Vans Park Series – European Championships in Paris

It’s taken me a while to get this done. Firstly we had the Rowley interview which we thought we’d get out first, but moreover, I’ve been nearly dead from my Parisienne excursion.

The work on these trips is the easy part. Interview some people, take some iPhone snaps, that’s about it. The massively hard part is the endless dinners, parties, drinking sessions and 3am returns to the hotel. The balance of work and party is way too askew, and all the generosity and free drinks mean that I need about a week to recover.

What can be said about the skating in Paris this year? I saw a 10-year-old win the women’s. That’s a whole new thing to wrap your head around that’s for sure. Worst part is she wasn’t the only ripping 10-year-old. Ladies skateboarding in 5 years time is going to be heavy.

The bowl this year was smaller than previous years, although it’s still gnarly. Some complained of a lack of vert, where others took advantage of the fact. The blasters had to figure out how to fly and it allowed for a little more lip trickery.

Cory Juneau took a massively well deserved first, and really makes me want to learn frontside Rn’R slides. He really had the right lines and combinations of air and lip to take it home.

A picture [or a video] is worth a thousand words, so I’ll shut it and you see for yourself below.

Words – Adrian Day