MCR Street Jam 2014

MCR_Street_Jam_LogoIn planning the second of what could become the UK’s primary street skate event, local boy and international rollerblading legend Alex Burston could never have guessed it would be right in the middle of the hottest weather of the year. Which would have been perfect, were it not for the biggest summer thunderstorms the area has seen for a generation landing right at the same time.

Was it a washout though? Did the street skaters pack up and go home? Of course not. Everyone still came and converged on Castlefields Arena as you would expect and when there was a break in the rain long enough to clear some of the puddles, mayhem commenced. The MCR Street Jam was on for another year.

Filmed by Scott Hallows and Tim Darker for The Booted

I however set off late and having nearly been washed off the M6 on my journey North decided to play it safe and went straight to the “after session” organised at Bones Skatepark. Here I got my camera out and took a few shots of the very hot warm-down session that occurred.

Livi Skate Party 2014

It’s back. Having taken a break from the scene since 2007 the Infamous Livi Skate Party has returned. Though I can never imaging it returning to the parties of old, with drinking, camping, skating, barbecues, more drinking a bit of skating and a bit more drinking, it’s definitely back. A much more family friendly form has returned this year, including a full under 16 competition to not only win prizes on the day, but also to qualify for entry to the Slamm Jamm New Blood comp held at Rampworx later in the year.

From my first visit to Livi in 2005 I have always loved the atmosphere at this park. Since the event stopped a couple of years later through lack of support (though no lack of effort from organisers) the park has undergone a rather extensive and controversial expansion. This has however added more variety to the park and helped the event to be a little more rounded in the competition capacity. It has still however managed to retain the relaxed and fun attitude that makes it one of my favourite events in the UK calendar.

Anyway, what you came here for – the photos I got on the day. There’s not a massive number due to the 13 hours of driving needed to get there and back in a day, but you get the idea…

SummerClash 2014 Photos

Summerclash LogoSo, it was an adventure, that’s for sure. Driving a 1972 VW camper from the middle of the UK to Berlin for the weekend was always going to be eventful. It didn’t disappoint.

Due to a number of issues, I missed a lot of the event, turning up on the Saturday just as the girls final was starting on the spine. Grabbed the camera, no flashes, took some shots. I managed to cover a lot of the skating that day with limited resources, and returned later to get some pictures from the on-site afterparty. The photos will take a while to get in the gallery due to other adventuring. However, here’s what the event looked like to me.

One City One Shot Episode #7

Well we were back out in Manchester, hitting up a number of completely virgin spots as the weather has started to improve. These were spots that had never been skated before and it will be a while before they are skated like this again. Then at the end of the day, Kyle suggested we just check out a high, steep ledge that he’d seen in the area. And so was born this shot of Stephen Swain, Tru Mizou on this fresh, chest high beveled concrete ledge as the sun goes down over Eccles.

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And though it goes against the general ethos of OCOS, if you want to see the other shots we picked up during the day, there’s a small gallery of the day.

THIRTEEN has been released

Contamination due to exposure to the THIRTEEN contagion is imminent. Evidence has been compiled of the last 12 months documenting what can happen to normal skaters when infected. Tricks become ill and skating manifests into sessions at the slightest encouragement. The only thing stopping this phenomenon from hitting pandemic levels was the skaters’ inherent defence mechanism – being late.

The seeds have been sown and are now evolving. This will get bigger. Protect yourself.

Richard Taylor Trophy 2013 photos

So, I have been promising for years to get down to the Knapp in Barry for the Rich Taylor comp that runs every year and this year I finally made it… Almost. Well due to other engagements I couldn’t get down early as I would have liked and due to the distance I arrived in glorious sunshine at around 16:30, just as the competition was winding up. Still there were people skating and I’d brought my gear so why not get a few shots while I’m down.

And that’s what I did:

For those, like me, who missed the comp, you really need to watch this edit by Ned Espeut-Nickless

And you want the results? Who am I to refuse?

    Under 16s

  • 1st Niko Salaman
  • 2nd Tasharn Febz
  • 3rd Ethan John
    Open

  • 1st Jack Swindells
  • 2nd Mike Salt
  • 3rd Blake Bird
    Rail Comp

  • 1st Jack Swindells
  • 2nd Aaron Turner
  • 3rd Ollie Jones
    Best Trick

  • Danny Brain (Crazy 180 out of the park)

One City One Shot Episode #5

So, the snow had finally (mostly) melted, not that we could tell as we drove over the Pennines to Sheffield. Surrounded by the pure white hills and clear lake water none of us could quite believe that spring had arrived and we were going to skate. The Steel City itself however was relatively warm and sunny and rammed full of skate spots. After the first few warm up spots, I grabbed some decent shots but then as the sun went down we hit our last spot of the day.

This is where Steve Swain decided to test out his new Kaltik Frames and flat setup on not only the kink rail, but this insane double set gap.

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Just wait for that footage…

One City One Shot Episode #4

A weekend in Manchester and people are out. This is in no small part down to the efforts of new boy to the area (though long time friend and supporter of UrbanLines) Kyle Murray. It seems only fitting then that of all the spots that have been wrecked recently, this is the pick of the last couple of days. First spot of the day and Kyle’s back royale on this ridiculous metal drop ledge.

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One City One Shot Episode #3

Today’s update to the (slow) series is Mark Lee skating in Manchester. As the light was fading, our guide JP brought us to this gem with enough time to grab a clip, and maybe a decent photo. I wasn’t expecting to get much of this as the rail is ridiculously long, and it turned out to be demonically fast. A few test tries later and Mark nails this slick farv all the way down. Not that he was bothered as you can tell from his face.

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