So this is Christmas and what have you done? 2011 where have you gone? Well it has been a stormer for female comps across the UK with this weekend seeing the year wrapped up with the Santa Cruz Christmas Pool Party – Hemel’s XC the chosen venue. Although the temperature was -1 degrees there was a surprising large turn out. The evening consisted of a mixture of events; Under 18’s, Old Man and the Girls mini ramp comp. Admittedly it was the Under 18’s who stole the show…anyone that small skating a pool that large airing the coping each time is always going to get the most attention!
When they were done it was the turn of the ladies on the mini; prizes were given for tricks called out by the MC – Marc ‘Santa’ Churchill. Danielle Gallacher flowed as ever, with a front feeble, nosestall revert and a bs feeble frontside in, Harriet Shephard was slashing – as in grind, not the other! – all over the ramp, Ayumi Watanabe landed a solid feeble grind and some good 50.50s, Becky Jaques a blunt pull-in to fakie, feeble to fakie and a frontside 5.0 to revert. Little Tamsin Bunce an up and coming grom – who is not even as high as the XC’s mini yet – was pulling off some solid rock to fakies – showing just how much she’s learned since getting a mini in her back garden! Helena Long again on top notch form landed a front tailslide, early grab to rock fakie and a frontside disaster tansfer on the extension. Lucy Adams was as ever up and down the ramp in her usual laid back style; line upon line coming out of her ears! Tricks included a frontside disaster, fakie lipslide and a fakie nollie. At one point she had a few attempts at sal flip on the extension but with a photographers camera stuck in her face each time she decided to just enjoy the rest of the ramp instead.
Churchill deemed the best overall female skater of the night to be Emma ‘Tinyhands’ Richardson and awarded her the Santa Cruz trophy. This year has been a good one for The Richardson, especially as it has now been rounded off with a flow deal agreed with Etnies UK – well done Emma! Her run was tech from the start; including a nosegrind, feeble grind, bs smith fakie revert, a ridiculous blunt to back smith and not one but three backside flips on the extension…just to prove she could land them!
Well done all and Happy Christmas!
