Winter Splinter 2009 contest report. By Noel Campbell

Mar 27, 2009

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 6652 times

The third annual Winter Splinter contest went down on March 14 at the Factory Skatepark, a huge bike oriented indoor park near Atlanta, Georgia. Locals and out-of-towners alike tore the place up in park, vert, and a high air event on the huge 11 foot quarter. The amateurs were better than ever: semi-local rider Russell Summerville went back to back, pulling a double whip right into a decade jump on the rhythm section. He also won vert, clicking lookbacks and throwing tuck no-handers like a seasoned vert rider. Russ won a free weekend at Woodward East for his efforts. The pros, as always, went off. Philadelphia rider Paul Horan nailed an icepick grind to no-footed can can off the end of a flat rail. Jersey boy Matt Leveige

was super original, bringing tranny skillsand his unique street style to the course. 36 year old Kent Pearson, just healed up from recent surgery, teched it up with a front brake. Another guy recovering from a recent injury - and last year’s winner - was North Carolina’s Alex Johan, who was riding at 75% but still shredding.

My favorite trick of the day was an opposite 270 whip to smith stall (think about that one) on a five foot quarter, courtesy of Nick Jenks – who also did 540’s both ways out of the love seat into the 11 foot quarter. What, can this guy not tell his left from his right? Third place went to 16-year-old Devon Smillie – he went really high, threw a variety of clean tricks, and come sooo close on a bar to bar to tailtap to can can footjam…..his front tire barely touched on the tailtap but everything was dialed. Brakeless, too. Ricky Rogers came up from Florida and flipped ramps that shouldn’t have been flippable.

He also flaired across a quarter-to-quarter channel and sent himself over the biggest gap of the day – a huge diagonal step up. A well-deserved first went to Kyle Kelsey. Kyle’s whips, inverts, and turndowns are usually a little more clicked and way higher than everyone else. No exception here – barspin to turndown six feet above the 11 foot quarter, truck to turndown over the big box jump, and 360 whip over the same jump – backwards. Kyle also won the high air comp on the big quarter.

If you didn’t make this year’s Winter Splinter, you missed out. More pictures will be up on Mysticnegro.com.

Thanks to S&M, Animal, Props, UGP, Kink, Red Bull, and Woodward Camp for helping make Winter Splinter 2009 such a success.

-Noel Campbell