This season flagged our second annual visit to Martock for a PBRJ. If you’ve never been, Nova Scotia is like a different world (in a good way)! Looking at a map, it is nearly halfway to England from New York City! You can fly direct from Halifax to London in about 4 hours! Geographically stimulating facts aside, Nova Scotia also contains arguably the most polite people in North America. It’s such a refreshing/shocking thing when complete strangers show an interest in your well-being.

Once again, Andy MacLean, Dawson Hood and the Martock Resort team put together a first class PBRJ contest site. It consisted of a down-box, rainbow rail and up-tube!

The 15 & Under Division got things underway at 10am with two up-tempo heats! While many of them were small in stature, their skills and jibbing aspirations were large in nature! Both heats seemed hell-bent on setting the bar high and accomplished just that! We noted switch front boards, good lookin’ back tails and a 50-50 b/s 360 out! When the clocked ticked down to zero, it was Cole Parson’s deservedly taking 1st, Brandon Miner in 2nd and Jevin Allen in 3rd!

Next it was the 16 & Over group’s turn to show us how to get the job done. They came out of the starting gates with their guns blazing and didn’t look back. The sun and t-shirts were out to stay as these guys unloaded their magazines, then reloaded and did it again! Needless to say, it was truly a pleasure watching these guys destroy all three PBRJ features. When it came down to crunching numbers, Dru Kennedy claimed 1st, Ben Bland 2nd and Mathew Grant 3rd!

Before you knew it, it was the girl’s time to shine! After only a few minutes it was clear to see how well equipped they were to put on a show of their own! While not numbering many, their skills were on par or above many of the Western PBRJs! We saw switch 50-50 b/s 180 outs, switch boardslides and buttery smooth tail presses! Later on at awards, Stephanie Meagher was crowned 1st, Dallas Rourke 2nd and Christina Retson a close 3rd!

We were all set to shake hands and pack it in for the day when the Open Division exploded on the scene! These boys were in the hunt for victory and wouldn’t be taking any prisoners along the way! As I type this I’m having trouble recalling a more competitive, talent-heavy finals then what we saw at Martock! From switch b/s 270 boardslides 450 outs to f/s 270 back noses, we witnessed it all! When it cam to the difficult task of picking winners, the numbers were incredible close! Andrew “Bubba” Armstrong successfully defended his claim to top honours, while Jeremy Page and Pat Arseneault rounded up out the top three with some solid riding!

Thanks to Andy MacLean, Dawson Hood, Heather, Jim and the rest of the great folks at Ski Martock for all their support. We’re stoked to be a part of the scene there and look forward to many more Martock PBRJ installments! Thanks also to Jordan Marczak, Dawson Hood and Mike Miller for judging. Thanks to the Pro Skates crew for taking us out for Sushi and making us feel at home. Thanks of course to Electric for supporting the PBRJ with cash, shades and goggles!

Results:

15 & Under
1st: Cole Parsons
2nd: Brandon Miner
3rd: Jevin Allen
4th: Dennis Lethian
5th: Floris Bouman

16 & Over
1st: Dru Kennedy
2nd: Ben Bland
3rd: Mathew Grant
4th: Justin Hartt
5th: Stephen Vassallo

Girls Division
1st: Stephanie Meagher
2nd: Dallas Rourke
3rd: Christina Retson
4th: Melissa Horlings
5th: Sarah Payzant

Open Division
1st: Andrew “Bubba” Armstrong
2nd: Jeremy Page
3rd: Pat Arseneault
4th: Adam McGathey
5th: Les Ells