Relentless Energy Drink Boardmasters in association with Vans last week. The main surf event was held in small surf and it all came to a hurried end on Thursday to get the last of the swell before it went completely flat for the rest of the week. It was good timing as it left the weekend to enjoy the Boardmasters music festival which was epic with Dizzee putting on an amazing show!
Surf and Skate
The men’s Davidoff Coolwater Longboard Final was a hotly contested event with last year’s 1st and 2nd placed athletes Antoine Delpero and local boy Ben Skinner coming head to head again. History repeated itself as Antoine eventually took top spot once again with Ben coming in second and Edouard Delpero taking the third.
Miku Uemura (HAW) 28, won the DAVIDOFF Cool Water Longboard Girls Pro in stylish fashion leading from start to finish and never looking in doubt to claim the 2012 title. Combining nose rides, rail turns and floaters to rack up two solid scores in the 6-point range, Uemura held on during the 30-minute final to the cheers of the appreciative crowd lining the beach.
“It has been unbelievable. I am really happy. I had been looking at the scores from the first day and I knew that Alice (Limoigne) and Atlanta (Nacimento) were getting higher scores than I was and they were very consistent too. I had that in mind and I wanted to make sure I got a high score in the first 5-10 minutes and it worked out for me.”
Alice Limoigne (REU) 15, finished runner-up and in so doing claimed the 2012 ASP Europe Women’s Longboard title as well as qualifying for the ASP Women’s World Longboard Tour for 2013. The ever smiling natural footer never through in the towel during the final and built on her scores to come within striking distance of the win however the final siren blew to end her challenge.
“I am very happy to win the European title but I would also have liked to win the contest here. I got a good score at the end which helped me to get close but in the end it was not possible. I am happy to be European champion at 15 years of age.”
The ASP 6 Star Men’s final was boiled down to reigning champ Romain Cloitre and Charles Martin. As the final surf final of the day the crowds had amassed on the beach and provided exceptional support and spurred on two highly competitive athletes to push the waves to the limit. In the end it was Charles Martin who returned to the beach victorious following an imperious display.
Relentless Energy Drink Boardmasters in association with Vans Final Results
1 – Charles Martin (GLP) 15.67
2 – Romain Cloitre (REU) 12.60
DAVIDOFF Cool Water Longboard Pro Final Results
1st Antoine Delpero (FRA) 17.26
2nd Ben Skinner (GBR) 15.26
3rd Edouard Delpero (FRA) 14.94
4th Remi Arauzo (FRA) 13.73
DAVIDOFF Cool Water Longboard Girls Pro Final Results
1st Miku Uemura (HAW) 12.57
2nd Alice Limoigne (REU) 11.66
3rd Atlanta Nascimento (BRA) 9.76
4th Emma Neuschwanger (REU) 5.70
The open skate jam gave everyone the opportunity to experience the new Vans Summer Sessions street course with extended mini set up. As ever the atmosphere was chilled and the standard of skating extremely high leaving everyone excited for the fierce competition to come.
The penultimate day at the Boardmasters saw the Vans Summer Sessions Skate and BMX Qualifiers followed by a show stealing performance from Dizzee Rascal. Saturday down at Fistral Beach was all about the Vans Summer Sessions. There was plenty of action to get through with both Pro Skate and Pro BMX finals taking place on the all-new mini. In the Pro Skate qualifications, usual suspects Andy Scott and Josh ‘Manhead’ Young proved their worthiness of a place in the final with Danny Carlsson taking top spot.
The Pro BMX qualifications, as ever, were extremely popular with a talented field of riders looking to progress to the final. Mark Webb delivered just as expected and tore the mini ramp apart whilst Tobias Wicke demonstrated a combination of technical ability and amplitude. Alex Colbourne was a different level and qualified in first.Harry Lintell clearly enjoyed himself on the street course as he took home took spot in every single Best Trick session, bagging himself a tasty £1250 in the process.
Over at the mini ramp there was a whole host of categories for the athletes to compete in, most notably Dean Green Smith was awarded “the Line Executor” award for best line whilst Danny Carlson bagged “The Tsunami” (best overall) award for his constant ramp destruction and silky skills.
In the Pro BMX category the mini ramp was torn to shreds with key names such as Alex Colborn, Mark Webb and Tobias Wicke all competing for a slice of the generous prize pot. When the dust settled it was Alex Colborn who had earned top spot with Declan Brooks taking second and Mark Webb taking third.
Music
Over at Watergate Bay the festivities continued well into the night. Set Your Goals blew the roof off the Vans Off The Wall music tent whilst other Vans favourites Young Guns were also seen tearing up the Energy Sessions Stage fuelled by Relentless to a packed out crowd.
Dizzee Rascal took to the main stage as the final headline act of the weekend and blew the crowds away with a brilliant high-energy performance. The huge crowd went mental for Dizzee and it was one of the best Boardmasters acts we’ve ever seen at festival. Elsewhere Zane Lowe provided a DJ set that was every bit as eclectic and inspired as you would expect from the BBC Radio One DJ and proved to be a popular crowd pleaser.
On the final day of the festival, spectators were spoilt for choice with both Pro Skate and Pro BRM finals taking place as the final installment of the Skate Best Trick contest at the Vans Summer Sessions. And at night the crowds will made their way to the final Marley Beach Sessions where Josh Kumra and The Black Seeds closed the festival in style.
Andrew Topham festival directory said, “2012 will be remembered as a year of great success in the history of Relentless Energy Boardmasters in association with Vans. We received record numbers at both the Fistral and music festival sites. Despite running against the Olympics the event received great media interest. The surf and weather were on our side and although we finished the surf comp early, the event was certainly a great success. Great waves, great weather, great music. Boardmasters 2012 was one to remember. We cant wait for 2013″.
