The World Rolling Series went out with a bang on cool October evening, just outside of the city that never sleeps.
Bladers from four different continents competed in one of the best contests our industry has seen to date. Legends such as Kato Mateu, Jon Julio and Kevin Gillan “dealt out” the judging while skaters such as Jon Bolino, Chaz Sands, Chris Haffey, Brian Aragon and Alex Broskow went all in on the course.
The contest was MC’d by Daniel Kinney (BCSD Founder) and Tracy White (4Dub/LA ALL DAY). [...]
World class riders gathered in Las Vegas on Halloween weekend and battled for the World Finals title, last stop of the WRS 2009 Pro Tour.
A lot of pessure was on Aragon at this final event in Vegas because two riders could have potentially taken his 1st place on the WRL: Chris Haffey and Julien Cudot.
After a brilliant season on the Pro Tour in which he qualified for the Pro Finals, amateur Julien Cudot didn’t manage to pass the first round. Chris Haffey, although succeeding at qualifying for the final round, took a hard fall on a disaster true fish and had to retire from the competition.
Despite Wellsmore’s (2nd) impressive tricks, Broskow’s (3rd) creativity and style, Sizemore’s (4th) aggressive disasters and Stockwell’s (5th) fast lines, Brian Aragon did not loose his focus and took 1st place by landing stylish hammers and utilizing the whole course including every new obstacles built especially for the Las Vegas Finals.
He was then crowned 2009 World Champion (WRL#1) in front of the Vegas crowd, alongside Chris Haffey (WRL#2) and David Sizemore (WRL#3).
1. Brian Aragon [USA]
2. CJ Wellsmore [Australia]
3. Alex Broskow [USA]
4. David Sizemore [USA]
5. Jeff Stockwell [USA]
6. Jon Bolino [USA]
7. Brian Shima [USA]
8. Roman Abrate [France]
9. Dominik Wagner [Germany]
10. Stephane Alfano [France]
11. Chris Haffey [USA] (ret’d)
Featuring: Brian Aragon, David Sizemore, CJ Wellsmore, Roman Abrate, Mathias Silhan, Alex Broskow, Brian Shima, Chris Haffey, Montre Livingston and many more.
Brian Aragon crowned 2009 World Champion in Las Vegas.
World class riders gathered in Las Vegas on Halloween weekend and battled for the World Finals title, last stop of the WRS 2009 Pro Tour.
A lot of pessure was on Aragon at this final event in Vegas because two riders could have potentially taken his 1st place on the WRL: Chris Haffey and Julien Cudot.
After a brilliant season on the Pro Tour in which he qualified for the Pro Finals, amateur Julien Cudot didn’t manage to pass the first round. Chris Haffey, despite succeeding at qualifying for the final round, took a hard fall on a disaster true fish and had to retire from the competition.
Despite Wellsmore’s (2nd) impressive tricks, Broskow’s (3rd) creativity and style, Sizemore’s (4th) aggressive disasters and Stockwell’s (5th) fast lines, Brian Aragon did not loose his focus and took 1st place by landing stylish hammers and utilizing the whole course including every new obstacles built especially for the Las Vegas Finals.
He was then crowned 2009 World Champion (WRL#1) in front of the Vegas crowd, alongside Chris Haffey (WRL#2) and David Sizemore (WRL#3).
WRS World Finals Results:
1. Brian Aragon [USA]
2. CJ Wellsmore [Australia]
3. Alex Broskow [USA]
4. David Sizemore [USA]
5. Jeff Stockwell [USA]
6. Jon Bolino [USA]
7. Brian Shima [USA]
8. Roman Abrate [France]
9. Dominik Wagner [Germany]
10. Stephane Alfano [France]
11. Chris Haffey [USA] (ret’d)
The success of the World Rolling Series in 2009 has been truly incomparable. Each event throughout the year, from Europe, Australia, Canada and the US, has pushed the progression of rollerblading to the edge and brought the community even closer together.
As with anything, change does not come without its controversy. But as the 2009 series comes to an end, it cannot be denied that this year will be looked upon in the future as a turning point for rollerblading. It is the year that the industries legends, professionals, manufacturers and event organizers came together to put the future of rollerblading into the hands of those that can truly make a difference; our own.
With all that has been accomplished, there is even more that still needs to be done. The WRS is finally proud to announce the WRS World Finals. The event will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 31 at Anthem Hills Skatepark and be the last chance in 2009 for competitors to earn points towards the overall world ranking. Once the impending battle between our industry’s top professionals is over, the WRS will crown the first rollerblading world champion in a decade.
So pack your bags and do whatever you can to make your way to Las Vegas on Halloween for what is sure to be one of the most memorable nights in rollerblading history.
01. Julien Cudot
02. Alex Broskow
03. Chris Haffey
04. Mathias Silhan
05. Robert Guerrero
06. Chris Smith
07. Nantel
08. Franco Camayo
09. David Sizemore
10. Erik Bailey
WRS World Ranking:
01. Brian Aragon
02. Julien Cudot
03. Roman Abrate
04. Montre Livingston
05. Chris Haffey
06. Mathias Silhan
07. Stephen Swain
08. Alex Broskow
09. Brian Shima
10. Erik Bailey
The 2009 Barnburner was utterly amazing. Thanks to the huge community of people surrounding SkateBarn that made everything possible, and for all the sponsors and skaters showing up to make this event a “blazing” success. Barnburner is always unique and this year was no different.
Shima took the highly coveted fireman axe & helmet, hand painted by Solace who also designed the contest graphics & t-shirt. The emcee’s, scratch that, commentators (Biff & Chip aka Rob Inks from Budget Threads & Mike Powell from K2), really stole the show with their throwback 80′s fits & personalities. The Razors pre-party and the After Burn was a unique opportunity to mingle & create memories with our peers over some Milwaukee’s “Best”.
All in all, some uber crazy sh*t went down, I once again saw lines and tricks I’ve never seen in the park. Here’s to another crazy contest next year.
