Blame it on The Berrics. Game of S.K.A.T.E. tournaments are the hottest thing going right now. Alex Davies decided to go one better and came up with “3 Man S.K.A.T.E. Date”, the first 3 person team challenge. Here’s the breakdown:
-3 Person Teams
-$20 Entry per team
-16 Team Limit for the first tournament
-The first 16 teams to sign up and pay @ Cal’s Pharmacy are in. NO IOUs.. NO HOLDING SLOTS!!
-The games are going to be every Wednesday night starting Dec. 9th @ 6:30PM
-The first week (Dec. 9th) every team needs to show up to determine their seeding and which bracket they will be in. After that, the games will be scheduled and it won’t be required to attend every game.
-The games will be Berrics rules (which everyone is familiar with).
-3 Man S.K.A.T.E. is basically the same as a regular game of S.K.A.T.E. but the defensive team gets to choose which team member performs the trick. A single team member can’t go 2 times in a row on defense. Show up Wed. Dec 9th with any other questions.
-Winning team receives $300 to split. Runner up team receives $100 to split.

Get your squad together and get into The Pharmacy ASAP because slots will fill up quick!!

Laters.

PS, we already know the name sounds…

The Thrash Giving Session went off and collected more food than we ever could’ve expected. Thanks to everyone who came out and huge thanks to Altamont/Es/Emerica for joining forces on this event. We look forward to doing this again.

-The Dept.

The Tribute guys are premiering they’re new video “Tribute Takes Portland” this Thursday night Oct. 29th @ the Someday Lounge and have added a second all ages showing Friday night here at The Dept. @ 9PM. Make sure to swing by and check it!!

The 30 or better session is back on starting tonight.. hope to see you there.

…on the internet with this sick VR photo that PDXVR.COM made. Look up and down. It’s kind of trippy.

The Holiday Havoc contest finally went down last Friday night and closed out the winter break with a serious barrage of shredding. Over a hundred skaters entered tore the course apart. Here’s a list of the top 5 finishers in each division as well as the Nike SB Best Tricks contest wrap-up:

14 YRS AND UNDER DIVISION
1. Ben Sauer
2. Joey Carnera
3. Berkeley Anderson
4. Colin Klassy
5. Dalton Marshall

14 and under had the most entrants and therefore the most competition for the riders and the group as a whole really represented. The talent level with the younger guys these days is off the charts and judges witnessed tricks like cab flips over the hip, frontside grind fakies on the quarter pipe wall, switch front bigspins down the seven and frontside flips over the hubba and down the 3 from this group. In the end, little Ben Sauer seemed to stay on and consistent in every heat and edged out Joey Carnera for the win. Congratulations Ben!! Make sure you’re helmet size doesn’t increase because of this.

15 AND OVER DIVISION
1. Joel Shelley
2. Colin Crespino
3. Joey Kirkevan
4. Jor-El Lord
5. Trevor Ward

15 and over takes the tricks and talent from the first division and adds power and style. It’s amazing what happens to dudes when they grow a few inches and get some springs. Total domination of the dojo and an expanded trick bag from this group. We’ll have video footage shortly to give you a better idea. Good Looks Joel!!

SPONSORED DIVISION
1. Cody Maag
2. Josh Gibson
3. Matt Hanson
4. Bob Anderson
5. Anthony Grant

Again, you’ll have to wait for the video footage to really get a feel for what the sponsored division brought. The thing about jam format contests is it gives you a little more time to see the guys skate and get an idea of who rips the most consistently as opposed to who can just land a banger after a bunch of tries. Cody skated every heat like a veteran and just kept the tempo set at a consistent ripping of the entire course. He definitely was the most consistent skater in every heat. Cody’s going to be around for awhile..

Following the contest was the Nike SB Best Tricks contest. Usually best trick contests are all about hammers but this contest required dudes to get a trick on multiple obstacles to be in contention. The obstacles to be attacked were The Podium ledge and any combination of the 7 stair/hubbas or the Big 3. Just getting the best trick on either/or wasn’t good enough for the money, you had to get something on both. Here’s the breakdown of the guys who walked away with cash:

1. Erik Billups won it. Everyone knows he can jump down stuff but the consistency under pressure is really good. His winning combo was KF BS Nosegrind on The Podium followed up by a switch 360 Flip down the Big 3. Erik killed and walked away with $500. Don’t spend it all in one place.

