Santa Monica Wins CHSSC Finale, Season
Jun 10 2007 / Simi Valley, CA
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The final event was an 8 Stair best trick competition in which all skaters had 60 minutes to perform their best trick. A panel of three judges ranked all skaters with points for their best trick with the final point total for each skater coming from an average of the three judges. The 20 participating skateboarders went non-stop for the full 60 minutes, literally making hundreds of jumps off the Skatelab stairs.
Royal skateboarders Kenny Kruptnick, Shorjiro Kokubo and Alex Flores drove their team to a second-place finish with a total of 19.33 points to Santa Monica's 26.66. Westlake came in third, 14.66, while the winner of last month's third competition, Simi Valley, came in fourth with a 13.33.
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Here are the full rankings for the fourth event:
1. Santa Monica - 26.66 pts.
2. Royal - 19.33
3. Westlake - 14.66
4. Simi Valley - 13.33
5. Oak Park - 8.66
6. Agoura - 6.33
7. Newbury Par - 2.0
“Congratulations to all of the Santa Monica High School skaters," said CHSSC Head Judge Steve Badillo. "They all came out strong and showed their bag of tricks today. They skated well all season.”
This was the final competition in the first CHSSC season, which is the first high school level skate league in the country. The CHSSC includes skateboarders from seven Los Angeles area high schools: Agoura, Newbury Park, Oak Park, Royal, Santa Monica, Simi Valley and Westlake. There were five skaters on CHSSC team with three skaters competing during each contest.
The CHSSC, which was founded by Jeff Stern, has gained national attention in the last two months, with stories in the New York Times, NPR, Los Angeles Times, as well as many Southern California newspapers and countless articles and mentions online.
With the completion of the first season, Stern has changed the name of the CHSSC to NHSSA (National High School Skateboard Association) so he can move it outside California in 2008. There have been many inquires from around the country so with the season complete Stern is going to look for national sponsorship so he can expand the high school skateboarding organization.
First Year – Big SuccessThis first year for the CHSSC ended up being a huge success. After initial skepticism and even pushback from local skate shops, skateboard insiders and skaters, an initial group of high school skaters stepped up and took part.
Stern provided the leadership, Todd Huber from Skatelab provided the venue, Steve Badillo provided the judging, but the key was a group high school skateboarders who provided the talent.
Senior Josh Krackover from Agoura was the first to set-up and he helped convince others. Ryan Klass, James Jenson, Jake Simowitz, Travis Meador, Matt Pierce, Bryce Mandel, David Orr, Kyle Park, Ofir Atia, Adam Swanson, Shorjiro Kokubo, Tanner Fazil, Alex Flores, Kenny Kruptnick, Kristos Augustus, Sante Bentivoglio, David Boyle, Roy Canright, Tim Mitchell, Josh Nichols, Adam Shecter, Justin Kleaga, Corey Phillips, Matt Nespor, Lee Derber, Andy Grande and others all took part in this first CHSSC season.
When asked about next year Shorjiro Kukbo from Royal said he would “definitely be back. Skateboarding has been underground, not enough people talk about it. Jeff Stern is helping bring skateboarding out to the world.”
Matt Pierce also commented on the first year of CHSSC, “I had a really good time. Anyone who has a chance to join should do this, it was a great experience.”
After the fourth competition there was a short awards presentation where all the members of the Santa Monica team received a package that included products from Nike SB, Woodz International, Camp Woodward, Powell Skateboards, Ogio, ESPN and others.
In addition to winning top team honors, Kristos Augustus (pictured, with teammate Dillan Sammons) from Santa Monica also received the top skateboarder award and will receive two pairs of Nike SB shoes per month for a year.
Stern launched the CHSSC with his son Jackson in mind. He wanted to have an organization where his son could skate when he moved into his high school years.
Pro skater and CHSSC judge Chad Fernandez said, “This is organization is a great thing for these young skaters.” Badillo added, “I wish they had this when I was in school.”
With the official season complete it will be back to regular street skating for most of the skaters. Stern said some CHSSC skaters will be performing demos at upcoming events in Southern California.
For more information on the CHSSC contact Jeff Stern at: jeffreystern@roadrunner.com.
FINAL 2007 CHSSC STANDINGS RANKINGS
1. Santa Monica
2. Agoura
3. Royal
4. Simi Valley
5. Westlake
6. Oak Park
7. Newbury Park
