This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
At the Gatorade Free Flow Tour, the amateur competitors fall. A lot.
For most of the first round of skateboard park finals, the majority of tricks ended up with the skater on the ground. But in the final heat, the pace picked up. For a time, it seemed like no one was falling at all.
The blistering pace of the final heat helped propel Alec Majerus, a 15-year-old from Rochester, N.Y., to the top spot among 29 competitors in the first round of the finals.
"Last year was my first time, so this time I know what it's all about," Majerus said. "I got really hyped up when everyone was landing tricks, and it pushed me to land mine."
Majerus got the top score through consistency and nailing some big tricks, such as a switch 180 front feeble grind that won over the judges.
But he wasn't the only athlete who got a boost: Sandy native Tyson Bowerbank is in third place off the strength of a back 360 kickflip and a few nifty precision grinds.
"We talked before the heat, and we decided to go fast and not have any waiting," Bowerbank said of the "organized jam" format, in which the five skaters in the heat take turns pulling off tricks. "It was cool and really worked out."
The third skater to make it from the heat into the final lineup of 12 was also the youngest. Wyatt Milhollan, a 13-year-old from Littleton, Colo., said he was a little intimidated by going against skaters who are eight years older than him, but he managed to relax.
"They tease me a little bit, but it's a great opportunity to learn from my elders," Milhollan said. "Everyone in my heat was good — we just had the chance to get more tricks in."
Early on, the skaters were challenged by adverse weather conditions. Strong gusts of wind threw off some of the competitors, but the skaters who worked the rails had some of the best runs.
"The wind really made it hard, but I tried to go big and stay consistent," said Anthony Estrada, whose kickflip into a long boardslide helped him get the second seed in Saturday's final. "Being here last year made me work a lot harder and stay focused."
The other local competitor, 16-year-old Derek Rivera, didn't have the best run. But the 24th-place finisher said competing in his hometown was a worthwhile experience.
"It's really exciting to be around all these people with all this talent," Rivera said. "I could've done better, but it's fun — that's what I like."