The Converse Coastal Carnage skate bowl contest is back at the US Open of Surfing for its third consecutive year. In the heart of the craziness on the beach the retro pool competition is set to feature some of the worlds best bowl skaters in action.

The retro designed course is a bright blue double wooden bowl with plenty of hips, tight corners and mellow transitions incorporating new obstacles this year to keep the competition exciting. If practice is any indication to what they guys have in store, the 400,000 expected weekend visitors are in for a show.

Fresh from an appearance in X Games Converse Skate ambassador Rune Glifberg will compete against a wave of fresh new talent. Up-and-comer Tom Remillard returns this year looking to better his runner up finish at last years contest.

X Games standout and bronze medalist Ben Hatchell will be looking to continue his momentum on the bowl circuit hoping for a victory at one of the funnest comps on the season.

Converse Coastal Carnage is a jam format consisting of 10 qualifying rounds with four riders skating against each other at the same time.

The qualifying rounds starts on Saturday at 1:45 p.m. with the Coastal Carnage finals on Sunday at Sunday at 4 p.m. If you can't make it down to the beach don't worry both the qualifiers and finals will be broadcasted live.

Check back for a complete wrap up of the highlights from the retro bowl contest...



Photos courtesy of Converse- Top- Kalani David doing a stalefish. Bottom-Ryan Reyes crailside

Transition. www.dictionary.com defines the word as; movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another. Pour some cement all over that definition and you have the Skate Park division of X Games 16. It has only been held twice making it a relatively new division to the games, but one of the more popular skate events, especially amongst actual skateboarders.

On this course it's all about choosing a line, going fast, grinding coping, and clearing: hips, gaps and flats. The name of the game is speed, and the ability to keep that speed for as long as possible, and hit as many obstacles as you can along the way is the plan of attack. A cross between pool and street skating this discipline attracts a diverse group of skateboarders. You have your straight up pool guys like Rune Glifberg and Omar Hassan. You have your vert guys like Bucky Lasek and Andy MacDonald. Finally, you have your all-around guys like David Gravette and Jake Duncombe. The later being skaters who film street sections for their sponsors, but have pool and other types of transition skating mixed in.

The first year of Park was held was on an all wood course during X Games 14. Then, last year at X Games 15 it took place on combination wood and concrete course. Now, this year at X Games 16 an all-concrete course has been constructed complete with a glass wall-ride extension. It is like one of those perfect concrete parks they have up in Oregon, maybe just a little mellower. There's a very doable gap in the middle, and it should be interesting to see what types of variations go down over that. During practice Gravette already cleared the gap, and then a hip to transition.

The skaters to look for in this competition are of course two-time winner, Rune Glifberg, and transition legend, Omar Hassan. There are also guys like Tony Trujillo, Chad Bartie, John Rattray, Sammy Baca , Gravette, Duncombe and Alex Olson who excel in cement parks.

As far as contestants go, there are three interesting little side notes. First, the youngsters, as in 14 year-old, Curren Caples, and 15 year-old, Pedro Barros. They're both young, but they both can skate a line. Barros already qualified for the Big Air main event, and Curren's been flying all over the place in practice. Second, how is two time Pro Tec Pool winner, Lasek, going to do. This is the first year he has entered this event, and he has been proving latey he may just be the best pool skater in the world, along with being one of the best vert skaters. Third, Ryan Sheckler? Yup, The Sheck is slated to skate this division, he may be a Street guy, but he's another one who's no slouch when it comes holding a line in the cement. His brother Shane is a very good tranny skater, and may have given him some pointers in a training session or two.

The Park Final will be Sunday August 1 from 7 PM to 11PM on ESPN2.

Rune Glifberg at last year's event. Photo: Harry How via Getty Images.

Below is some footage of Glifberg warming up on last year's course:

The Danish Destroyer of pools himself, Rune Glifberg, filmed a little video on what you can expect from his new signature jeans from Volcom. See what goes into designing your own personalized jeans, and most importantly see the skate related feature. Oh yeah, and watch quite possibly the best pool skateboarder in the world pillage pool like the Viking that he is.

For the sixth year the Pro-Tec Pool Party has come and gone at the Kombi bowl in the Vans Skatepark at the Block at Orange, and for the second time Bucky Lasek brought home first place in the Pro division. In what is possibly bigger news, for the first time in the history of the contest Chris Miller did not win the Masters division. His five year streak came to an end when skate legend, Steve Caballero, bowled his way to victory.

