Volcom Stone’s 2011 Wild in the Parks series Championships went off with a bang in Austin, TX Sat Oct 15!

After having to be amongst the winners at one of nearly 40 grueling qualifiers around the world, the most prominent ams descended on Austin, TX to compete for fame, glory and a piece of the $25,000 cash purse!

The 14 & Under division grabbed center stage first with tricks like this lofty f/s flip down the 9-set in zone 1

Ground zero for this year’s Championship event was a brand new work of art in central Austin called House Park. Despite this being the first major event to be held there, the city welcomed the Wild in the Parks Championships with open arms!

Phil Hansen definitely packed his “A” game before heading to Austin for the Championships

Having just been completed early this summer, House park is a 1.7 million dollar masterpiece containing a plethora of unique obstacles plus all of your traditional park staples.

James Schwartz made life tough on the competition with tricks like this cab 540 on the pyramid in zone 3

Zone 1 consisted of a monstrous 9-set complete with hubbas and an ambitious handrail. Zone 2 was a smaller 6-set, hubba, extended hubba, and handrail. Zone three was more tech-oriented consisting of a planter, flat-bar and pyramid.

There was a large parking garage beside the park that provided prime spectating and filming spots

The 14 & Under division got the 2011 WITP Champs underway thanks to a torrid attack on all three of the aforementioned zones! The ridiculous amount of talent in attendance meant anyone had the capability to make some noise and skate away with cash!

Alexis Rivera was representing Puerto Rico well with this nollie 5-O f/s 180

After one of the early favorites, Wyatt Millhollan, went down with a broken arm, his friend Phil Hansen was inspired to pick up where he had left off. Big trick after big trick went down in all three areas and had the crowd craning their necks and vying for a good vantage point from which to spectate! With mayhem going down all over the park, many people, including yours truly, found it was battle just to keep up!

Jack Olson brought this nollie b/s flip all the way from Minnesota

After an absolutely insane finals heat, Phil Hansen prevailed for his friend Wyatt by taking home 1st and a check for $2750! Tanner Van Vark earned $2250 for 2nd place while Jonathan Reese skated away with $1500 for placing 3rd. Jon McParland took home 4th ($750) and Dominic Devries came in 5th ($500)!

Kevin Liedtke, f/s bluntslide on a zone 1 hubba

The 15 & Over division was up next and wasted no time building on the anarchy initiated by the younger snipers! Heavy tricks went down in all three zones right off the bat as the best of the best went head to head!

Scotty Mescal and the A.L.C. crew dishing up complimentary dinner for everyone

Among many others, Justin Williamson, Giorgio Villone, Kevin Liedtke, Scott Borkowski and Elijah Bresnahan were standing tall and turning more than a few heads! The variety of tricks and the apparent ease at which they were pulled off was inspiring to say the least!

Pro-Am division Champion Julien Christianson turned some heads with this switch heel b/s 5-O in zone 2

After crunching the numbers, Justin Williamson was crowned victorious to the tune of a $3000 check while Giorgio Villong placed 2nd ($2250), Kevin Liedtke 3rd ($1500), Kevin Sikes 4th ($750) and Matt Militano locked down 5th with ($500)!

The scene was packed with spectators

The Pro-Am division was the last to skate and I think everyone was glad they were. After being a part of the Wild in the Parks tour since it’s inception nearly 9 years ago, I can honestly tell you I’ve never been witness anything close to as incredible as what went down in Austin this past weekend! The level of talent was so unbelievable most people had screamed themselves hoarse before the finals event began!

The extra lighting in each zone definitely helped keep the heavy tricks coming

Julian Christianson seemed to nail every trick he tried the first time around and had everyone at the park shaking their head in disbelief! Watching Julian on his mission of demolition must have inspired the rest of the field because everyone stepped up their game and put on a show that won’t soon be forgotten! Naming the top 5 in this division was by far the most difficult part of the day. The judges reviewed the scores and discussed their thoughts at length. After much deliberation, Julian Christianson took home 1st place and a check for $3500! Tyson Bowerbank earned 2nd ($2500), Ben Paterson claimed 3rd ($1500), Brendon Villanueva locked down 4th ($1000), and Austin local Max Taylor skated home with 5th ($750)!

Thanks to Jason Maurer, David Crabb and everyone else at the City of Austin for all their hard work and WITP support! Thanks also to Scotty Mescal for all his extra effort as well as Austin Land & Cattle Steakhouse for hooking everyone up with complimentary food. Thanks to Elias Bingham at No Comply boardshop for backing the WITP from day 1. Thanks also to our three judging teams, Fletcher Berndt & David Langston, Mukasa Mubirumusoke & Dakota Robberson, Austin Amelio & Jebrane Desigaud. Last but not least, thanks to all the brands below how kicked in extra prizing for the winners and product toss!

ELECTRIC VISUAL
TRANSWORLD SKATEBOARDING
GATORADE
BANSHEE BUNGEE
EMERICA
FLIP SKATEBOARDS
REAL SKATEBOARDS
SPITFIRE WHEELS
NO COMPLY BOARDSHOP
VESTAL
GANGA SKATEBOARDS

Results:
14 & Under:
1st: Phil Hansen – $2,750
2nd: Tanner Van Vark – $2,250
3rd: Jonathan Reese – $1,500
4th: Jon McParland – $750
5th: Dominic Devries – $500

15 & Over:
1st: Justin Williamson – $3,000
2nd: Giorgio Villone – $2,250
3rd: Kevin Liedtke – $1,500
4th: Kevin Sikes – $750
5th: Matt Militano – $500

Open/Pro-Am:
1st: Julian Christianson – $3,500
2nd: Tyson Bowerbank – $2,500
3rd: Ben Paterson – $1,500
4th: Brendon Villanueva – $1,000
5th: Max Taylor – $750
Electric “Hype of the Day”: Tyler Tutaj – $1,000

Volcom
1740 Monrovia Ave.
Costa Mesa CA USA 92627