The Skateboard Mag

Pro-tec Pool Party Wrap-Up

I’ve been known to use the “vert button” on occasion to fast-forward through a vert skater’s part in a video. Never again will I do such a thing after witnessing the gnarliness that is vertical skating that went down at the 2010 Pro-tec Pool Party at the Vans Skatepark Combi pool replica. Every year, Vans throws a pool party at the Combi Pool in Orange, Ca. This year the Combi got a facelift and all new coping in preparation for the contest.

The Masters have been skating longer than most of the crowd has been alive. Each has their own style and bag of tricks and they all did their thing. No one in the world skates like Duane Peters who killed it in his own special way. Chris Miller won all previous Pool Party Master’s titles and certainly looked like he was bluntsliding his way to a sixth win. Steve Caballero took the title skating consistent all day and had the distinction of being the only Master to flip his board.

In the Blocks For Bucks contest both pros and Masters attempted to grind or slide as much coping as possible. In the end Jeff Grosso slide around two thirds of the pool and took home the bucks.

There was a whole crop of new faces in the pro contest in addition to the familiar pros. Ben Raybourn’s buzzer beating backside boneless to fakie won him some new fans even if it wasn’t enough to get him into the finals. Other young bucks did make the cut include Pedro Barros, Nolan Monroe, and Josh Rodriguez. Barros was a real stand out with lengthy grinds, huge airs, and three 540s in a row during one run. He placed fourth behind previous winners Omar Hassan in third, Rune Glifberg in second, and Bucky Lasek.
Results

Masters
1. Steve Caballero (San Jose, CA) $13,000
2. Chris Miller (Del Mar, CA) $7,000
3. Lance Mountain (Alhambra, CA) $4,000

Pros
1. Bucky Lasek (Baltimore, MD) $30,000
2. Rune Glifberg (Copenhagen, DEN) $18,000
3. Omar Hassan (Costa Mesa, CA) $10,000