Us King of Rail 2007
Thursday 5 April 2007, 1:03PM
By Fraser Mills
2544 views
James Hamilton Credit:
Underground Skate
For the second time in as many years Underground Skate (Us) entertained the local community with its King of the Rail snow rail jam at Moana reserve Orewa Beach. With Orewa township partly underwater Thursday Afternoon it was looking like a wash out, but a couple of sun dances did the trick, turning Saturday into a stunner and even providing surf just 50m from the snow.
With the success of last year’s event, Underground Skate decided early on that they were going bigger and better this year. With 9 truckloads of snow, a 4.5 metres scaffolding tower, 2 live bands and a portable half pipe from Remain Industries this event has raised the bar in terms of local competitions. It was a sight to behold as you drove along the Hibiscus Coast Highway.
“Bringing snow to Orewa Beach for a snowboarding event was a wonderful example of “getting a life in Rodneyâ€Â. The public interest was very significant and it’s great to see our youth enjoying themselves on our reserves,†says Orewa Mayor John Law who attended and supported the event.
“The whole community came to the party this year,†says Nick Humphreys, event organiser. “Without the amazing support from local Businesses such as Coast Diggers, Pole Specs, Albany Scaffolding, NZ Fence Hire, Neville Brothers and Scot Thurst we would have never pulled this off on our limited budgetâ€Â.
An important part of this year’s event was not only to highlight the board sports culture, but to raise awareness for the Orewa Beach Project. Their involvement emphasizes the need to do something about the beaches erosion problem. “Pitty the reefs not here today,†says Nick, as surf of 1-2 ft breaks on the beach.
This year Underground Skate went all out on the entertainment side, as the Remain Industries portable skateboard Mini Ramp had a full line up all day. 20-sumthin-K and Quarter 2, two of Auckland’s best up and coming punk bands blew the crowd away.
The event saw competitors come from places as far away as Ohakune and Mt Maunganui. 17 year old Albany resident and Us team rider James Hamilton was the winner of the Open Mens section, winning 4 days Skiwi camper van hire and accommodation and passes at Snowpark in Wanaka. James, a member of the NZ 2010 Winter Olympics Development Team showed the talent that has seen him competing throughout Europe, the U.S. and Japan over the summer. This experience paired him up against the best snowboarders in the world, such as Shaun White and Danny Davis. The Curl women’s division was taken out by Macy Gill a local Hibiscus Coast resident with the U15 section going to another Us team rider Scott Brodie from Browns Bay.
Like all events, it’s the sponsors who help make it happen. This year Burton, CURL, K2, Vans, Snow Park, Snow.co.nz, NZ Snowboard.com, Ride, Subway, Skiwi, The Edge, Snowplanet, Halfpast, Analog, Pro Tec and Electric have put their hands up and supported the local community.
“It was cool to see such a big and diverse crowd come out and support this local event, we have always supported the local community are stoked everyone’s got behind this event… Look out for an even bigger one next year!’
For more details, pictures and results check out www.undergroundskate.co.nz
Results
Mens Open:
1st - James Hamilton
2nd - Dylan Sutton
3rd - Leroy Christensen
Womens:
1st - Macey Gill
2nd - Rebecca Torr
3rd - Lucy Rice
U15's:
1st - Scott Brodie
2nd - Richard Shriane
3rd - Christian Low
With the success of last year’s event, Underground Skate decided early on that they were going bigger and better this year. With 9 truckloads of snow, a 4.5 metres scaffolding tower, 2 live bands and a portable half pipe from Remain Industries this event has raised the bar in terms of local competitions. It was a sight to behold as you drove along the Hibiscus Coast Highway.
“Bringing snow to Orewa Beach for a snowboarding event was a wonderful example of “getting a life in Rodneyâ€Â. The public interest was very significant and it’s great to see our youth enjoying themselves on our reserves,†says Orewa Mayor John Law who attended and supported the event.
“The whole community came to the party this year,†says Nick Humphreys, event organiser. “Without the amazing support from local Businesses such as Coast Diggers, Pole Specs, Albany Scaffolding, NZ Fence Hire, Neville Brothers and Scot Thurst we would have never pulled this off on our limited budgetâ€Â.
An important part of this year’s event was not only to highlight the board sports culture, but to raise awareness for the Orewa Beach Project. Their involvement emphasizes the need to do something about the beaches erosion problem. “Pitty the reefs not here today,†says Nick, as surf of 1-2 ft breaks on the beach.
This year Underground Skate went all out on the entertainment side, as the Remain Industries portable skateboard Mini Ramp had a full line up all day. 20-sumthin-K and Quarter 2, two of Auckland’s best up and coming punk bands blew the crowd away.
The event saw competitors come from places as far away as Ohakune and Mt Maunganui. 17 year old Albany resident and Us team rider James Hamilton was the winner of the Open Mens section, winning 4 days Skiwi camper van hire and accommodation and passes at Snowpark in Wanaka. James, a member of the NZ 2010 Winter Olympics Development Team showed the talent that has seen him competing throughout Europe, the U.S. and Japan over the summer. This experience paired him up against the best snowboarders in the world, such as Shaun White and Danny Davis. The Curl women’s division was taken out by Macy Gill a local Hibiscus Coast resident with the U15 section going to another Us team rider Scott Brodie from Browns Bay.
Like all events, it’s the sponsors who help make it happen. This year Burton, CURL, K2, Vans, Snow Park, Snow.co.nz, NZ Snowboard.com, Ride, Subway, Skiwi, The Edge, Snowplanet, Halfpast, Analog, Pro Tec and Electric have put their hands up and supported the local community.
“It was cool to see such a big and diverse crowd come out and support this local event, we have always supported the local community are stoked everyone’s got behind this event… Look out for an even bigger one next year!’
For more details, pictures and results check out www.undergroundskate.co.nz
Results
Mens Open:
1st - James Hamilton
2nd - Dylan Sutton
3rd - Leroy Christensen
Womens:
1st - Macey Gill
2nd - Rebecca Torr
3rd - Lucy Rice
U15's:
1st - Scott Brodie
2nd - Richard Shriane
3rd - Christian Low