Gabe Kadmiri

Kurt Von Stetten

Chris Poulos

Brian Chapman

Gabe Kadmiri

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Story, photos & video by Kieran Chapman

The first of six contests organized by Chris Poulos went off on May 11 in Burlington, Vermont. Brian Chapman, Kurt Von Stetten and I headed up on Friday night to get an early start on Saturday. The day of the contest started off cloudy and chilly, but gradually warmed up. Some wind off nearby Lake Champlain would occasionally cause problems, but overall things went well. And I thought the riding area — a roller hockey rink — was quite good.

The turnout was surprisingly low. I kind of expected a somewhat small contest since it's a pretty long drive to Vermont from, well, almost anywhere. But I had expected at least some riders from New York and Canada to show up. So, in addition to the three of us who came up, there was Chris Poulos (obviously), plus Gabe Kadmiri and his family and crew. (A Burlington local was also there, but not competing...)

So, things were kept pretty informal: riders would just judge each other and decide who won. Chris and I rode in the Seniors (over 30) class, doing some old- to mid-school tricks. We both hit some tricks and messed up even more, neither riding as well as we'd like to. I don't even remember if we chose a winner, but what the hell — at least we're still on our bikes.

The Open class is where the "real" riding went down. Kurt had some troubles and ended up third, though he did end his second run on a strong note. Brian, also not really riding at his normal consistency level, took second with his hitchhiker strings and hang-5 jumps. Gabe continues to amaze me every time I see him. He got first place with some fast front wheel links (incorporating his 360 barflip to tomahawk), time machines, and fast greenbean things (that's a megaspin variation to you young'uns).

Chris is working to have useful prizes (rather than the usual t-shirt fare, not that there's anything wrong with them) for those that place. So we all left with new toolboxes (in addition to t-shirt-style stuff).

Afterwards Kurt, Brian & I spent some time visiting Burlington (a very photogenic and cool city/town) before heading back home. Hopefully the next couple contests will have larger turnouts, but it was still definitely worth the trip...and not just because I didn't have to drive!

Senior Class 1. Kieran Chapman 2. Chris Poulos

Open Class 1. Gabe Kadmiri 2. Brian Chapman 3. Kurt Von Stetten