story by Dave Duncan
History was made on Saturday when 15 year old Poppy Star from Australia won the Girls Combi Classic during her first big Pro contest! Poppy has been a rising star the last few years when she dominated the 14 and under division and was ranked #1 overall in the 2014 World Cup Skateboarding bowl series. In 2015 she finished the year ranked #1 in the 15 and over division. So for 2016 she decided to turn pro and was stoked to take the win competing against 4 previous combi pool winners in a final heat with 9 amazing girls! All of the top 4 girls had scores between 84 and 85.7 proving how close of a battle it was to get the top spot! 11 year old Brighton Zeuner qualified 1st during her pro debut after winning the 14 and under overall amateur division last year. She skated solid all day long and finished in a respectable 4th place. 3rd went to the 2010 champion Lizzie Armanto who skated amazing as always, especially on her 4th and final run in the finals. I even thought she might have won!! But the 2013 champion Nora Vasconcellos pulled her FIRST EVER kick flip indy in the Combi pool during her 3rd run to claim the #2 spot. Last years Champ, Alana Smith finished in 7th, and the 2014 Champ Julz Lynn ripped fast and hard to get 6th. Congratulations to Kisa Nakamura from Japan who had the variety in her runs to earn 5th. The crowd was going crazy during the finals and hyped up all of the girls to put on a great show!
This year was the strongest showing of Brazilian girls ever with 14 year old Dora Varella taking the #1 spot in the 14 and under amateur division! Also a big congratulations to 17 year old Jordyn Barratt who finally got the win in the 15 and over amateur division. Last year she got 2nd to Poppy, which just shows the great skill level of all of the top amateur girls!! They are all getting better every time I see them! Progression, speed and style describes many of the top competitors from the event. These are tough girls and I am so proud of them it kept me stoked to be hyping them up all day for the packed crowd around the pool!. A huge thanks to Steve and his daughter Kristy Van Doren along with their staff and crew! The Bar-B-Que party vibe and rockin tunes always makes everyone from around the world feel welcome! Also thanks for the for the $22,000 prize purse to reward the top 10 pros, and top 3 ams in both divisions. Thanks again to everyone to came out to be a part of this great and historical event! We all look forward to making the magic happen again in May for the Legendary Vans Pool Party!! Remember last year when Pedro Barros and Matt Boyster made history with the first ever nearly impossible square to round transfers!! Google it and get hyped and be ready for more crazy action in 2016!! Happy New Year to everyone! I gotta go now to pack my bags for my flight to Rio in 2 days for the next WCS event!! Let the good times keep on Rolling!
Later Skater, D.D.
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