2. Josh Gibson- Dude’s been on a tear recently and killed this contest. Several bangers went down but the ones that swayed the judges most were the KF Crooks on The Podium and Switch Inward Heel down the Big 3. Josh said he’s jobless right now so $300 should help out.

3. Cody Maag- Cody took care of biz in the contest and then continued the consistency in the best trick. He threw out several things but KF Crooks The Podium and FS Big Spin Heelflip down the 7 are what got him the $200.

Look out soon for video highlights of the contest.

Huge Thanks go out to: Ben, Dave, and Eric for judging, Nike SB, Tony at RedBull, Skate Mental, Alien Workshop, Toy Machine, Foundation, Volcom, Josh and Andy at Tribute Skateboards, the SkateChurch guys, Ried for working the sound and GIGANTIC THANKS to Betsy for the registration skills.

See everyone next time.

-The Dept.

We made a few little tweaks to the park this week. Here’s the photos:

We’re calling this the Westhusing Wheelchair ramp. Ryan and Andy threw this out as a possible upgrade and they were right.

We also swapped the angled manny pad out for a good old bank to ledge.

Sorry McGinn. Sorry Daewon.

Resident skate photog and all around great dude Garric Ray will be having his first ever photo show this upcoming Saturday night October 4th at Cal’s Pharmacy starting at 7:00PM. Over the last several years Garric has been documenting the dearth of skateboard talent that the northwest possesses and is for the first time assembling a collection of his favorite photos to display all in one place. If you look at all the greatest skate photographers through the years, the best ones are the self-taught guys who are skaters themselves and already have that perspective when they pick up the camera. Garric is definitely continuing this tradition and is someone you will continue to see great stuff from for quite a while. Make sure to come by Saturday night and check the show opening. The show will run for the entire month of October.

The Dept. will not be open for the 1-3:30 session on Tuesday. We will be open for the 3:30 and 6:30 sessions.

-The Dept.

The Dept. will be resuming it’s regular hours and will be open Labor Day Sept. 1st from 1:00-9:00pm.

Hey rail chompers, we’re premiering the new Fallen video “Ride The Sky” this Saturday night @ 9:00pm at The Dept. This vid is looking like the most anticipated video to drop this year and early accounts have it more than measuring up to other Jamie Thomas legendary sagas like “Thrill of it All” and “Dying to Live”. Chris Cole guys. Billy Marks. Pretty sure Billy’s cover shot of this months Thrasher snapped at OHSU will be in here. Make sure not to miss this premiere… it’s going to be a special one.

“Just Keep Going” An exhibition of photographs and Collage by Jai Tanju will be presented at Cal’s Pharmacy in Portland Oregon opening August 29th and will be on display until September 30th. Long time skateboard photographer and artist, Jai Tanju will be bringing his show “Just Keep Going” to the Northwest after stops in Tokyo and San Jose. The show will display many of Jai’s photos and collage from his book of the same title (Just Keep Going) as well as newer work. Artists reception will be Friday August 29th from 7 to 10pm with the melodic Dj stylings of ‘Cap’n Tony’. Special thanks goes to Adidas for helping bring the show to Portland.

Volcom has the photos, results, and coverage of the contest from Saturday up over at their website. Check it OUT. Congratulations Erik!!

Hey! Volcom’s Wild in the Parks contest returns to The Dept. this Saturday for the third year in a row. All the info you need is on the flyer and you can pre-register for the contest here.
Entry is limited so don’t sleep…
See you on Saturday.

(THE DEPT. WILL OBVIOUSLY NOT BE HAVING THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED SESSIONS ON SATURDAY. THE 101 LESSON SESSION WILL STILL BE GOING ON BUT WILL NOT INCLUDE THE 10-1 SESSION. IF YOU’RE PLANNING TO COME SKATE SATURDAY EVENING, GIVE A CALL AND SEE IF THE CONTEST IS OVER..)

