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presented by Etnies • Foundation • Pig Wheels • Split

Over 300 people came to skate the ramp, the rails, the jump ramps, and the impromptu wall-ride; to have some good food, share some stories about Joe, and to raise some money for Joe's family.

Tod Swank, Josh Beagle, and Mike Page came up from Foundation and Pig Wheels, Don Brown and a lot of skateboarders from Etnies came to show support, and Dave, Skip, and Kate from Split Clothing were there cheering everyone on. Bod Boyle and Roger Harrell from Element manned the hot barbeque all day, cooking up dogs and burgers and veggie stuff, and handing out beers and cokes and chips. There was a pot for cash donations which raised over $940!

On the ramp, Scott Taylor showed up late and not a lot of people knew who he was, but he ripped as hard as anyone. Chet Thomas showed up early, destroyed the ramp, and left early. John Ponts ollied off the patio roof (I was afraid my roof was going to collapse) and made it, third try. Chad Vogt is seriously genius, and did so many things on the ramp it's tough to name a third of them. Since he ended in second, I'll name two: frontside ollie late-shove-its over the hip, and nosegrinds transfers over the spine. You want a third? That's where Brian Patch ended up, with more lines than anyone, and a path that ripped the ramp to shreds. Neil Heddings took top honors, though, with face-high airs over the hip, flip-tricks to grinds, and all around destruction of previous standards for mini-ramps. The best part was, the skaters voted themselves into those positions, so no-one could complain about the judging. Other noteables included Jeff Grosso in the top ten, Riky Barnes in fifth place, Kyle Yanigomoto in fourth, and Ryan Wilburn and Scott Taylor in the money as well.

When it came time to hand out the case, it was decided that Joe Lopes would get the $1250 slated for first, Neil agreed, and everyone down the line got bumped one spot for the cash. That meant the total for the day to the Lopes fund was nearly $2500, as Grosso, Riky, Carlos De Andrade, Chad Vogt, Kyle and others donated some or all of their money to Joe's family.

Information on the Joe Lopes fund will be posted here shortly.

The Orange Crush may become an annual event. Stay tuned for more information.

Below follows the original information regarding the Orange Crush and the barbeque, from prior to April 20.

With more and more emphasis of the skateboarding industry being focused on large events with mass media coverage, it's easy to lose sight of the simpler joys of skateboarding. The idea of this backyard jam is to have a fun session and barbeque, with some amazing skateboarding, and to remind the skaters of the world that backyard ramps are still possible, and that each skater's scene is whatever they make of it. This was the same message that Joe Lopes wanted to convey in 1983, when he held the first ever backyard pro contest at his house in Northern California. It was with this spirit in mind that this contest was created, so with his recent tragic passing, it seems very fitting that we skate and barbeque and share stories in honor of Joe Lopes. We will also have information about the Joe Lopes Trust Fund, to help Joe's wife and five kids. The folks from Element will be providing food, manning the barbeques, and sharing stories about Joe, who was the original barbeque skater: one of his Schmitt Stix graphics was of a happy man cookin' up some grub.

The Ramp is actually three ramps, connected by a spine, a wide spine, two 90 degree hips, a couple of extensions, and—at 28 feet wide—tons of lines. The purse is guaranteed at $4500, made possible, through the event sponsors, my friends at Etnies Footwear, Foundation Skateboards, Pig Wheels, and Split Clothing.

The Format will be very informal. From approximately 1 PM to 4 PM, the skaters will ride as much or as little as they want, in a jam format. At around 4 PM, we will accept secret ballot votes from skaters in the contest for the Top 15 guys. Those votes will be tallied and cash will be handed out.

There is no entry fee. Come skate, eat some food, have something to drink, share or hear some tales about Joe, and have a good time.

There will be plenty of time for skating the ramp every weekend until April 20th, and several days right before. Plus, we session almost every weekend all summer long, so if you're reading this you're probably welcome anytime.