For the few years of this contest Rune Glifberg and Chris Miller had been dominant with Glifberg winning three, and Chris Miller winning five, but that all changed on a sunny Saturday at a mall in Southern California. Caballero was able to tap into what made him one of the best skateboarders of the 80s, and in the process ended Miller's streak.

In the Pro division everyone knew the winner was going to be one of three guys: Bucky Laksek, Rune Glifberg or Omar Hassan. The later two being your quintessential pool skater, relying on "the way your supposed to skate a pool," and that's where Lasek steps in. He is the reigning Dew Tour Vert Champion, and has brought a new twist to the world of bowls. He links all the inverted spins that have become a necessity in the world of vert into flawless pool runs. He throws down the tech stuff that gets the old guys pumped, then goes huge to get the crowd pumped. That's what he did on Saturday, which climaxed when he did a gay twist from pool to pool, which sounds weird but believe me, it was heavy. Here's list of the full results:

Full Results:

Masters
1. Steve Caballero (San Jose, CA) $13,000
2. Chris Miller (Del Mar, CA) $7,000
3. Lance Mountain (Alhambra, CA) $4,000

Pros
1. Bucky Lasek (Baltimore, MD)$30,000
2. Rune Glifberg (Copenhagen, DEN)$18,000
3. Omar Hassan (Costa Mesa, CA) $10,000






Here's some photos from the day:



Rune gets his Madonna on.

The most prestigious pool contest in skateboarding, the Pro-Tec Pool Party, is back again this Saturday at the Kombi bowl at the Vans skatepark in Orange, CA. When it comes to skating concrete transition anyone who is, or who ever has been someone, will be there this weekend. From the legends who compete in the Masters division, to the current big names who will skate in the Pro division, and even to the ladies who compete in the Girls division.

In the Masters the big question is, can Chris Miller win again? The guy has won it all five years the contest has gone down. He has just such a smooth style that is about as good as it gets when it comes to the skaters who have been in it for the long haul. Don't think just because he wins every year he has no competition, pool legends like: Christian Hosoi, Steve Caballero and Lance Mountain have given him a run for his money, and certainly will again this year.

The question in the Pro division is, can Rune Glifberg get back to his winning ways in this contest? When it comes to skating a pool, many call Glifberg the best, and he's walked away with first place at this contest three times. The only two who have been able to best him are Bucky Lasek and Omar Hassan. Lasek who had skated amazingly at The Pool Party for years, but just always seemed one step behind Glifberg was finally able to take first last year. Although, that does bring up another question. Rune Glifberg had suffered a concussion a few days before the contest in 09', and didn't seem to be all there during his heats. That said, will Lasek be able to finish ahead of a healthy Glifberg? Also, Bob Burnquist will be looming, and new transition sensation and 2009 Maloof Money Cup Vert champion, Alex Perelson. We'll see what happens on Saturday, to watch live click here. Here's a list of the heats and a video to hold you over:

MASTERS HEAT #1:
Chris Miller (2009 Champion)
Steve Steadham
Christian Hosoi
Tony Mag
Mike Smith
Mike Barnes
Mark Partain

MASTERS HEAT #2:
Lance Mountain
Mike McGill
Jeff Grosso
Lester Kasai
Dave Reul
Lonnie Hiramoto

lerroMASTERS HEAT #3:
Steve Alba
Josh Nelson
Nicky Guerrero
Ken Fillion
Mike Rogers
Eric Nash
Dave Duncan

MASTERS HEAT #4:
Pat Ngoho
Duane Peters
Ben Schroeder
Mark Red Scott
Brian Pennington
Eddie Reategui


PRO HEAT #1:
Bruno Passos
Tim Johnson
Lincoln Ueda
Josh Rodriguez
Pedro Barros
Zack Miller
Bob Burnquist

PRO HEAT #2:
Jimmy the Greek
Rob Lorifice
Matt Boyster
Evandro Menezes
Ben Raybourne
Nolan Munroe
Grant Taylor

PRO HEAT #3:
Nathan Beck
Tyler Mumma
Bucky Lasek (2009 Champion)
Rune Glifberg
Jackson Pilz
Bennett Harada
Omar Hassan

PRO HEAT #4:
Darren Navarette
Darin Jenkins
Alex Perelson
Sky Siljeg
Josh Borden
Sergie Ventura
Michael Brookman