Cal’s Pharmacy will be hosting a photo show and book release party next Friday July 11th for Mike Burnett’s new book “The Outskirts of Awesome”. The release party will run from 7-10pm and will feature music from Mike’s friends Yes Father. Most skateboard types who pay attention will know Mike as the driving force behind Thrasher Magazine over the last 5 years or so. If you’d like to see more of Mike’s photos check out michaelburnettphotography.com or follow him around here.

We’re going to be eating fireworks and setting off hotdogs.
That is all.

The Toy Machine dudes rolled through last Sunday on their “Oddity Odyssey” tour and put on a sick show despite the swelter. Those dudes are gnarly because they followed up their demo at Exit in Salem in 100+ degree heat Saturday by skating for 2 hours in 96 degree 90% humidity heat the next day. There was also lightning strikes going on outside but they weren’t fazed. Toy Machine has always had the reputation of busting at whatever spot, contest, demo or session they’re at. Here’s some photos in case you missed it:

It starts at the top, and if the boss is down to shred in unfavorable conditions, you better be bringing it too. The Tempster with a front blunt. What?

J. Lay powered a front feeble on the bank to bank.

Then followed it up with a smith schralp.

The hardest working pro skateboarder without his name on a board, Manson annihilated the course and his sweat glands.

And when you’re rippin’, the fans take notice.

From what we hear, the Toy dudes were super cool to all the skaters in Salem and followed it up with everyone in Portland. These guys appreciate the fans and The Dept. appreciates the skaters too. Take that into consideration the next time you’re looking at the board wall for your next deck.

-The Dept.

Hey Everyone,
Toy Machine is smack dab in the middle of their Oddity Odyssey West Coast Tour and are going to be stopping by The Dept. this Sunday June 29th at 4:00pm. You tell us if this isn’t a heavy hitting lineup: Billy Marks, Johnny Layton, Matt Bennett, Ed Templeton, Austin Stephens, and some serious flow’ers. Toy Machine never fails to deliver and the last time guys came through we had to turn the lights off on them to get them to quit skating. You always get your money’s worth, which doesn’t matter since the demo is free.
See you on Sunday.

Hey, this Saturday is Go Skateboarding Day. We know, every day is Go Skateboarding Day but June 21st is the only day you can search Wikipedia and have it tell you it’s Go Skateboarding Day so we’re going with it. If you’ve been hanging around the skateboard scene for the last few years you may be aware that we have a few events we do every Go Skateboarding Day to try and maximize the fun and this year is no different. It all starts up Saturday morning at 9:00am at the peak of Mt. Tabor. We’ll be SkateRacing again this year and if you’re not the competitive kind, make sure to show up and just cruise it for fun. Details of the route will be available at the starting point.

Once the SkateRace is over and you’ve had a chance to chill for a minute, get your team together and head over to The Dept. The GSD Video Challenge v.3.0 will be kicking off at 12:00 noon. If you’re not familiar with this challenge, think of Thrasher’s King of the Road but instead of traveling cross country for weeks you’re traveling across town for hours. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check this out.
This is a team event and there is a $50 entry fee to compete and be eligible to win money. Teams are welcome to participate just for the fun of it but will be ineligible for prize money. Again, meet up at The Dept. at 12:00 noon to go over the rules and regulations.

We want to emphasize that these events are supposed to be fun and in the spirit of true skateboarding and are in no way supposed to be taken too seriously. We appreciate the skateboard community in the city of Portland and the surrounding areas and want to positively contribute to this community however we can. Hopefully events like this help accomplish that. Thanks to everyone who has participated in the past and participate in Go Skateboarding Day every day. We’ll see you on Saturday.

-Cal’s Pharmacy/The Dept. of Skateboarding.

Hey Everyone.
Sorry for the short notice but that’s how we do stuff over here. If you took part in last years’ Go Skateboarding Day “Search for Mikey Chin Video Challenge” than you need to make sure to stop by The Dept. tomorrow night @ 8:00PM for the premiere of the footage and the crowning of the champs. If you get this info and were on a team, make sure to let all your other goofy buddies know.

See you tomorrow.