News 07/05/2019

EURO-SB | The European Championships of Skateboarding

The Ruhrgames 2019 hosting the European Championships of Skateboarding

Photos: Dennis Scholz, Thomas Gentsch & Jan Werner

The year was 2006. The World Cup was taking place in Germany and the Münster Monster Mastership was celebrating its 25th anniversary. Unfortunately, due to a shortage of sponsorship money and new registration fees for riders, the 2006 Mastership didn’t go quite as planned. 13 years later, there’s no shortage of European contests for skaters. However, there really isn’t a true European championship where skaters from across the continent can represent their nations. This is where the Ruhr Games comes in. As Europe’s biggest “youth sports event”, the Ruhr Games took place in Germany at the unique Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord on 20.06.19. The free event created a platform for a unique contest format, intended to be the European skateboarding event of the year.

Nowadays, the traditional contest format of “Runs, semi-finals, finals” just doesn’t cut it. Both skaters and spectators expect a mixture of traditional competition, real street skating, and even some partying. Luckily, Euro SB catered to all of these things, but it wasn’t easy! One of the greatest challenges was actually finding a street spot near Duisburg suitable for 200+ skaters and spectators.

Jan Hoffmann, Jost Arens & Justin Sommer

Fortunately, the good old OLGA rails in nearby Oberhausen were fitting for the event. These rails have been around for at least 20 years and were a frequent target of skaters like Bartosz Cisielski, Markus Lessner and Mark Frölich in the early 2000's. With help from photographer Helge Tscharn, these rails raised the bar of German skateboarding and they continue to do so today! In order to skate the 14 and 16 stair rails in 2019, a rain drainage grate had to be “fixed”, but we got the job done.

Diego Fiorese first Smithgrinded the small Rail...

After the pre-qualification on Friday, a horde of around 250 skaters were transported by two coach busses to the spot, courtesy of the Ruhr Games. Thanks to Titus, there were 500 beers on site which definitely amplified the mood! 1500 Euro was to be distributed by presenter Rob Roulaux and the Euro SB Judges. After just a few minutes, any doubts that someone would actually skate the big rail were dispelled. Alex Elfing shot a Back 5-0 on the upper rail and Back 50/50 on the lower big rail in a line. This moment alone made all the preparation of the spot worth it!

Check out all the photos and videos to see the other insane tricks that went down. Words can hardly describe the mood and energy that such an event creates among the skaters and spectators. All we can say is that many people had lost their voice by the next morning from screaming so much – and this was only the beginning!

Even if the event was indoors, perfect weather was the icing on the cake. Outside the building, many of Europe’s finest skaters met to enjoy some catering by Steffen Krüger of Palace GmbH and to talk about the latest trips and tricks. New friendships were made and old friendships were cultivated. Thanks again to Steffen for the assortment of beer, schnitzel, and even vegetarian dishes and non-alcoholic drinks. Without your help, many would have been broke or thirsty during the event.

After the preliminary decisions had been made, there was hardly a minute to breathe before the best trick contest was underway. On the side of the main course, a double set with rail had been hidden and then unveiled as a surprise. Once again it was Adrien Bulard (who had already done the trick of the day the night before with a Backside Lipslide on the 16 rail) who landed a bigspin flip front board shove-out on the rail. In addition, Justin Sommer, Tabo Löchelt and Bartosz Ciesielski contributed greatly to making the best trick event one to remember.

Bartosz Ciesielski & Stefan Schwinghammer

Riders Dinner @ the Entrance of Visual Vacation

Rob Roulaux & Christian Blümle on Visual Vacation

After a short break, the skaters moved into another area where the "Visual Vacation" took place. Steffen Krüger again welcomed the skaters - this time with curry sausage - and slowly but surely the party mood set in. The visual treat lasted about 1.5 hours, then the doors to the side rooms opened and skaters mingled with other Ruhr Games athletes also attending the official after show party.

Gustavo dos Anjos | Sw Kickflip Bs Tailslide

Konstantin Kabanov | Bigspin Fs Bluntslide

Marcel "Loco Papi" Rieger | Fs One-Foot Grind

After 3 days of intense skateboarding, Alex Mizurov took the final win. Without a doubt, Alex put down the run of his life and even the harshest critics would have to admit that it was above the rest. For the women, it was a close contest between Candy Jacobs and Roos Zweetslot, who made the hall roar with an insane crook backside revert pop-over on the long rail-to-bank. In the end, Candy took the final win with an amazing run overall. Also worth noting is Eric Hedberg’s Barrel Jump contest win with an 11 barrel leap. After so much action in such a short time, there was a peaceful atmosphere when all was said and done. When I arrived home after the event, I fell asleep for the next several days. Thank you to the Ruhr Games, Titus, Palace GmbH, and to all the skaters and those involved who helped make this a unique and unforgettable event. Peace!