Tuesday, May 27, 2008

BV Pro Rodeo

Saturday was the first annual BV Pro Rodeo. The South Main Project, an environmentally friendly neighborhood created by kayakers, hosted the event at the top hole of the play park. Twenty two pros came to the event to compete for a $2000 cash purse.

The hole was dynamic and flushy and only 5 advanced to the finals, so competitors had to be on to make it. In the first heat Jonathon Shales and Dustin Urban had great rides. I had good rides in the second heat which put me in third place, but there were still many great paddlers to come. In the third heat, Nick Troutman and Jason Craig threw down to bump me into 5th place. The last competitor in the fourth heat, Dane Jackson, had high scoring rides which placed him into second. It came down to the last ride in prelims and I just missed the cut which earned me the name “bubble boy” for the rest of the day.

Top pros that didn't make the cut include Erick Jackson, Stephen Wright, Bryan Kirk, Andrew Holcomb, Clay Wright, Jed Selby and the list goes on. It was interesting to see younger generation dominate this competition. We will have to see how the rest of the season goes.

In finals, the best of two rides advanced to the top three. Jonathon Shales and Jason Craig didn’t make the cut and finished in 4th and 5th. From there the best of three rides determined who won. Dustin Urban had an awesome first ride at 122 points. Nick Troutman came close with 119 points to finish second and Dane Jackson finished third.

Here are the results that I remember. Complete results should be posed at the BV Pro Rodeo site soon.

Mens
1. Dustin Urban
2. Nick Troutman
3. Dane Jackson
4. Jonathon Shales
5. Jason Craig
6. Greg Parker
7. Stephen Wright

Womens
1. Emily Jackson
2. Ruth Gordon
3. Katie Urban

Below is a short video of the highlights from my competition rides.