Ian Hart all "washed up" at age 19. We're thinking it's the closest that 525 East sweatshirt has ever gotten to a washing machine, seeing as how Ian lives in that thing.
For the second year in a row, a man named Ian climbed into the golden washing machine as the champion of the High Cascade Spin Cycle Classic™. Last year, that Ian was Ian Thorley. This year, that Ian was Ian Hart. Hart’s win qualifies as a classic Cinderella-Story-Situation: an 18-year-old camper Sessions 2 and 3, Ian Hart talked his way into a dig to ride spot, got himself a long term room at The Huckleberry Inn, demoed a Salomon Drift and the rest… as they say is history.
The premise of the event Ian Hart won is simple: the rider(s) that can cycle through all four directions of spinning (frontside, backside, switch-frontside and switch-backside) from 180º to 900º with the least mistakes and the best style win. If you miss your grab, revert or fall you get a “strike”. Three strikes and you’re out. Whoever has the least amount of strikes at the end of the cycle wins. Ian went the whole distance only receiving one strike: coming up 90 degrees short on a backside 900, which he still rode out of – he never fell all day. Fellow HCSC digger Parker Duke gave Ian Hart a run for his money but got knocked out mid 900’s making Ian’s switch back nine a well deserved victory lap.
Here's Ian on the last trick of the whole cycle: The Switch Back Nine. He already had the victory at this point, but cruised back up the rope tow one last time to leave no trick hanging.
The highlights were many, and the video will be out soon anyways, so here’s a quick recap for those “readers” out there:
- Randy Van Nurden took the “Bode Merrill Award” shockingly getting knocked out after 180’s. (we’re still trying to figure out how the heck Bode got eliminated so early last summer) 180’s and 360’s actually gave the most people trouble in today’s high spinning world.
- Chris Grenier kept everyone suspended between chuckling and doubled over laughing on the megaphone. “To the mooooon!”
- People who tweaked their grabs were loved by all.
- Scott Stevens had a little trouble during the 540 component with his newly broken wrist but bounced back as a poacher to rattle through the 7’s and 9’s with relative ease.
- Brandon Reis, a favorite to win, got knocked out going into the 900 round but not before putting down a seriously bitch’n frontside 720.
- Torrey Lyon’s bagged 2 strikes in the 180 round but then held on all the way through Frontside 7’s showing a great mental game.
- Young Max Warbington’s style and consistency stood out from the pack with his first strike coming on Switch Front 7. Max Warbington is Authorized Totally Friggin Awesome.
- 14-year-old camper Jack Harold broke all known records for youngest Spin Cycle Classic competitor in history.
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Sylvia Mittermuller flew all the way over from Germany to be the only girl represented in das Spin Cycle Classic™ (probably not true…). Her riding was finely tuned display of German shred engineering.
- Harrison Gordon may or may not have been there, but if for some reason he was, he was killing it.
- Alex Horgan’s clock work precision and style kept the pace of each round.
- Ryan Paul is almost 100 percent definitely from another planet. Riding a hacked up Burton Ration (shaped like a perfect rectangle) he proceeded to take the jump apart like only he can do (including late poach double wild cats).
- Ben Bilocq’s speed, size and style left onlookers jaw dropped and he’s got one of the best switch back 360 tailgrabs this side of Transylvania.
- Jake Knigge charged it all the way to BS 900’s before finally getting the axe.
- Brandon Luzier is classically good. With a silent, textbook style to all his tricks. That guy is way better than anyone could ever appreciate.
- Chris Beresford’s stylish fly-bys on the neighboring hip wearing shorts.
- Rookie Digger Johnny Brady is a serious, serious shredder, with a BS 720 Sad Air that can make an onlooker pee their pants. With his general mastery of snowboarding, this kid better find his way into a legit film crew this upcoming winter.
- The only unfortunate event came when Steve “Mr. Beautiful” Woolworth separated his shoulder on a switch back 360.
Ben Bilocq wears more black in one outfit than two diggers wear in one week.
Chris Grenier serve's up a double megaphone heckle to coach Sean Black, about how much he looks like actor Shia LaBeouf from Transformers.
Coach Sean Black wondering why Chris Grenier keeps calling him Shia Labeouf
All in all it took 10900 total degrees of total rotation for Ian Hart to take the 2010 Spin Cycle Classic™. The $27 dollar prize purse was divided out in the following rotation appropriate amounts:
- 1st – Ian Hart – $9.00
- 2nd – Parker Duke – $7.20
- 3rd – Johnny Brady – $5.40
- 4th – Brandon Luzier – $3.60
- 5th – Jake Knigge – $1.80
This is perhaps the only jump contest drop-in where nobody asked anyone else: "What trick are you doing?" .
When your trick counted, guest judge Bobby Meeks let you know by giving you a big check (almost the size of the one's he give's Danny Kass).
If this were the TWSNOW.com message boards, and somebody already claimed "First!", then he next comment would/should probably be something about how Johnny Brady is a Boss. It's a very hip thing to say right now. Johnny would probably argue that Corey MacDonald is really the boss.
If there's a trick out there that counselor Jake Knigge can't do - we'd like to know about it. His End of Summer review is coming up - and we haven't been able to find anything wrong with him in 3 years.
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