Siliado Said Knock You Out: The 2006 Unofficial World Longboard Championships:
by
Daniel Ikaika Ito
SurferMag.com Correspondent Check out this vid of some classic longboarding at Malibu
Check out "LongBoard Lust" - a Sean Davey photo Gallery The best way to describe Venton Siliado's victory at the Second Annual Unofficial World Longboard Championship, held at Ned's Reef is in the immortal words of LL Cool J: "Don't call it comeback, I been here for years." The 'Ewa Beach local took down an injured Ned Snow in the 25 minute man on man final in Ned's backyard on O'ahu's east side. The waves were a goofy 1 to 3 feet with trade winds making the waves bumpier than the Kamehameha Highway after a spring storm. To call the conditions at Ned's reef "challenging" is an understatement. Siliado, who has been absent from competition for the past couple of years, took home $2000 bucks, a 77 skateboard and a grip of surf goodies for his progressive longboarding. Ever since his NSSA days, 23-year-old Siliado was always considered a contender in local longboard comps. But, two kids and a day job as a construction worker inhibited his frequency of surfs and sponsorships. Not too mention, that Venton was scheduled to compete at the World Longboard Championships in Costa Rica, but a late passport deterred his traveling plans. Yet, all those things didn't matter when Siliado held the unofficial longboard championship belt over his head at the end of the day. Venton surfed strong off the tail with power roundies. And, smooth on the tip with lengthy hang fives, even incorporating a few drop knee cutties to mix things up. He took down 16-year-old Genki Kino in a close semi final. Ned disposed of Duane Desoto in the other semi final by finding the open waves and shredding them to ribbons. Snow, who was fresh off his runner up finish at the 2006 World Longboard Championships in Costa Rica, surfed with poise and purpose throughout the day. In the final, Ned surfed with his signature speed roundhouses, but couldn't find a solid second score at his backyard break. Venton racked up two big scores with combos of roundhouses, white wash climbs, drop knee cutties and mind boggling nose rides. But, Snow wasn't bitter that Siliado took the Unofficial Longboard World Championship belt back to the Leeward side. On the contrary, Ned was stoked, "If I wanted anybody to win it was Venton," he said. Snow had a lot to be proud of that weekend. With a tremendous amount of help from Kekoa Uemura, the Second Annual Unofficial World Longboard Championship out did the precious year by leaps and bounds. Hawai'i's premier pro longboarders enjoyed the picturesque setting of Ned's mom's backyard, cold beverages and a buffet that rivaled most Waikiki hotel restaurants. Contestant and emcee, Ezra Rodrigues kept the invitation only crowd rolling with his rated-R commentary. As the day progressed and the Steinlager bottles emptied, the few keiki at the contest were forced to put on their "ear muffs" when Rodrigues cracked a joked. In fact, Ezra's comments even resulted in a rear naked choke administered by his friend and fellow contestant Scotty Fong Jr. The chokehold like the rest of the contest was all in good fun though. Ned's latest sponsor, 77 Skateboards, made this year's Unofficial World Longboard Championship even more fun by bumping the prize purse from $600 dollars last year to $4500 green backs this year. With more dollar signs and prestige coming into this backyard barbecue/surf contest, Snow and Uemura can expect more hassles for invitations next year. And, the 2006 Unofficial World Longboard Champion Venton Siliado can look forward to bobbing his head to a renewed career and more LL Cool J lyrics: "Rockin' my peers and putting suckas in fear." Results:
1st. Venton Siliado $2000
2nd. Ned Snow $1500
=3rd. Duane Desoto and Genki Kino $500 |
