PHOTOGRAPHY BY
1) Adam Dorobiala 2) Bob (Possum) Plumb 3) Katie Panzer 4) davebrewerphoto.com

On Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 an arsenal of kids armed with skis and snowboards went head to head against pro skiers and riders at The Canyons in the SLUG Games and Celtek Gloves Beat the Pro contest, the second and final SLUG Games comp of the season. Mother Nature took a break from her winter fury and provided a beautiful sunny day. The course was built to perfection by the Canyon’s park crew rails, led by Steve Duke (co-owner of KAB Rails) It consisted of a big ol’ boosty table, flat box, up-box to rainbow and up-box to flat-bar. These kids came to fight, and fight they did. Delivering blow after blow in an attempt to beat out their favorite pro in a good old-fashioned game of S-K-A-T-E. Bjorn Leines, Iris Lazzareschi, Stefan Thomas and lil’ Cale Zima offered their bodies for a serious beat down.

The day started with an open jam format. The top five riders from each division were chosen to battle it out against a pro. This is when the competition really began: each pro set the trick for the ams to beat and a game of skate ensued. Leins and Lazzareschi took some brutal hits early on that sent them down, but not out.

Thomas led the skiers with a huge backwards (“zero spin” sounds lame) tailgrab and huge 450 gap off the up box. Zima flung twirly birds off the flat bar. The ladies killed it, but it was Wiki Jones with her laid back and effortless style that put her on top of the podium. The competitors were unleashing a barrage of tricks I didn’t know existed. Drew Brighton’s FS 360 Tai Pan won Best Trick, which reaffirmed that between-the-legs grabs are the new tight pants. The competition went on longer than anyone expected and it became very apparent that these kids were good, damn good. They were matching stylish switch sevens and other trickery consistently. All the smiling and high fives between pros and competitors made it seem that the competition was in the back of everyone’s mind. It became just another day in the park with friends. It was awesome to see pros giving advice to the competitors and vice versa. All camaraderie aside, the pros remained standing as the final bell rang. Prizes were given to the top riders in each division.

Men’s Snowboard Open:
1st Andy Kantola
2nd Drew Brighton
3rd Ted Borland

Women’s Snowboard Open:
1st Wiki Jones
2nd Kirra Kostenburg
3rd Dani Bastian

Skier’s Open:
1st McRae Williams
2nd Adam Battersby
3rd Luke Perin

Men’s Snowboard 17 & Under:
1st Chadwick Flom
2nd Evan Drange
3rd James Morgan

Skier’s 17 & Under:
1st CJ Bode

Best Trick:
Drew Brighton – Front Side 360 Tai Pan

Best Pro Look-a-like:
Greg Pinette – Aaron Bittner Look-a-Like

Tremendous thanks to: everyone who came out, Bjorn Leines, Iris Lazzareschi, Stefan Thomas, Cale Zima, Celtek, The Canyons, KAB Rails, Nitro, Armada, One Love, ASWC, Discrete, Roxy, Odeus, The Click, Milosport, Salty Peaks, Straight Line, Lenitech, ABZ Enterprises. The Truth, Autumn Garage, The Sunnyside Company, Fun Hat and FICE.