2012 Ro Sham Throwdown UPDATES...

wheels · Since 14 May 2005 29 Posts

Check here daily for the daily scoop on the event, which runs Monday, July 16th through Saturday the 21st.

WORLD’S FIRST SLOPESTYLE KITEBOARDING CONTEST KICKS OFF IN THE GORGE

Drawing world-class competitors from around the world, the third annual Ro Sham Throwdown gets underway.

Hood River, Oregon, USA — Tuesday, July 17: Yesterday marked the official kickoff of Ro Sham Throwdown, a major international pro-am kiteboarding competition — one of the most action-packed and highly anticipated showdowns in the industry. Running from July 16 to 21, this third annual event will showcase the mind-blowing talents of the world’s best kiteboarders, while giving up-and-comers a chance to prove their worth amongst the heavyweights.

Thirty-five men and eight women from Antigua, Australia, England, Scotland, the U.S., and Uruguay will battle it out throughout the week at the first-ever slopestyle kiteboarding competition.

Presented by The Slider Project, which created the event’s floating open-to-the-public terrain park, Ro Sham Throwdown will be staged at the world-renowned Sandbar (just off of I-84, exit 63) in Hood River — the birthplace of kiteboarding — where judges, spectators and the media will watch the captivating action up close.

For the video of the day, please visit www.vimeo.com/45884638. For a video recap of 2011’s Ro Sham Throwdown, please visit www.vimeo.com/33982819.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS*
Mon. July 16: 12 p.m. Warm Up / Freeriding
Tues. July 17: 10 a.m. Women’s Division
Weds. July 18: 10 a.m. Men’s Qualifiers / 12 p.m. Women’s Finals (if necessary)
Thurs. July 19: 10 a.m. Men’s Semifinals
Fri. July 20: 10 a.m. Men’s Finals
Sat. July 21: 11 a.m. Wakeskate / 12 p.m. Freeriding
* = schedule subject to change due to wind conditions

Presented by The Slider Project, the 2012 Ro Sham Throwdown is sponsored by Liquid Force / Second Wind Sports, North Kiteboarding, Slingshot, Best Kiteboarding, Smith Optics, and additional support from Andrew’s Pizza.

For more information, please visit www.SliderProject.com.

wheels · Since 14 May 2005 29 Posts

2012 RO SHAM THROWDOWN COMMENCES WITH A BANG, WOMEN’S QUALIFIERS

Day two of Ro Sham Throwdown kicked off with the women’s division, featuring epic conditions and top-level riding through the world’s first slopestyle setup.

Hood River, Oregon, USA — Wednesday, July 18: Amidst strong, steady winds on Tuesday in the Columbia River Gorge, the 2012 Ro Sham Throwdown kiteboarding competition commenced with two rounds of Women’s Qualifiers.

Utilizing the world’s first purely slopestyle format for a kiting event, eight women hit the water in the early afternoon, riding through the five-piece terrain park one at a time and throwing flatwater tricks at the end of each run. The three-person panel of judges scored each trick on a scale of 1 to 10, with each heat score comprised of 40 percent rails, 20 percent kicker, 20 percent flatwater, and 20 percent overall impression.

The lineup included Britney Todd, Colleen Carroll, Dominique Granger, Holly Kennedy, Laura Maher, Lindsay McClure, Samantha Pearce, and Sensi Graves. After six passes through the park, the two top-scoring kiters — Carroll and Graves — advanced to the finals. With an impressive show of moves off the kicker, plus stylish rail hits and technical flatwater tricks, Carroll bagged the highest score of the day, 69.84 (out of 100), while Graves came in second at 51.63 points. The remaining six competitors then hit the water again — this time allotted four passes apiece. Exhibiting a diversity of well-executed tricks, Mayer beat out Granger by the slimmest of margins (less than .6 points), 45.92 to 45.39. Both will join Carroll and Graves in the Women’s Final on Wednesday morning.

Following a 9:30 a.m. rider’s meeting at Hood River’s infamous sandbar, competition will resume at 10. After the Women’s Finals are completed, the Men’s Qualifier’s will kick off. Thirty men will vie for 12 coveted spots into the Semi Finals, where they will face a trio of pre-seeded riders: Brandon Scheid, Eric Rienstra, and Sam Light.

For the video of the day, please visit www.vimeo.com/45947854. For more information, please visit www.SliderProject.com.

REMAINING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (subject to change due to wind conditions)
Weds. July 18: 10 a.m. Women’s Finals, then Men’s Qualifiers
Thurs. July 19: 10 a.m. Men’s Semifinals
Fri. July 20: 10 a.m. Men’s Finals
Sat. July 21: 11 a.m. Wakeskate, then Freeriding

Presented by The Slider Project, the 2012 Ro Sham Throwdown is sponsored by Liquid Force / Second Wind Sports, North Kiteboarding, Slingshot, Best Kiteboarding, Smith Optics, and additional support from Andrew’s Pizza.

Bettyboarder · Wed Jul 18, 12 8:40 pm

Made it a sticky while the event is going! Thanks for keeping us updated

forrest · Thu Jul 19, 12 7:04 am **Day 3**

RO SHAM THROWDOWN SCORES MORE EPIC CONDITIONS

Day three of the world’s first slopestyle kiteboarding contest received excellent conditions, perfect for women’s finals and the first round of men’s qualifiers.

Hood River, Oregon, USA — Thursday, July 19: While the water level of the Columbia River dropped over Tuesday night, leaving two of the terrain park’s features on dry land on Wednesday morning, day three of the 2012 Ro Sham Throwdown got underway anyway.

After organizers made a call to the nearby dam to get the water level raised, the Women’s Finals proceeded as the liquid canvas slowly filled in. Colleen Carroll, Sensi Graves, Laura Maher, and Dominique Granger duked it out for placement on the podium. Due to the unsafe water level, however, only one third of the women’s heat was run and the finals will resume on Thursday.

Next up, Men’s Qualifier Round 1 kicked off with three 10-man rounds of professional and amateur competitors making their way through one half of the five-feature terrain park. Once heat 3 wrapped up, the river had swelled to a safe level and the other half of the course was completed as well.

Amidst the strong winds, the following riders placed first and second, advancing to Friday’s semi finals: Craig Cunningham and Rich Sabo (Heat 1), Jake Kelsick and Tom Court (Heat 2), and Alex Fox and Sam Medysky (Heat 3). Court bagged the highest score of the day off the Slingshot Kicker with a crow mobe, while Fox stomped a switch KGB for the highest flatwater trick of the day and greased the entire rail on the 69-foot-long Airush Boombox with a backside boardslide to frontside boardslide for the highest-scoring rail hit of the day.

For the video of the day, please visit www.vimeo.com/46015475. For more information, please visit www.SliderProject.com.

REMAINING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (subject to change due to wind conditions)
Thurs. July 19: 10 a.m. Men’s Qualifiers Round 2, then Women’s Finals (resumed)
Fri. July 20: 10 a.m. Men’s Semi Finals, then Men’s Finals
Sat. July 21: 11 a.m. Wakeskate, then Freeriding

Presented by The Slider Project, the 2012 Ro Sham Throwdown is sponsored by Liquid Force / Second Wind Sports, North Kiteboarding, Slingshot, Best Kiteboarding, Smith Optics, and additional support from Andrew’s Pizza.