Smiles. Whenever I think of Tim Brauch, there are three things that come to mind: how amazingly fast he skated, his sense of humor, and the smiles for days that never seemed to leave his face. He skated everything fast: ditches, mini-ramps, streets, parks ... Jason Adams refers to his skating as the Firecracker Theory: "You light the wick, it builds and builds, faster and faster until it eventually explodes." Tim originally turned pro for SMA skateboards, but spent the bulk of his career riding for Santa Cruz, Independent, Etnies, and Sessions. He and lifelong friend Salman Agah had a joint signature line of clothing for several years in the '90s, called Este. Seven months prior to his untimely death, he won the Vans Triple Crown of Skateboarding. He was also a co-founder of San Jose's coveted B.M.C. Tim passed away on Mother's Day in 1999 of heart problems.

Every person whom Tim ever came in contact with experienced his infectious positivity. There are some people who seem to realize what they have on this Earth and are thankful for it every waking moment, and Tim was one of those people. Every year, his family and friends get together for two days of remembrance: one informal jam at Palo Alto's Greer Park, and the other at the Milpitas Vans Skatepark. It only stands to reason, then, that there was another amazing turnout this year for the Fifth-Annual Tim Brauch Memorial Contest at the Vans Skatepark in Milpitas, California.

Most contests these days that bring out both recognizable ams as well as top pros are part of a contest series or are for a large purse. The Tim contest has nothing to do with either of these. It's about coming together and skating in the spirit of Tim. To have fun as Tim would have had fun. Perhaps it was the overall vibe of the day, or perhaps skateboarding's predominately male mentality is finally evolving, but I have never seen such an overwhelming level of support and encouragement shown to the female skaters by their male peers as I did on this day. There wasn't any sign of a gender bias at all. Everyone skated on an equal level, and everyone showed each other the same level of respect. Never before have I seen a girl finish her run at a male-dominated contest only to pick up her board and receive high-fives and pats on the back from every guy she walked by. The spirit of Tim was alive and well in that skatepark that day. Hats off to Sessions for putting together yet another amazing contest together in Tim's honor.

Eleven-year-old Nyjah Houston won the contest. For complete results and more information, see www.timbrauch.com.