COS Cup Dessau | Deutsche Skateboardmeisterschaft 2025

As at the previous COS Cup in Saarbrücken, the late summer weather on the last weekend in August was at its best. The few threatening clouds did not rain, and as soon as the sun came out, it became downright hot. Some of the starters were also hot, as the goal in Dessau was not only to win the local event, but also the German championship. In 2025, this was once again decided based on “points collected from all three events,” so many were already able to calculate quite well what place they would need to achieve in Dessau in order to reach a certain position in the overall standings. With a similar starting field, this was already very interesting, but when someone like Alex Mizurov, who had not competed in any contests at that point, suddenly came around the corner, it created some unexpected new excitement.

Anyway, as usual, Saturday afternoon kicked off with the qualifiers, which saw a noticeable number of starters in the B group, i.e. the unsponsored riders. In addition, the 2nd COS Cup had apparently made such a good impression on some homies from Saarbrücken that they too made the seemingly endless journey from the Saarland. Mad respect! It was a bit of a shame that no one from the Berlin area made the effort to come to Dessau, especially since the journey from the capital was nothing compared to the distances so many others had traveled. And what about Leipzig? And Hanover? And Chemnitz? As a result, there were a disappointing 11 starters in total in the A division, which meant that there would be no semifinals the next day. So, make sure you've got all your tricks ready...!

On Saturday evening, there was to be an “aftershow party” for the first time in a long time. What used to be common practice at every COS Cup has unfortunately become less and less common over the last few years. Whether this was and is due to the age of the protagonists is impossible to say, but at least something was happening again. Since the park (with the adjacent youth center where the party was to take place), the accommodation, and the Greek restaurant were all within walking distance, we first took a shower after the contest (a completely new experience for some), then dinner (thanks to Steffen Krüger for generously picking up the bill), and then... not to the after-show party, as according to witnesses, it was already over by 11 p.m. Too bad, because in the past, that was when things were just getting started, but in 2025, a lot of things are different.

Perhaps skateboarders these days are simply more focused on skating than partying. In our room, at least, the first ones were fast asleep by midnight, and no one had a hangover the next morning. Due to the absence of the A Division semi-finals, the six finalists didn't have to compete until late afternoon, which was great for skating – nothing is worse than having to perform at your best at noon on a Sunday. In Dessau, this honor was bestowed upon the B Division, but that didn't detract from the level of competition. In the S Division, Bartosz Cisielski, who was actually a hot contender for the German (S Division) championship title, had completely messed up his run the day before, so Nick Wauer was virtually guaranteed the title. Jessica Tran had everything under control in the ladies' competition as usual, although Maja Dreger from Frankfurt narrowly took first place in the local event. However, this did not change her overall victory. Monchef Khamlichi proved that consistent participation and podium finishes pay off, also clinching the German championship title in the B Division. Congratulations!

Things got exciting in the big A Division final, especially because, as mentioned at the beginning, Alex Mizurov was at the start. Alex has taken a bit of a back seat in terms of competitions in recent years, but anyone who knows him knows that his consistency is always breathtaking. This, coupled with the “5 tricks per obstacle on 3 different obstacles” format in addition to the actual runs, saw him finish in 3rd place. This was certainly a little sad for Tim Otto, who had the run of his life and also excelled on the individual obstacles, but the judges saw it a little differently. Second place went to Dominic Wenzel, who thus became the new German champion. First place went to Mika Möller, who finished second in the overall standings, together with Tim Otto. All in all, it was a fair and deserved result, and there were no complaints. Oh, and there was also the Ravenol Barrel Jump, but only a few of the starters seemed to have enough energy left for this event. Nico Böttcher secured himself another weekend in the Bretterbude, and congratulations are in order here as well.

And that was it for the COS Cup series at the 2025 German Championships. Thank you to all the sponsors, thank you to all the riders for their commitment, and of course thank you to Raik and Andes Skatepark for their wonderful hospitality. Thank you to COS and the entire crew, especially for finally serving beer from the tap on Sundays. See you next year!