The KDC Grand Slam Johannesburg Regional Qualifiers went down on 13-14 June as a feature at Clarkson, Hammond, & May Live show at The Dome in which over 120 skaters came out to compete for their share of cash and wildcard entries to KDC in Rider Cup, TopGrom, and Open Division categories.
Although there were sounds of engines revving and beers being drank by car heads all weekend, the JHB skate community was in full effect and as loud as ever. Always good to see a big squad of skaters out in support of their bros. The Old School Productions crew put out a rad course with a good variety of transition and street obstacles and had a little bit of everything to offer.
In addition to the usual suspects and podium winners, out of the 100+ guys that showed up throughout the course of the weekend, a few names that stand out are Damian Bramley, Jeremy Stone, Yann Horowitz, Taylor Sturgess, Allan Adams, TK Modise, Evan Binge, and Daniel Miltiadou, to name a few.
In the end, it was Moses Adams who took out Khule Ngubane in the final heat for the top spot and R15,000 cash. Team Pavement Special held it down in the Rider Cup division and you can find Shuaib Philander, Taylor Sturgess, Adam Woolf, and Anthony de Mendonca in the Rider Cup finals at Kimberley Diamond Cup. Up and coming Jozi grom Nhlanhla Nkononde was ripping all weekend, earning the title of TopGrom of the weekend. Kanya Spani capped off the contest with a Bennett grind down the hubba for the R2,000 cash in the Best Trick contest.
Thanks to all of our sponsors and partners who made the event possible and contributed to another great KDC Grand Slam stop: Vans, Kumba Iron Ore, Northern Cape Tourism, Red Bull, Top Grom, World Skateboarding Grand Prix, Aquavita, Old School Productions, Pragmatics, and everyone at the Clarkson, Hammond, & May staff for incorporating us into their event.
Our next and final KDC Grand Slam Regional Qualifiers of 2015 will be in Durban on 27 June. We’ll be awarding wildcard entries to the top 5 previously unqualified skaters in TopGrom & Open Divisions along with the top Rider Cup team.
Results
Best Trick
Kanya Spani: Bennett grind hubba ledge- R2,000
Rider Cup
Team Pavement Special- R10,000
Taylor Sturgess
Shuaib Philander
Anthony De Mendonca
Adam Woolf
TopGrom
1. Nhlanhla Nkononde- R2500
2. Jamie De Villiers- R1500
3. Brian Stylianou- R750
Open Div.
1. Moses Adams- R15,000
2. Khule Ngubane- R6,000
3. Alan Marola- R3,000
The top 5 previously unqualified skaters from the TopGrom and Open Divisions earned a spot in the TopGrom and KDC SA Championships at KDC this October. Check out the updated list including those skaters who qualified from this event here.
TopGrom champ Nhlanhla Nkononde with a kickflip down the 3 stair. Every year this dude is progressing so much, can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.
Jamie de Villiers from Durban with a backside grind.
Damian Bramley from Kimberley with a melon grab from bank to bank.
Taylor Sturgess with a back T.
A few motocross shows went down throughout the weekend, however, as impressive as it was, the skate crowd was definitely louder than the general public that was there for the moto sports.
Daniel Miltiadou with the biggest (and only) acid drop of the weekend.
Boipelo points out a backside salad down the 3.
Trae “Malibu” Rice with a feeble grind.
Bra Woolf with a flick over the rail. Adam put a few of these down throughout the course of the weekend.
Spice may have disowned Joburg but he owns switch frontside ollies over the bank to bank. So much pop and power, every time.
Brendan Dyamond was putting these boneless bluntslides down the rail all weekend. Always a treat seeing this one go down.
Alan Marola gaps out to backside 5-0.
Khule Ngubane, always in the running and never sturggling with his backside noseblunts on A-Frame rails.
Moses Adams, fatty to flatty tre flip.
Kanya Spani with a Bennett grind for the best trick win.
Some of the best in the game with one of the guys behind the scenes, Markus Museler from Old School Productions.
Best trick winner Kanya Spani took home two G’s for a Bennett grind down the hubba.
Looking forward to seeing Team Pavement Specials at the Rider Cup Team Championships at KDC this October.
TopGrom finalists from left to right: Nhlanhla Nkononde, Jamie De Villiers, and Brian Stylianou.
Open division finalists from left to right: Khule Ngubane, Moses Adams, and Alan Marola.
Congrats to all our finalists! Thanks for being a part of another rad coming together of Johannesburg skateboarders.
Words: Chinner
Photos: Rudi Jeggle