| Aaron Hadlow shines in the 2009 Triple-S Invitational |
| Thursday, 04 June 2009 10:14 |
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Triple-S Invited Riders met underneath the Red Bull Tent for the daily 11am riders meeting and then hit the water for a full day of riding action starting at 1:30pm. Building SW winds saw the riders opting for kite sizes in the 10-12m range for session #1 and then 7-9m range for session #2. Tuesday s riding took place entirely in The Slick with the entire REAL Slider Park set up including the REAL Funbox and Flatbar, REAL Kicker and the new John Wayne Cancer Foundation Slider. A new flag system was put in place to thin the crowd down to only 12 riders at a time for 30 minute sessions. This system allowed maximum focus and progression for each group, and also provided the resting riders a recharge period (more Red Bull!) and the ability to watch their friends blow it up ! The new JWCF Slider continued to be the main draw of the day, with the riding level through the roof. Going the full distance on the rail was no longer good enough. Riders pushed the bar higher and higher with handlepasses on every part of the rail,passing going up, passing across and passing down, gapping the center section, gaping with a flat 3, tail pressing, nose pressing, 270 on to 3 up the up rail to nose presses on the downrail, you name it ! Standout riders for the day included wildcard winner Petter Johnsen (mad technical style), Ruben Lenten (balls to the wall progression), Dylan Thomson (smooooooooth snow/skate style), Dre (fast, fast, fast, did we mention fast ? ) Brandon Scheid (pulling every type of press and grab there is), Aaron Hadlow (he could be the world champion in any boardsport), Slezy and Sammy (both showing all their friends why Cape Hatteras is the bomb), wait a minute. I think we will need to say something good about everyone, which could take 10 pages !!!!! Whether it was the JWCF, kicker or flatbar, the 24 , and guest rider for the day Lulu Vroman, were all riding off the richter scale and pushing each other to new limits !!! The REAL Kicker and Flatbar also saw a lot of action as these features were downwind of the JWCF and allowed riders to continue their downwind run and hit two more sliders before heading back upwind. The Kicker was positioned right off North Point with riders blazing in and booting huge. At one point, Billy Parker and Greg Norman Jr were going so high people were cringing in anticipation of their landings. You have to remember, NOBODY is sending their kites above them off of these things. It is all forward momentum and speed, so you have to stick it and there is no spotter (ie. the kite) to save you from a mistimed landing. Tuesday riding kept going well past sunset,. well past dark actually ! Clear skies, cranking SW winds and a bright moon saw riders hitting every rail until they were literally towed out from under them. Riders then made their way back to MOJOs Sunset Café© for Taco Tuesday with fresh fish, beef and pork tacos and some COLD Kona Brewing Co beers. Music on the back deck, sessioned out riders and fans, and all the tacos and beer you could devour was the ultimate wind down to a mega day on the way ! Wednesday and Thursday look like more SW winds, with Mojo Collins playing live on Wednesday night as part of the Kona Sunset Session Party Series. The Triple-S Awards Dinner kicks off at 5pm on Friday on the back lawn, hosted by MojosSusnet Café© and is open to the public. The Triple-S Awards Ceremony starts at 7pm Friday, featuring the blazalicious tunes of Dub Island Sound System. Needless to say, there is a lot of action left during the 2009 Triple-S !!! Special THANKS to Greg and Sherry Waller for allowing spectators to access The Slick via their pier and deck right on the water. This vantage point is private property and normally off limits. During the Triple-S they have opened this access to the spectators for the best viewing while the riding is happening at The Slick. Please be respectful and pack out anything you pack in.
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