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2003 Xbox World Championships of Skateboarding Women's Vert Final
October 14, 2003
by Desiree Astorga
Cara-Beth Burnside
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At 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 28, in Oceanside, California, the women's vert finals of the Xbox World Championships were all set to get underway, but the hand of Mother Nature brought a disappointing delay. Heavy mist and rain plagued riders with uncertainty as to when the damp conditions and intermittent drizzle would subside, but as soon as it did (almost two hours later than the contest's scheduled start time), the procedure of drying the ramp began. Skaters Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins and Ciara D'Agostino grabbed some towels and, along with the ramp crew and their blowers, got to work to help speed up the start of the event.
Mimi Knoop
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Fortunately, Vans had hooked the ladies up with a few practice days prior to the actual contest, which helped to familiarize all competitors with the ramp despite the morning's problems. A 30-minute practice finally commenced around 11:40 a.m., leading right into the finals. Each contender dropped into a judged first run, catapulting them straight into a free-for-all jam session where skaters were being judged not only on the ability level of tricks they were able to land, but also on how many runs each girl got during the allotted time. Sprinkles started up again during the jam, providing some borderline sketchy conditions. The ramp was a little slick, but surprisingly it didn't stop the diehards from charging.
The level of skating presented by a cast representing women's vert skating from all over the world--Europe to South America and throughout the States--was awe-inspiring. Cara-Beth was brilliant as usual with long runs filled with an assortment of tricks. Mimi Knoop was doing inverts in her runs and even stalefishes over the channel during practice. Lyn-Z was almost laying down kickflip Indies, like she did in Ohio during last month's Gravity Games, and quite a few girls were rolling in off the big rollers and dropping in off the extensions. The level just keeps going up, and it's pretty exciting.
Holly Lyons
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Results
1. Cara-Beth Burnside (Orange, CA), $1,700
2. Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins (Cardiff by the Sea, CA), $800
3. Holly Lyons (Walnut Creek, CA), $500
4. Mimi Knoop (Chesapeake, VA), $300
5. Tina Neff (Muenster, Germany), $200
6. Jessica Starkweather (Portland, OR)
7. Kim Petersen (Seattle, WA)
8. Heidi Fitzgerald (Dallas, TX)
9. Ciara D'Agostino (Mesa, AZ)
10. Liza Araujo (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
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