Central Mass 6: Event Recap

Jamie and Steve, silde jammering. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

WORDS Marcus Bandy PHOTOS Khaleeq Alfred

This year’s Central Mass 6 Skate Festival was amazing and truly reflects the vibrant, thriving, and diverse skateboarding community of the North Eastern U.S. and beyond. This year’s event saw 416 skaters from 25 U.S. states, 4 Canadian provinces—it also saw riders from as far as Australia, the Philippines, Argentina, and even Hong Kong. The event spanned three full days of nonstop skateboarding, from downhill racing to an epic miniramp jam. And that’s only half of it!

When Mike Girard asked Wheelbase to partner up with him as a media sponsor for Central Mass 4 back in 2013 we were grateful for the opportunity and stoked to show our support. With a whole lot of passion, hard work, and collaboration, what Mike started as a single-day event with a local crew of friends, has turned into a three-day skateboarding festival with a global attendance and visibility.

The Central Mass Skate Festival is most definitely a North Eastern skate event at its very core, but it’s grown into something even more than that. Central Mass is a testament to diversity, D.I.Y., community-building in the larger context, a representation to thinking globally and acting locally, and reflection of the bootstrapping ideology of skaters owning and operating. As you can imagine, we are proud to be a part of this epic event three years running. So without further ado, here’s our hot off the interwebs and toaster-strudel-tasty-goodness video & photographic media recap of this year’s sixth annual Central Mass Skate Festival. Please sit back, tap full-screen, purp your skerp, and enjoy what we made just for you.

Official “Central Mass 6” Video Recap:

The Race:

Let’s begin. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Pushin’ good. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

The pack gainin’ momentum. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Low-low. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Close quarters. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Ben DesSnyder out front. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Film run. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

I see you Mr. Beers. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Emily Pross mean muggin’. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Standby. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Pitted and in the zone. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Vaast & Marrero. Neck ‘n’ neck. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Speed ball. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Pack on the hunt. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

After 6 years, Central Mass Skate Festival feels like it’s finally hitting its stride. There will always be things to improve upon, but through much hard work, trial and error, I think we’re nearing the ideal scope and format for the event. Central Mass has always been, and always will be, an avenue to strengthen and grow our worldwide skateboard community, with a specific focus on building the Northeast scene. I hope to be able to continue organizing the event long into the future. -Mike Girard.

Emily leaves the competition behind. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Grant Kiessling wins it! Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Race Results:

Junior’s

1. Josh Neuman
2. Robert Burns
3. Tyler Kaminski

Am/Expert

1. Eli Healy
2. Liam McHale
3. Anthony Cafiso

Women’s

1. Emily Pross
2. Candy Dungan
3. Magda Blanc

Pro

1. Grant Kiessling
2. Brent Dubendorf
3. Luis Marrero

The Miniramp:

Noseblunt. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

And the minicamp jam begins. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Frank Flailstein falls from grace. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Frontal disaster revert. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Ari The Shark mixing dat music. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Coming equipped with a Sal flip. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Lil’ Pinner with the Smither. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Since 1732. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Backside ollie. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Nose manual. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Eddie ollie. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Mike G. announcing the winners. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Miniramp rippers: Bobby, Nick, and Eddie! Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Open Miniramp Jam

1. Eddie Henriquez
2. Nick Bratko
3. Bobby Hommel

The Slide Jam:

Toe-thaner. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Let thee slide jam commenceth! Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Squat! Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Ain’t no monkey in Tom Leary’s toe. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Getting bricked is not a crime. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Did Steve Kong come down yet? Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Leary, fronted and blunted. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Oh yes it’s monkey fresh! Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Clark Patrick, thane-cake to revert. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Although Norman is Mids this slide is not Mids. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Austin Priester stale fishing above a sea of thane. Photo Khaleeq Alfred.

Dubes being hill nanny. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Bactrian camel-humper. Bactrian

Early-grab to front boardslide. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

The Kong and company. Thane change. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

It’s gettin’ kinda hectic! Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Jamie ain’t faded though. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Hungry eyes. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Yuppie style. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Looks. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Kicked-out and holding strong. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Note that back-foot goodness. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

1.21 Giga Watts of thane! Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Shaka Browne. Uhhhh! Na-na-na-na! Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Josh Wright, So longer slide. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Peristokin’ hard! Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Eddie, rolling up the windows. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Last minute ramp adjustments. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Big air booster. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Bigger air booster. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Brian contemplating architecture & big airs. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Slide Jam Results:

Techslide

1. Zakk Hall

2. Tyler Desmarais
3. Norman Plante

Women’s

1. Micaela Wilson
2. Laura Nocka
3. Lily Parla

Junior’s

1. Robert Burns
2. Jake McKenna
3. Ethan Ledger

Pro

1. Dax Pradarits
2. Sam Flint
3. Levi Green

Longest Heelside

Josh Wright

Longest Toeside

Matt Dosko

Biggest air

1. Brian Bishop
2. Eddie Henriquez

Mike Girard, event founder and coordinator. Post-race stoke run. Photo: Khaleeq Alfred.

Thank You’s:

I want to warmly thank everyone who banded together to make Central Mass 6 a success. My biggest thanks go to the volunteer staff for putting in hard and sometimes thankless work night and day—the event would be impossible without you (special thanks to my mom, dad, and girlfriend for helping endlessly and putting up with me at my best and worst); Thank you to the Town of Harvard residents, Board of Selectmen, and Parks & Rec for welcoming this event into your midst, and to the Harvard Police Department and Harvard Ambulance Squad for ensuring everything goes as safely and smoothly as possible.

Thank you to Wheelbase Magazine, our official media partner, or standing behind grassroots skateboarding and community growth, and to everyone who shares Central Mass 6 media and stoke via social media.

Massive thanks to our sponsors, whose contributions bolstered our event budget, stoked out our podium and raffle winners and made our $5,700 cash prize purse possible: THANK YOU Loaded Boards, Orangatang Wheels, I.N.I COOPERATiVE, Paris Truck Co., S1 Helmets, G-Form, BEAR Trucks, Original Skateboards, RDVX, MIDS, Comet Skateboards, Blue Sky Longboards,Narragansett Beer, Vita Coco Coconut Water, Harvard General Store,ShowmeAtrick, THuRO - Skate & Snow, Brew Headwear, Community Bikes and Boards, NOTB Snowboards, ENO, Forsake, Tecnu, Kebbek skateboards, Illdownhill, plus additional hype and support from Omen Longboards and Muirskate. (See the full list with logos at http://skatecentralMA.com/sponsors.)

Additional thanks to Eastern Boarder for loaning us some kick-ass ramps and spreading word of Central Mass to the local skate community; To Stefan Kaiter-Snyder for our awesome flyer and logo artwork, and Steve Fitzmaurice from the Mini Ramp flyer and Emgee Events logo; to the Harvard General Store, our awesome food and beverage partner, and Billiards Café, our after-party venue; to Zone Products for the beautiful event t-shirts; to MIDS for keeping it real; to Waterville Valley for the epic mini ramp rental; and finally to Dee Bus Company, Moore’s Lumber, NSC Sanitation, Mackay Hardware, ISS Online, Marriott, ISU Irvine, Cameron Frazier, Brian Cortright, Grant Kiessling, spectators, parents, and anyone else who helped contribute to this operation along the way.

Most importantly, thank you to the riders who spend their hard-earned money to register for Central Mass and who come from near and far to enjoy the fruits of all this labor! We look forward to seeing you at Central Mass 7.

-Mike Girard

Shares 0