Among the things to know is this one : $30,000 prize money for the podiums and $7,000 in best tricks, a list of guests among the best international skaters, both women and men so get ready, this year it’s going to be intense! We’re going to tell you all about the skate contest because we’re ready for the summer show and we want you to be too! Since the last JACKALOPE, there was the Olympics and certain aspects of the competition have evolved. In the following article we will explain how to prepare or understand how the judges evaluate the skaters. Read on to get ready to have fun with us.
The JACKALOPE tradition
If you know anything about Jackalope, you know that skate competition is open to everyone! We keep it up with the contest world and we innovate but we don’t forget the good manners so this is the chance for many ambitious skaters from here to have real experience of competition at a professional level. Since the beginning of JACKALOPE, the competition has always been won by some of the best skaters in the world and there is prize money for the top 10. That’s what the“Open” means on the poster. And if the big money is for the winner, the fun is for everyone. Speaking of tradition, the closing of the festival will be the vert demo with Elliot Sloan, Jimmy Wilkins and many others and we want to underline the fact that everyone has access to the vert ramp all weekend long as long as you sign the waiver and wear a helmet.
The format
First, the competition format will be the same as the Olympic format and also the Street League competitions. We don’t often see how it goes for qualifications and semi-finals so here’s the deal: the competition is “open” so there are a lot of people (nearly 60). For the first round we proceed by doing jams of 2 or 3 people in order to have a semi-final with 28 participants and a final with 10 skaters. Even if there is often a good show in qualification and in the semi-finals, we know that it is in the final that the competition becomes the most intense.
The final
David Dallaire, veteran organizer of the JACKALOPE skate contest, explains that for this competition which welcomes the best of local and international talent, the format is the same as for all other competitions of the World Cup Skateboarding network of which JACKALOPE is a part. For the semi-final and the final, it is the 2-5-3 format (2 lines, 5 tricks, 3 scores). More precisely, the skaters will first have 2 lines, and only the best of the two is counted. Then they will have five attempts to get the two best scores possible. We will therefore add three scores: one run and two tricks to give a result out of 100. As simple as that! Note that for categories 13 and -, the format is similar but adapted to the level of the youngest.
The criteria of the judges
Many wonder what the judges are evaluating. Before to get into it, note that the instruction given to the judges in case of hesitation is to prioritize innovation over the quality of execution. Here are the 5 criterias evaluated by the judges in no order of priority:
- 1- Difficulty and diversity of tricks
- 2- Quality of execution
- 3- Use of the course and obstacles
- 4- Flow and consistency
- 5- Repetition
Basic lexicon
Here are some jargon words you will hear from our host, and what they mean:
9 club:A very good tirck that could or should earn a score of 9.0 or more out of 10.
Ex: – Wow, this 360 flip noseblunt switch was the best we’ve ever seen! – It’s clear, 9 clubs for sure.
Banger: A very good fig that includes a potential 9 club but also includes 8.0 scores.
Gnar : Intense and or dangerous. Term used quite widely but usually referring to a very perilous trick but can also describe a person who is used to doing perilous maneuvers
Ex: – Did you know that Jessy Jean Bart jumped over the security fence to land after a 3 meter drop? – Yes I saw! It was gnar!
Landed: Perform a trick. Landed is the word you cannot ignore. But…. There are all the substitutes: Stomped, Nailed, make/make it/made it.
Ex: – I had Pabst in my eye, I didn’t see anything from this run!
– He landed everything and he even nailed his final banger
Regular, goofy, switch, fakie, nollie:
These are stances on the board, it refers to the position of the feet and the direction. These are words that we always hear before the trick to indicate the starting position of the skater. Here is what is what:
Regular: left foot forward, right foot back.
Goofy: right foot forward, left foot back.
Ex: – Is Tony Hawk goofy like Bob Burnquist?
– Tony is goofy but Bob is regular. I understand your mistake because Bob skates switch a lot.
Switch: Stance opposite to the natural one.
Ex: A regular skater who positions himself in a goofy stance.
Fakie: Simply put, it’s going backwards and propelling yourself with the front of the board.
Nollie: It’s going on your regular side and propelling yourself with the front of the board. By tapping the nose of the board. It’s a nose ollie.
Register now!
Now, no excuses, you’re all set!! Sign up to participate in the competition or simply to come and cheer on the best skater girls and guys on the skateboard planet. 2022 is going to be an extraordinary year so don’t miss it!
