Recently Rossendale dryslope lost its beloved kicker (see the current issue of Whitelines for the full details). Thankfully, a new one has now been built, giving the locals an excuse to celebrate with… a kicker comp of course!
The new bigger, better Snowflex ramp attracted not only the usual crowd of locals, but also a fair few older riders, come to pay homage to their roots. Rossendale local Felix Robinson sent us this report back from the King of the Kicker comp.
“We expected it to be an occasion, but we never expected the turn out we received, with plenty of old school riders turning up to celebrate the re-birth or Rossendale. Over 50 competitors turned up to throw down their tricks and try for the title of being King for the day!
Early morning brought rain and wind, which blew leaves onto the slope. But as the comp kicked off, the rain stopped and the juniors and girls headed to the top of the slope in decent conditions. A slight lack of moisture on the slope was countered by the local lads spraying endless silicone, and although some riders still struggled to get the speed they needed, most people were jumping high and far enough. The juniors certainly gave it their all in the jam style session, although the distance to the knuckle did catch a few of them out. Jordan Gee’s BS 5s earned him first place in the U16s category. Also flying high was Rowan Coultas, who managed to get enough speed to throw the 360s that earned him second. Jacob Robertson soldiered on despite a bad fall, managing to claim third with a super-stylee BS3. Also worth a mention was Tomski Robinson, who’s clean rocket airs earned him maximum old-school style points, despite his tender years. In the girl’s event, Liz Osborn took the title with her usual cobination of stylish frontside and backside 3s, while Mary Robertson took second.
When the men took to the course they were stomping it, and giving the judges something to really think about. The guys seemed determined to use the new kicker to show everyone how big air is really done! In qualification, Jonny Fountain was throwing down some of the best tricks of the day, including massive corked BS 5s and Underflip 7s. However, in the final runs couldn’t put anything down. In the end, it was Rick Burrows who claimed a well-deserved first place, with BS 5s, 7s & 9s. Second place went to Rhys Cope who stuck his Cab 5s cleanly, while Danny Higham took third with a tweaked method and a corked BS 5s. We are seeing more and more of this guy around the local area, and improves at every event!
As the sun went down, and the music pumped loud at the end of the day, the rain held off nicely, and everyone agreed the event had been a big success. Watch out for King of the Kicker, as this is sure to be one event which will come back year after year. Hopefully, this will help this legendary dryslope act once again as a launch pad for the UK’s top talent as it has done so successfully in the past. See you next year!”
