Day one of the IGSA North American Championships is over. The Qualifying rounds and followed multiple free-ride and practice runs by all classes. Seismic's Corner of Death claimed its share of the Gravity Bikes, Standup DH and Classic Luge riders, but the crashes in the StreetLuge class were awesome! Everyone got up and walked away, including Brent DeKeyser, who snapped a plywood sheet in half, after plowing through haybales to get at it.
Look in the Silverfish Galleries for over 800 photos from the day... and check out IGSA's report, below:
Noah Sakamoto turned in a blistering second qualifying run today to take the number one starting position for tomorrows Seismic Downhill Skateboard race at the IGSA North American Championships. John Rogers took the second spot followed by Brent DeKeyser in third. Nathan Lang led a contingent of Canadian skaters who occupied the next five spots. Lang qualified fourth, followed by Thomas Edstrand in fifth, Cody Tisdale in sixth, Kevin Reimer in seventh, and Scott Smith in eighth. Paul Carroll of the USA was ninth and another Canadian, Steve Lange, rounded out the top ten. A total of 26 skateboarders made qualifying runs today.
Edstrand, Tisdale and Reimer actually sat in the first thru third positions after the first qualifying run by Edstrand and Tisdale elected not to take a second run and had to sit and watch themselves get bumped down the grid in the second run. Sakamoto's run was amazing as he was able to carry an enormous amount of speed through the trecherous Seismic Corner. The ninety-degree high speed turn saw a huge number of crashes today as it tested the skill of every skater. Even reigning IGSA World Cup Champion had a big taste of the straw. Fortunately every skater was able to walk away today with little more than a bump or bruise.
The action starts tomorrow with morning warm up runs beginning at 9:00am. The Seismic Downhill Skateboard Race is scheduled to start at 12:00 noon. Admission to the park is $7.00 per carload. Admission to the event is free. For more information on the event or the IGSA, please visit www.gravity-sports.com.