VANS OFF THE WALL SPRING CLASSIC – 2012

The Spring Classic in Varraze opened with the first European premiere of the Bones Brigade Documentary and ended with an awards ceremony that celebrated the diverse styles and talent of some of the best transition and street skaters in the world.

Seventeen different titles were up for grabs at the 3-day event on the Italian Ligurian seashore. Judges awarded technical tricks, old school style, switch skills and even attitude to spread the 10,000 Euro prize across genres and award cash to a crew of deserving skaters.

Saturday qualifiers narrowed the field in the Mini Ramp contest to 20 competitors for Sunday’s finals. The “Cash for Tricks” best trick event gave several skaters the instant gratification of cash in hand as soon as the judges saw something they liked. In batches of 10-40 Euro, cash was doled out with Alain Goikotxea, Guillaume Mocquin, Kevin Kowalski and Dannie Carlsen stacking up the biggest piles of money.

The Street competition awarded prize money to the best single lines in the course, which stretched almost the entire length of the Varazze Pier, shouldering a small line up of surfers catching waves throughout the day. Martin Pek came in first with 2000 Euro for a Nollie Crooked grind down the big rail and a nollie bigger spin over the gap. Nassim Guammaz took home 1200 Euro after landing a nose blunt slide down the big rail and a 50-50 on the down rail over the gap. Kris Vile came in third with 800 Euro for a lipslide on the big rail and bigspin kickflip over the gap.

Saturday night, over 5000 filled the street for an unforgettable concert in the heart of Varrazze. Headliners Turbonegro shook the crowd with their fierce brand of hard core rock n’ roll while fireworks lit up the night sky. Alternative Hip Hop crew Doomtree reached out to energetic party goers through beats and rhymes, with an intelligent blend of showmanship and sheer talent. Italian hip hop samurai Salmo dropped heavy beats and spit furious raps to stir the crowd into a frenzy after opening acts Those Furious Flames and The Peawees started the night off right. Beer flowed, the streets were closed and the typical Italian Riveria was transformed into an outdoor concert venue to write home about.