| Kiteboarding champions crowned at the 2010 Triple-S Invitational |
| Tuesday, 15 June 2010 16:57 |
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This year’s Triple-S saw even more specialization within each discipline and the overall riding level exploding through the roof! Heading into the final day, all eyes were on the Triple-S Awards Ceremony, and the show to end all shows, Dub Island Sound System and the Dubplates! The final event lasted from 6pm until well past 4am, starting with an unbelievable dinner served by Mojo’s Sunset Café. With the reputation the Triple-S carries worldwide, it’s no wonder Mojo’s Sunset Café pulled out all the stops for the event food menu during the week! Just to mention a few of the meals, how about an Opening Ceremonies dinner of Prime Rib and an Awards Ceremonies Dinner of NC BBQ Ribs, Alaskan King Crab Legs and Corn on the Cob!! No hotdogs and hamburgers here! When you come to the Triple-S, you roll in style…. Dub Island kicked off the Awards Ceremonies at 6pm and then backed up event MC Trip Forman as he ran through the rider introductions and the Triple-S poster autograph session. The crowd went wild as the athletes took to the stage in anticipation of the final event results. In Surf, Ian Alldredge combined an attack of aggressive waveriding, strapless airs, techy transitions, plus 3 rapid-fire barrels to secure first place over pro surfer/kitesurfer Josh Mulcoy. Josh’s style on the wave was second to none with vertical snaps, blown fins, and a powerful down the line attack that exactly mirrored his surfing style without a kite. 3rd place was taken by perennial surf discipline contender, Jon Modica, with a combination of CRAZY transitions, strapless airs and solid waveriding. Other notables in the waves included Andre Phillip, Davey Blair, and Sam Bell all with powerful hacks off the top. Bruna Kajiya took the Women’s Surf Discipline in conditions that were well overhead for the women, combined with the power that Cape Hatteras is known for. Slicks became the battle of the mega loop combined with the technical assault of the world famous Cape Hatteras slicks. 5x World Champion, Aaron Haldow reigned supreme with massive kite loop combinations, plus every handle pass in the book once the water turned to oil. Triple-S wildcard winner Sam Light blew it up in the flatwater with an unstoppable string of tech tricks to nail 2nd. While his wildcard vid may have been impressive, the fact the he could nail the same routine in 40+mph winds was even more jaw dropping. Billy Parker started his Slicks run with a giant mega loop and kept the adrenaline pumping for 8 miles to take 3rd place. Billy has no fear of BIG and showed this clearly as he spent more time above the power lines and even more time above his kite! Bruna Kajiya opened up her PKRA World Champion trick bag to take 1st place in the Women’s Slicks. In the hotly contested Slider discipline, Andre Phillip came out on top with mad speed and style on every run. Two new rail features in Triple-S 2010 (LF Wallride and JWCF Gap) made every rider up their game. Dre’s dominance in this discipline was nearly thrown by the young guns, but style doesn’t come easy, and this is why Dre stayed at the top. It’s one thing to gap the JWCF like a lion on steroids, but it’s completely another to fly through the air at twice the speed without a care in the world, focusing more on the angle of your pinky finger than impaling your spine into an immovable object. Aaron Hadlow continued his freeride attack with a solid performance in Sliders. His sessions on the REAL Dock Slider, JWCF, Best Kicker and LF Wallride were stylish and progressive, pulling him 2nd place in the discipline. Triple-S Double Wildcard winner Chad Worrall, young gun wakeboarder out of land locked Orlando, Florida, took an impressive 3rd on the rails with a performance that blew everyone’s minds. Look for this guy to lead the next generation of kicker and slider riders. In Women’s Sliders, Cape Hatteras local Lulu Vroman ruled the pool, hitting all the rails in the REAL Slider Park including the 80’ JWCF. For a rider who barely breaks 5’ tall, this girl has little fear of large obstacles. Congrats Lulu!! The Best Session Award is given to the rider with the single best session of the event. This award went to Billy Parker for his Wednesday assault on the JWCF Gap and the Best Kicker. Billy completely destroyed both, his kicker session hands down the best in the event on that feature. Best Wipeout went to Greg Norman Jr while ruthlessly pursuing the JWCF Gap. Come up short on that rail and, like Greg will tell you, you’re in for a rude surprise! Little Petter was the unanimous winner of the Slickstyle Attitude Award, taking the entire event in style! Men’s and Women’s Triple-S Overall Titles were very competitive this year with a new scoring system that encouraged overall contenders to participate in all three riding disciplines. This meant if you skipped Surf or Slicks, you’d have to place 1st in both the other disciplines , plus hold your breath to even think about placing in the top three overall. This turned up the heat and made it a fight to the finish, with nobody clearly knowing the final results until the announcements at the Triple-S Awards Ceremony. In Men’s Overall, Brandon Scheid edged out Andre Phillip by 2 points with scores (Brandon Surf 8th, Slicks 4th, Sliders 4th) to (Dre: Surf 4th, Slicks 13th, Sliders 1st). These same two riders were only separated by 1point last year (2009), setting up a highly anticipated showdown for the 2011 Triple-S! Davey Blair took 3rd Overall, showing his well rounded talents in all three Triple-S disciplines. Women’s Triple-S Overall showed Bruna Kajiya taking 1st, Lulu Vroman 2nd and Susi Mai 3rd. The 2011 Triple-S Invitational will be held in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina on June 4th – 10th, 2011. Make your reservations now because it just keeps getting better every year! Men's Surf Men's Slick Men's Slider Men's Overall Women's Surf Women's Slick Women's Slider Women's Overall Best Session Best Wipeout Slickstyle Attitude
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