After Day 2 of the World Round Up contest there is a whole new light we can see inside the tunnel. The Amateur Division standings stayed pretty much the same from yesterday but every competitor stepped up their game big time. Andy Anderson came out super string in Run 1 with a unique and flawless display which only made Kaue Arouja go twice as hard. I have no idea who will take 1st place tomorrow but I am pretty sure it will be one of them.
The Pro’s on the other hand just proved that it really could be anyone’s game. Mike Osterman bumped Guenter Mokulys off the mountain top taking over the 1st place ranking, while Stefan Lillis Akesson, Per Canguru and Takashi Suzuki slid down to make room that little 12 year old I keep talking about from Japan. That’s right Isamu Yamamoto moved up from 8th place to 3rd today. The crazy part is every single one of the Pro’s had at least one killer run that were all comparable. These guys are in a serious battle and the question remains the same –
Who will be the Champion of 2015?
Will Osterman get the repeat? Will Guenter Mokulys take his 11th title? Could 12 year old Isamu actually beat out the entire group and win his first ever Pro contest? Or will we be totally surprised by someone else in the mix?
It really could be anyone. You might wanna show up for this one…
After Day 1 of the 4th annual World Round Up Freestyle Contest the questions are real, Who will be the ones to make those Finals on Sunday, Who will be the Champions, and Who is better – the guys with 20-30 years of experience or those crazy young kids full of energy and changing the face of freestyle?
It’s always an eye-opener to be at this event as you see some insane skateboarding going on everywhere you look. But every year there’s competitors that you haven’t seen before, competitors that you know are at the top of their game and the toughest ones to beat, and competitors who just blow you away with their improved style and consistency from the year previous. Either way, it is always exciting to watch.
This year the Amateur Division has a lot of people in it and the 2nd and 3rd place guys from last year are ready to battle it out for the win. Kaue Arouja and Andy Anderson went neck and neck on the first day with 2 completely different styles, but both had solid and flawless runs and the pressure will be on during semi-finals.
In the Pro’s it was the usual deal with Guenter Mokyulus and Mike Osterman scoring at the top but with others running closely behind. The excitement this year is that young Japanese wonder Isamu Yamamoto has moved up to the Pro Division at age 12. This kid might not win the event but he definitely gets the entire place cheering every time he steps on his board. His consistency is unstoppable.
Semi-Finals are next and those 3 questions come back to mind, who will move on to Finals…..
Here’s a recap video showcasing the smooth and diverse styles of the 2 youngest competitors at the event
We are very excited to announce that YouTube Phenomenon Kilian Martin will be joining us at this years World Freestyle Round-Up. He will be putting on skateboard demos on Sunday, May 17th between 2 and 6pm and on Monday, May 18th between 10am and 5pm.
Each year, the World Freestyle Round-Up chooses one of its own freestyle skates to design the contest t-shirt and belt buckle. Having a skater design the artwork brings together two important things: a passion for art and a love of freestyle skateboarding. Last year Jim Goodrich, who is much more than just a great photographer, designed our t-shirts and buckles. This year, that skater/designer is Alejandro Finy who is originally from Costa Rica but now calls Seattle, Washington him home.
We are very excited to announce a new event taking place at this year’s World Freestyle Round-Up, the Legends Freestyle Classic which will highlight the Pro Freestyle Skaters 50 years of age and older. Take a moment and think about what those words represent. Legends – When we think of legends we think of someone who has left their mark not only on society but who has set a high standard to which we all hope to attain. Classic – The dictionary says that the word classic is an outstanding example of a particular style, something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality.
