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Welcome to Phoenix. It's a Dry Heat
Event Kicks-off Tonight
By Jared Souney
As if it wasn’t already hot enough already (112 yesterday), things are about to catch fire in Phoenix as the Action Sports World Tour rolls into town this weekend. The Jobing.com arena is jam packed with a 14-foot vert ramp which will see action from skateboards and BMX, an FMX demo ramp, a music stage, and a BMX Box Jump course (new for this year).
What the heck is this BMX Box Jump thing all about? That’s what I was asking as I flew into town. Basically, take a BMX dirt jumping contest, get rid of the dirt, replace it with wood, and add a quarterpipe at the end. How will it turn out? We’ll see in a few hours, but we’ve got some of the biggest names in park and dirt jumping here to give it all they’ve got, including Ryan Guettler, Koji Kraft, Sean Sexton, Anthony Napolitan, and 16-year-old Dennis Enarson, who recently won the Dew Tour stop in Portland, OR. Prelims go down tonight, and it should make for a wild show.
The vert ramp on this tour is a favorite amongst the athletes. At 14 feet tall it’s one of the biggest halfpipes on the competiton circuit. Big transitions, smooth, awesome. Bucky Lasek, Pierre Luc Gagnon, Mathias Ringstrom and new comer Alex Perelson are all here on the skateboard front. Kevin Robinson, Simon Tabron, Steve McCann and John Parker are just a few the big names riding the big ramp on the little bikes. Today we’ve got BMX riders getting in some practice, along with Skateboard vert prelims. We’ve also got an Amatuer skate vet contest featuring some hot up-and-comers like Zach Miller and the young lady who’s been turning a lot of heads lately, Lea Taylor.
The music stage will see the “screamo” boys from Ohio, Hawthorne Heights on Saturday night (tonight), followed by The Starting Line on Sunday. Action Sports and Music, all in one air-conditioned venue. What more could you need in this blistering 100-plus heat?
Throw some FMX demos into the mix, and we’ve got a heck of a weekend on our hands at the Action Sports World Tour. Practice is starting for the day, the bands are sound checking, and in just a few hours the crowds should be loading in.
