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 Podium Shot: Jordan Price (2nd), Samuel Beckett (1st), Chris O'Reilly (3rd) |
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 Samuel Beckett |
Amateur Vert
British skater Sam Beckett wins LG Action Sports Championships Amateur Vert
It's been a big year for 16 year-old British skater Samuel Beckett.
After making his name in the United Kingdom Skateboarding Association's Independent Vert Series and at European events like the Vans World Championship of Skateboarding in Rotterdam and the Mystic Cup in Prague, the young skater made his way to America this year to see how far he could take his love of vert skateboarding. He finished 4th at the Tampa Am Vert Finals this Spring, then made Finals in the X Games 14 Amateur Vert contest. He says his Amateur Vert win here in Seattle at the LG Action Sports Championships bring him one giant step towards his dream of competing as a pro skater.
"There's loads of kids coming up in vert in England and there's just been a great vert series all year this year," says Beckett. "It's a great scene over there, but it's also been my dream to compete in the U.S. and to someday skate against the best pros in the world. To come over here and win a contest like this... it just makes it all feel much more possible."
He's right about that: Last year's Amateur Vert winner Josh Stafford skated as a pro this year at the ASA events and on the AST Dew Tour, and skated in Prelims this weekend.
The Amateur Vert contest is now a proven stepping-stone to a pro career, and Beckett has the big, stylish tricks to make it happen. He stuck back-to-back 540s and highly technical flip tricks in each of his runs, beating out 14 year-old Jordan Price and 18 year-old Chris O'Reilly for the top spot.
The LG Action Sports Amateur Vert Championships provided a nice look into the future of vert skating, with 15 year-old Michael O'Fried and 11 year-old Mitchie Brusco rounding out the top 5 and the age of competitors ranging from 6 year-old Branden Stelma to 20 year-old Lance Childers. Eighteen skaters competed.
"It's amazing to see so many young kids getting into vert and dropping in on this huge ramp," says Beckett. "Some of these kids are like 6 or 7 years old, and it shows how fast the next generation of vert skaters is coming up."