This new event will honour and showcase those freestyle legends that have paved the way for the sport of Freestyle Skating and who still skate whenever they get the chance. click here for full details
Being the 3rd year for this event there was a little more competitive spirit in the air but it still came down to everyone just being happy and excited to be present. The first year of The World Round Up was all about showcasing the best Freestyle Skateboarders in the world and setting a precedence for a new world-wide competition, the second year was a reunion of sorts which attracted even more competitors than year one and created a true family feel to this event, and the third year was even better. When these guys fly into town from other countries they are super excited to be in Canada and even more excited to show off what they dedicate their lives to for hundreds of people day after day. Interesting features this year was Shen Meng being the first skater from China to participate in a world-wide contest and little 11 year old Isamu Yamamoto coming all the way from Japan to try and prove that he could be the next biggest thing in Freestyle. Isamu dominated the Amateur competition all weekend and managed to squeeze out the win. Everyone will remember that forever.
So making the recap video was pretty amazing, I love being invited each year by Monty Little and Kevin Harris to film this event and create something special out of it. After getting to know all the competitors from the last 2 years I have made a bunch of great relationships and really respect these guys in a lot of ways. Freestyle skateboarding is such a rare entity and the people that name themselves true Freestylers are very strong people, and they all seem happy just to go skate. This year I really wanted to focus on the feelings and emotions that pass through all the competitors’ minds over the 4 day weekend. Everybody always talks about how awesome it is to be in a room with so many people that they consider family, and I think I know why they are so tight. Think back to when skateboarding was fully not accepted in society, this was when street skating just became a trend and pool skating was all trespassing. All skateboarders were shunned by the community, people judged us without ever knowing us and they put us down for being ourselves and doing something creative that made us feel good and accomplished inside. Now think of the way that the skateboard community feels about Freestyle Skaters, a lot of it seems like we treat them the way that the whole world used to treat us. People diss freestyle but what are they actually dissing? Just other human beings that found something they love to do and dedicate their lives to. I’ll tell you why I love these guys – because no matter how many times they have been pushed down they keep on standing strong, they do what they love and they do it to the best of their ability, and no matter where they are it’s always about promoting skateboarding in a positive way. I don’t see anything wrong with that.
After 3 years at this event I feel blessed to know all of these guys and appreciate that they accept me into their family. With less than 300 freestyle skaters in the world, you know that you are meeting the best of the best, and every single one of them is the most humble, most appreciative, and most supportive person you will ever meet. So sit back and check out this recap video of The 2014 World Round Up Freestyle Championships and feel the love…
Another amazing day at the World Round Up 2014 as the best of the best Freestyle Skateboarders in the world competed for the top places in the Finals of this 3 day event. The atmosphere was positive and everyone was having fun, but you could feel the want of the win in the air. Being the 3rd year for this event it is beginning to become more important to try to win but all in all it is still about having fun and showing off skateboarding in a positive way to crowds of people that might not know much about skateboarding in general, and they were all loving it all day long. Every competitor was on their game today and there was a ton of flawless runs in both the Amateur and Professional divisions. Talk of the event was around 11 year old Isamu Yamamoto in the Am category and whether or not he could maintain top position and take 1st place at his first ever world event. Kaue Araujo and Andy Anderson were battling hard to try to take that opportunity away from the little dude but just couldn’t quite do it. Isamu held on with amazing skills and won his first international Gold Medal!! Way to go dude!
In the Pros it was insanity all the way from 15th right to top qualifying positions but the top 5 owned it and stayed the top 5 at the end. All 5 had at least one flawless run each and it must have been super hard to judge. Rene Shigueto, Per Cangaru, Mike Osterman, Jesse Whalen and Guenter Mokulys laid it down for the audience and blew away the other competitors. It came down to 1 point separating the 1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place spots and ended in a great way with Mike Osterman from the USA taking Gold over Guenter, and leaving Jesse with the Bronze. What a way for Mike to celebrate his 21st birthday!! Tears were shed, hugs were happening and everyone was stoked. This was another great example of how tight the freestyle world is and how much these guys love eachother. Mike Osterman took home $3,000 for placing on top but he was more excited about the fact that he skated his best and somehow beat the machine.
With demos all day, presentations by Constable Troy Derrick, and plenty of awesome contest runs, the crowd of spectators was constant and all went home with a story to tell. This event is growing and it is great to be a part of it.
