David Jones / Unity to AO Unity / Photo by Condamine

Frantically looking for parking at the first spot after dealing with LA traffic, we accepted that we were late. “I’m going to go down and check us in with Quinn, I know he was saying punctuality is important for this comp.” “Quinn, I know we are a bit late, but can we still register?” Quinn said, “That’s fine, we are still waiting for Arlo and some of the other judges.” ARLO! And we are starting late! It is official, we are at a rollerblading event!

Winston Wardwell / Kind Grind / Photo by Condamine

The first spot was a skate plaza tucked away in a park. Overrun with rollerbladers, the skateboarders seemed to have conceded that they weren’t going to be able to do many kickflips until this group moved on, so they instantly became spectators. As everyone was coming together and warming up you could sense the excitement in the handshakes and high fives, the laced and attempted tricks. The first spot went off; all types of styles and tricks were going down and Matt Mickey was there to announce virtually every bit of action. The first spot was ledges, and while everyone was having fun and doing cool tricks, you could sense a bit of anticipation as we moved on to more difficult spots that were expected to come with the finals.

Chad Tannehill / Fullcab Miszou / Photo by Condamine

The second spot was right down the street in what seemed to be the same park. Very convenient. As everyone rejoined at the second spot the public began noticing that there was an event happening. So they turned into spectators as amazing bladers were warming up on a very respectable down rail that was in the middle of the stairs. People continued to warm up, and more and more people stopped to watch what was happening. For a lot of these people, seeing blading like this was probably a first, let alone this level of blading from this many talented skaters. Hammers happened, steeze was abundant, creativity was displayed, and some big spills took place. This is the spot where the energy of the bladers really became apparent. A new level of focus came about as they were trying more difficult and more dangerous tricks. People were commenting on the amazing blading that was happening, the organization of the street event, and the announcing skills of Mr. Mickey. “He should be on the radio or something” someone said.

Paul Austin / Top Soul to Fakie / Photo by Condamine

Russell Day / AO Top Porn / Photo by Condamine

A little bit further away, the third spot was in an empty parking lot that seemed to be used to park ambulances. The only public spectators at this spot were the paramedics smoking cigs on their breaks. (So, the perfect place for a blade comp.) This one was a flat rail with a big drop at the end. Oh, and this rail was real big on the approach and had a real real big drop to the landing. With ramps set up on both sides of the rail the competitors began warming up on it. It was apparent this was a high stakes obstacle, not just because of the height and size, but these points were going towards the thousands of dollars in prize money. After a couple warm up tries from each blader, the tricks started going down. You could really see the skill and expertise of the competitors as they laced trick after trick after trick on this gnarly rail while remaining very composed. A lot of tricks happened, different styles and different techniques, but all awesome. The third spot is when it became very clear that judging this street comp must have been very difficult. As I was beginning to feel sorry for the judges, we went to the fourth and final spot.

Ian McLeod / 540 / Photo by Condamine

At the fourth spot my compassion for the judges subsided and the respect for the bladers competing went into overdrive. This place was crazy! It was at a newly-built high school with a view of the LA skyline. It couldn’t have been a more picture perfect final spot — a line of sizable rails and stair gaps; classic street steeze. While everyone knew this spot was crazy, it was understood that this is the freaking FINALS and there was a lot of money on the line. Watching the competitors as they decided what they were going to do, already fairly worn down from the previous spots, was gut wrenching. “If we weren’t competing here, I wouldn’t skate this” was overheard and put the spot into perspective. Yet the show must go on, and go on it did with amazing skating by everyone. Despite the difficulty of the final spot many tricks and lines went down. There was nothing holding anyone back as they pushed themselves to the limit. Then it was over, the comp was done!

After the judges deliberated, everyone gathered around to celebrate a successful year of A Chosen-Few street comps. Quinn gave a thank you and promised future events no matter what, then the winners were announced and product was tossed. After a perfect ending to a perfect day everyone went their separate ways back to their real lives. Overall the event was a huge success. Make sure you come out to future events as it is quite the experience. — R-$$$

Photos by Jeremy Condamine