Capital Rollas LDN Jam 2024

 Hello Hello, Stephen @whataspoon here. On the 25th of August I had the pleasure of attending the LDN Jam organised by Capital Rollas in Baysixty6 Skatepark. This is an annual event that we have supported for years, that consists of an aggressive inline skating competition alongside a quad skating competition. Capital Rollas normally team up with one of the Quad skating organisations to host the two events at the same time in the same venue using different parts of the skatepark. This year they had Ramp Stamp LDN organising a mini ramp and bowl competition that looked amazing. Let's take you through the events that happened on the day.

We arrived at the park around 9:45am to put up some Slick Willies banners and to hand over the prizes that Slicks had donated to the event. Slicks teamed up with FR Skates to provide prizes for the Mens Open event. We donated two pairs of skates, a ready to roll frame with wheels and bearings and then some Slick Willies t-shirts that would be split between 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There was the chance to come 1st, 2nd or 3rd for every event planned that day by Capital Rollas. Each event would follow the same structure of 4 minute jam sessions for 4 or 5 riders to do as many tricks in the area as they could. This is judged by a panel of judges who give points for style, creativity and difficulty. The people with the most points would then gain access to the finals that would happen later in the day. The under 17s kicked off the action around 12 o'clock followed by the womens open and then the mens open. 

During this time Ramp Stamp Ldn had their own event going on at the back of the skatepark where the mini ramp and bowl sections are. This is perfect as these ramps are exactly what the quad skaters would choose to skate rather than the street section that the aggressive skaters love. I thought it was amazing how well the two events could run alongside each other creating the most amazing atmosphere within the skatepark. Slick Willies sponsored the Cash for tricks section where we donated £150. This money was given out in £5 notes to anyone who landed the best tricks within the time limit. Otherwise they had an Open Mini Ramp competition which was won by Izzy and a Bowl Invitational event that was won by RIB.After all the qualifiers were complete, the Capital Rollas guys brought out a high jump and long jump obstacle to see who could launch the highest and who could fly the furthest to win Cash prizes. Not only does this give the judges time to discuss who goes through to the finals but it always keeps the atmosphere alive within the skatepark. The energy was amazing and everyone was trying their best to win that cash. The winner of the high jump was Rhy Ngomane who decided to front flip the bar when it was at its highest point. No one could compete with that at all. Watch the video to see that crazy stunt.

After the games it was time for the Pro qualifications to begin. There was some big names in attendance with the likes of Jaro Frijn, Joe Atkinson and Bobi Spassov in attendance. I had the pleasure of competing against Jaro and Bobi in my run where I managed to land most of the tricks I had planned and didn't spend so much time on the ground. I was very happy with my performance but I knew there was no way I could possibly compete with the world class aggressive skaters surrounding me.After the pro qualifiers were complete it was now time to start the finals for the under 17s, women and mens open. During the women's open final the rain started to absolutely pour down outside leading to some of the skatepark becoming wet and slippery. The event was postponed for around 30 minutes or so to allow the park to dry up. The skatepark is technically undercover but only by a bridge and not on the sides so sometimes if there is high winds, the rain can creep into the skatepark. This was not too much of an issue for the Capital Rollas team as Blake fetched the flamethrower to help dry out the park alongside some help from volunteers who would sweep the water to the side. To see the flamethrower in action alongside all the other events that took place that day, check out my YouTube video below.

 

 

The finals continued after the floor had been dried and the biggest tricks of the day started to appear. After the men's open final was complete they moved on to the women's and then men's pro finals which is always an amazing showcase. For the pros there are cash prizes up for grabs. This is for 1st, 2nd and 3rd for both women and men and then a seperate best trick cash prize for the best trick done by anyone throughout the day. The results for all the competitions are as follows.

Under 17s

1. Charlie Ramsey
2. Archie Gould
3. Daniel Smith

Womens Open

1. Trine Brons Nielson
2. Lauren Moffat
3. Sara Lohjelm

Mens Open

1. Niko Salaman
2. Nolan Van Ophoven
3. Jamie Willis

Womens Pro

1. Mery Munoz
2. Darly Saavedra
3. Aniek Kerkhofs

Mens Pro

1. Jaro Frijn
2. Joe Atkinson
3. Bobi Spassov

Best Trick
Joey Egan

After the events were finished, a strange obstacle in the shape of a set of sunglasses was brought into the middle of the park so that anyone could battle it out to win £1000 in USDC which is a crypto currency. This was a collaboration between Joe Atkinson and Gnars who made the obstacle. It was too difficult to choose a winner for this event so it was split between the two skaters who did the best tricks which were Dominic Bruce and Adrien Anne.

The whole day was such a success even though the rain tried to ruin everything. I remember the same weather happening the year before in the exact same fashion. Will it happen again next year? The event is always on the weekend of the famous Notting Hill Carnival as the skatepark is literally situated next to Portobello Market so it makes for an awesome weekend in London for those who travelled from afar. There was people from all over the globe at this event alongside stalls from Echo Skates, Powerslide and Inferno. There is always something to do at the Capital Rollas events. There is never a moment to be bored so if you get the chance to come along and join in on the fun then get it done!

Photos by Kaloyan Nikolaev 

A huge thanks to Patrik Ondrašina for helping us get the prizes to the event and for filming the youtube video for me. See you next year.