Amazing Skills and Stoke – SYCLD 2015

If the stoke needed a new name, we would probably have to call it SYCLD. But that’s just my very personal reporter opinion. Aside from that, the whole event left a lasting impression because of its positive vibes, all the super friendly people from all over the world, and an extremely high skill level of skating.

The first registered skaters already lined up to check in as early as 11:30 am and up to the beginning of the first category of the contest, the line hardly ever ceased to exist. While the more than 100 sponsored and non-sponsored riders pleased the huge crowd in the contest area with their smooth dance combos and ambitious flip and grab tricks, the practice area in the ample hall next door was swarmed by longboarders of all ages and skill levels. By afternoon there were so many people skating that the contest team unofficially opened even a third area to accommodate such an unexpectedly large number or skaters.

Most riders and visitors alike enjoyed the opportunity to mingle with skaters from across the globe; some people had come to Eindhoven from places as far as Great Britain, Greece, Canada, or even Korea. And that is just naming a few. For many guys and girls, the contest posed as a great chance to meet up with old friends; to simply chat, laugh, and skate together. The air was filled with friendly competition, pushing many riders to learn new tricks from each other and to mark their skill territory.

SYCLD – The Contest

The third edition of SYCLD broke all its previously set records, especially when it comes to the number of contestants, skaters, and visitors. The number of contesting non-sponsored and sponsored riders in the DANCE contest turned out to be so huge, that the pre-selection rounds already took much longer than originally anticipated. But which contest does not have any delays, ever? Unfortunately for some riders, the Best Trick Contest eventually fell victim to the time flying by. With that many contestants, SYCLD may have to become a two-day-event. Maybe next year. Head organizer Bianca is already working on it.

In the contest, the riders surprised the crowd as well as each other with an incredibly high skill level. Some riders literally left the crowd and fellow skaters in awe with the precise execution and huge repertoire of tricks they presented. Being a judge at this contest surely must have been anything but easy. After a whole day of skating, the jury announced the winners of each category late in the evening. In addition to big prize packages from all of the sponsors, every winner was also awarded a beautiful SYCLD-medal. Appropriate for the occasion, the medals had been hand-carved out of wood by Jelle Lemmens of Crownboards.

SYCLD – Results

DANCE sponsored

As expected, the DANCE Contest for sponsored riders presented the highest skill level of the day. For the first time, this category also allowed female contestants; Guilia Alfeo, winner of the girl contest, even reached the co-ed final round. Even though the winners of last year, for example Jeff Ellis, made it into the final round as well, a new trio of sponsored riders made it onto this year’s podium.

1. Carl “Cabrón” Fölster, Germany
Bolzen Trucks, FÄDD, Schichtwechsel, SolalaLongboards, Soul Headphones

2. Pablo Nicieza (BLIN), Spain
Bastl Boards

3. Do Young, Korea
Bastl Boards

As the winner of DANCE sponsored, Carl is also the overall WINNER SYCLD 2015 and gets to skate the GOLDEN TROPHY BOARD for a year wearing a matching golden helmet by Triple Eight.

DANCE non-sponsored

Also very skilled, the non-sponsored riders in the DANCE competition did their best to impress the judges. In the end, three guys from Belgium, Spain and Germany danced their way into the jury’s hearts and up onto the podium.

The winners of SYCLD DANCE non-sponsored are:

1. Arnaud Vankeirsblick, Belgium
2. Sergio Evan, Spain
3. Joel Souza Cabrera, Germany

GIRL CONTEST sponsored

Also for the first time this year, the number of female contestants was large enough to divide the Girl Contest into a sponsored and non-sponsored category. The sponsored ladies wooed the judges with elegance and grace, but also with their precision and creativity when it came to more complicated tricks. Dancing Queen of the day was definitely Guilia Alfeo, who rightfully earned that nickname thanks to her super-smooth dance moves.

The winners of the sponsored Girl Contest are:

1. Giulia Alfeo, Germany –
Bastl Boards, Rip&Noise Skateroom

2. Cindy Zhou, Canada –
Skate Invaders, Loaded, Orangatang, G-Form, Paris Trucks, and XS Helmets

3. Deborah Keser, Germany
Simple Longboards

GIRL CONTEST non-sponsored

It’s great to see that more and more girls are not only getting into longboarding, but also into competing. A considerable number of new and old non-sponsored contestants entered the stage, some of them not even 10 years old. Even though the skill gap between the youngsters and the finalists weren’t quite obvious, everyone had a blast and enjoyed themselves.

The non-sponsored winners of the Girl Contest 2015 are:

1. Coco, Germany
2. Jade Emily, Canary Islands
3. Neza Atar, the Netherlands

Hippy Jump

Jumping over a stick on a longboard – for outsiders this idea is still hard to grasp, but in Eindhoven, some true Hippy Jump experts stepped up to defy physics and gravity. The best three Hippy Jumpers of this year’s competition are:

1. Gijs Schalkx, The Netherlands
Timber Boards, Boardfather, Randal Trucks Co

2. Simon Arsenidis, Germany
Airflow Skateboards
Mantis Longboardshop

2. Linden Nieto, Spain
992 Custom Longboards
Bel Boards

Best G-Turn

See you soon!

… and this concludes my little adventure as SYCLD’s reporter. For now ? I had a blast and still smile at all your incredible feedback on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you for reading, liking, commenting, and sharing our posts and videos. You guys rock! Take care, Katharina.