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A BMX Box Jump Contest?
By Jared Souney
Put simply, it's a dirt contest without the dirt. That's how the riders have been describing it at least. You may have seen BMX dirt jumping on TV or in person. It's usually a roll-in to a set of anywhere from 3 to 5 jumps, requiring a rider to get through the whole set, while doing tricks on each one. The Action Sports World Tour's box jump contest is a similar concept, only made from wood. There's a huge roll-in, two jumps in a row, followed by a quarterpipe. Riders are judged on both jumps and the quarterpipe, in a best run counts format.
Previous seasons of the Action Sports World Tour have featured park competitions... a much different set-up. The new format has brought in some new faces along with some seasoned vets. "They don't really feel like box jumps. They're offset more like dirt jumps. It's interesting. It's a little hard on the landings, but it's fun" jumping and vert competitor Ben Snowden said. "It's definitely going to be fun of the crowd. I think everybody's just going to huck themselves. They're actually pretty soft to crash on, but they kind of kick you funny. You definitely have to alter your style a bit to land smooth on them" he added.
"It was so new and so fun, I think we all had a good time" said first place qualifier Dennis Enarson. Enarson is 16-years-old and hails from San Diego. Dennis was motivated early on by guys like Steven Woodward (who also competed here in Phoenix) and Gary Young. Dennis has come a long way very quickly, and is fresh of a dirt win at the AST Dew Tour in Portland. When asked if he felt any pressure as a result Dennis said "I felt like I kind of got lucky in Portland, so I just figured I'd try to make the finals here. There wasn't really any pressure. I rode pretty good I thought."
Enarson won't be able to cruise through the finals, though. With heavy hitters like Ryan Guettler and Anthony Napolitan in the mix, anything can happen. All the riders in the finals have what it takes to make a win happen, it's just a matter of whose roll of the dice comes up with snake eyes.
