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THE 2012 USA CARBON FLOW TOUR RATINGS TAKE SHAPE AFTER THE ALL IMPORTANT UTAH LEG
As the second half of the Carbon FLOW Tour kicked off in the state of Utah, the pressure started to build as the title for the national championship is at arm’s length for many competitors. Riders from all over the nation flocked to Utah, as it is annually one of the most popular legs of the Carbon FLOW Tour. This 3-event contest week would prove to be very challenging for the competitors, as they would have to test their physical and mental stamina to get those valuable points and finish on the podium and hopefully walk away with some cash.
Salomon Center was the first Prime stop of the week. Competitors were very excited to kick off the competition at FlowRider Utah, as it is the only 3 pump FlowRider™ on the tour. “Having so much space to perform your tricks makes a huge difference in how to approach your heat” said Eric Silverman, one of the Pro Flowboard riders.
After a good 10-day break, the riders were well rested and had ample time to get focused on the competition. As always, Utah had the largest number of riders in the Female and Masters divisions. The Open Female Flowboard divisions were 12 deep and the skill level was astounding. With 180 shuvits being a staple trick in all the runs, these girls had to bring their best to get a podium finish. In the end it was local star Dee Daniels who would prevail as she pulled out all the tricks including bigspins, backside ollies and her signature move, the one-foot shuvit. Coming in second was tour newbie Xana Nash, followed by ratings leader Austyn Bynon and Madi Moore.
The Masters Flowboard division also had a large number of competitors. As Jason Moore headed into the event as the top dog, he would have to stay on his feet to make sure he remained ahead of the pack. With local guys like Matt Chipman and Nick Gust, Jason had some great competition, which brought out the best of him as he took home the gold followed by Matt, Nick and Tracy Carroll.
Keeping the Moore family name at the top of the Open Men’s and Junior Flowboard division as well, young gun Jaxson Moore took first place in the both, securing his spot at the top of the ratings.
After an absence from the tour for a few events, the return of Sean Silveira and Nick Nguyen was highly anticipated. Without disappointing, Sean rode his way to the top of the Pro division taking home a $600 prize check. Coming in second was fellow Floridian Chuck Wright, followed by newly appointed Utah resident Brad Spencer and Theo Koby. The big surprise came in the Pro Bodyboard division where the young guns Andrew O’Conner, Nick Sanchez, Daniel Tarapchak and Andrew Shelton had their eyes focused on the current world flowrider champ Nick Nguyen. Unfortunately Nick had a couple of uncharacteristic faults and was knocked out in the semi final round by the youngsters. With an all under 17 final in the pro division it was time for a new name to take the top spot and Andrew O’Conner took advantage of this, taking home a $600 check, followed by Nick Sanchez, Daniel Tarapchak and Andrew Shelton.
With one nights rest and little time to refocus, the competitors headed South to the City of Provo where Provo Beach Resort would host the second Prime Tour event. Provo, having it’s second event on the tour, is fairly new to the competition world. It didn’t show though, as they had great support from both the riders and the sponsors. The Utah leg had a big affect on results, as there seems to be a changing of the guard. The usual suspects were being tested as there seemed to be a great deal of hunger from the rest of the field. Coming in for his first win was Junior Bodyboarder Christian Duffy who backed up his win with a 3rd place finish in the Open Men’s Bodyboard division. Another fist time winner was in the Masters Flowboard division as Matt Chipman beat out the tour favorite Jason Moore for his gold medal. Xana Nash took out local ripper Dee Daniels and the big result was Brad Spencer, who flowed his way to the top as he beat the current World FlowRider champ Sean Silveira, to give himself a nice payday. Other notable victories came from Nick Nguyen, who bounced back after his loss to claim back his rightful place on the podium as well as young gun Jaxson Moore, who was unstoppable as he once again took back to back victories in both the Junior and Open Men’s Flowboard divisions.
After some incredible competition and jaw dropping runs the prime events came to an end. The Utah leg would commence in the City of Lindon at Lindon Aquatic Center where they hosted a Pro/Am event. With no points up for grabs, this Pro/Am would have a fairly relaxed vibe as most competitors could kick back and compete without the weight of season points on the line. The riders took this opportunity to test their skills in different divisions and see how they would stack up to riders in a higher skill divisions. Once the competition began, the riders got into their default competition mode and showed that even though there were no points, getting a first place spot would definitely be a confidence booster going into the Florida events. As Lindon committed to a $1500 prize purse for both Pro divisions, this gave the riders a good incentive to leave with some extra cash in their pockets.
For full results of the events visit http://www.facebook.com/FLOWtour
We would like to thank FlowRider Utah, Provo Beach Resort and Lindon City for their support. All venues were, as always, a pleasure to work with and helped make the Utah leg of the Carbon FLOW Tour a great success.
With two more events coming up, including the National Championships at Fantasy Surf, the tour looks like its going to have a nail biting ending as the National Championship Titles are up for grabs.
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