Ah, chaos at its best! I believe that was the consensus at this year’s Strawberry Bowl contest up in Tahoe, California. I rolled up to the event on Friday night, October 1, at about 6; the pool was crowded, and there were a lot of people mingling and watching the craziness of three to four guys charging the bowl at the same time without colliding. The skateboarding was amazing! Top pros Steve Baily, Chet Childress, Matt Moffit, Brian Patch, Jimmy the Greek, Benji Galloway, and many others were tearing the bowl to shreds.

On Saturday all of the amateur skaters competed. I was highly impressed with all of them, especially 14-year-old Chaz Peneda. Wow! This kid has a lot of natural ability. Since there were only four people signed up to compete in the girls’ am event, all of the pro girls decided to join in and put on a better show for the spectators. I was very pleased to see the camaraderie among everybody, and the crowd cheered on every skater. It was action-packed! The winner was Lexi Barclay, who went over the light, dropped in from the deep end, and did a rock-to-fakie in the light hole. She rips -- and she’s only eight. Second place went to Elena Hollis, who did some nice backside grinds, and third was Devin Donnelly, who carved the bowl like a true pool skater does. She has really nice style.

Right after the girls' event, the rain decided to have a party of its own. The rest of the day was spent indoors, talking to friends and hanging out. Cheers to adult sodas and one lodge full of skaters with a lot of energy.

On Sunday, the rain had cleared to reveal a new day to skate. It was the pros' time to show the crowd what they're made of. First was the women's division, with seven competitors entered. Even though the Strawberry Bowl contest is a new addition to World Cup Skateboarding points system, everybody agreed it still felt like a true backyard pool contest. The crowd was stoked and the skating was off the hook. Heidi Fitzgerald ended up in first place, earning it with long runs and smooth frontside ollies over the light. Second place went to 12-year-old Apryl Woodcock, who did a rock-n-roll slide over the light, a layback air, and many other insanely difficult tricks. Third place went to last year's winner and pool ruler, Kim Petersen. She really knows how to carve a pool frontside and backside. After the ladies were the masters, and then the pro men. All the guys were amazing to watch –- it's unbelievable what some people can do in a pool.

RESULTS
Boys 15 and Younger
1. Taylor Bingaman
2. Mike Sobolik
3. Devon Lamb

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Boys 16 and Older, Open Am
1. Chaz Peneda
2. Roger Mihalko
3. Josh Sandoval

Am Girls
1. Lexi Barclay
2. Elena Hollis
3. Devin Donnelly

Am Masters 30 and Older
1. Chuck Wampler
2. Stan Byers
3. Allan Barclay

Pro Women
1. Heidi Fitzgerald
2. Apryl Woodcock
3. Kim Petersen

Grand Masters
1. Reese Simpson
2. Bruce Rodela
3. Chris Cook

Pro Men, Open
1. Benji Galloway
2. Chet Childress
3. Brian Patch
4. Jimmy the Greek
5. Matt Moffett