It was early, about 10:45 AM; that's early in the skate world, Drydek had already been there for some time and was hyped. He was in his standard DC hat with matching Street League shirt, and you know he had his bling. I hadn't even been there five minutes when he came up and just seemed so excited, "Chris Cole, Paul Rodriguez, Ryan Sheckler, Tory Pudwill and Sean Malto. This is the first time they are going to compete against each other this year at the same time. Let's do this." It was going to be a mock contest, but one featuring the best.
Drydek may have been their early, but the ones who were going to do the skating didn't file in until about 1:00 PM. I first noticed they were arriving when I smelled the smell that usually follows Pudwill everywhere he goes. I can't put my finger on it, but it is a very distinct smell, organic if you will. Before long they were all there, and ready to put this new format to the test.
That's the thing with Street League. It's all about the format. There's never been anything like this before. The scores are instant from 1 to 5 per trick, which allows the skaters to know what they need before each attempt, this is unheard of in competitive street skating. Sure in other contest venues they may know what they need to get in a run, but not before each trick. Plus, if someone bails they are given a 0, encouraging higher landing percentages. This allows for little chess games play out.
Take for example in the mock contest Rodriguez was in first, and Pudwill in second. Pudwill bailed on an attempt, and Rodriguez was up after him, which gave him the opportunity to go for a banger, or Grandslam if you will, with a more difficult trick. If he didn't pull it he'd still be in first.
Stats will also be kept making this more like a mainstream sport. Like in baseball when they say so and so is batting 295 this year against left-handed pitching. It'll be like, "Sheckler's needs a 3.5 to get back in this one, and we're on to the 12 stair where he's leading the league in landing percentage."
The course I witnessed is four sections: 1.) ramp to hubba. 2.) ledge and flat rail options. 3.) two six stair sets with hubbas (are scored as one, a trick must be landed on both for it to be scored. 4.) a 12 stair set with round handrail.
The heat consisted of six skateboarders skating each section one at a time for an established amount of tricks. The highest tallied score at the end was winner, and guess who one. Chris Cole, fresh off his Maloof win continued to show he is the man to beat when it comes to street skateboarding.
The fact that Cole just keeps winning is beside the point. What Dyrdek has put together here is revolutionary. Not only does it make for more to drama play out in contests, it allows for non-skate experts to get into it. Instead of a sh-t storm of guys flinging their boards everywhere and having a high bail to land ratio, and the ones they do land so technical only a few get how hard they is. They'll be actual little battles, which will be good for television. Street skateboarding may be the most popular action sport, but it has been one of the worst as far as televising contests goes. This could just be the answer.
Here's a little video of the action put together by Nigel Alexander:
