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This past weekend, 11 and 12 March, saw The Backyard Sessions 2016 take place at The Border Post on the South Coast of KZN. This event was not only based around the progression of top-level Wakeskating in SA but also that of the groms.
Giving the groms and beginners the chance to interact and learn from the seasoned riders was the main aim. An all round effort from the community and riders themselves made this possible. Riders were able to convert kids from skateboards to wakeskates and have them doing their first Shuvs by the end of the day. For growth of the sport this is one of the best things to happen this year.
The contest itself was one of the most competitive in recent times, right from qualifying through to the finals. The level of riding was super high and saw riders throwing Flip tricks in their runs with a stepped up level of execution. Miles Peach, Kevin Dry, Dale Nieuwsatd and Troy Allers put in a great effort but it wasn’t enough to advance to the final.
Darren Turner, Sean Bacon, Kaylib Louw and Matti Buys met each other in the final, which started out banging with Sean Bacon laying down 2 solid passes applying the pressure straight onto the rest. This grom has come a long way and we’re amped to see what he does in the future.
A few solid runs came in from Darren and Matti. Kaylib who was not on the board for the first half of the final but pulled out a solid pass with a Kickflip and a Frontside Flip to bump him up to 2nd spot. Sean however was not going to let that stand in his way as he nailed a pass with a Frontside Flip and Switch Frontside Flip, paired with a good rail hit and bumped himself back up into 2nd spot.
Kaylib Louw Pass:
Matti managed to pull together one of the better runs of his life doing a Boardslide 270 Shuv out, to a 360 Flip, to a Hardflip, to a Frontboard to Fakie on the rail. This was the first time 360 Flips were landed in a local competition and the first time Matti put them down in a contest. He ultimately claimed 1st place.
Matti Buys Pass:
The 3rd place battle was still on between Darren Turner and Kaylib Louw. On his last hit, Darren managed to knock Kaylib out with an amazingly clean pass.
The Backyard Sessions 2016 Results
1st Matti Buys – 9.0
2nd Sean Bacon – 7,25
3rd Darren Turner – 6.75
4th Kaylib Louw – 6.5
Shout-out to all that made this awesome event possible; Umtamvuna River Lodge, The Boarder Post, Cableways, Fox, Red Bull and Africa Skate.
Photos by Timothy Woodley
Great write-up and photos. Love seeing wakeskating get exposure all over the world! Keep it up!