Vainstream Riot 2024

Anyone who remembers the event in 2024 will certainly still have the pictures of numerous spectators under a blue sky in mind, so it was a "bummer" that the contest was held in one of the exhibition halls this year. Of course, it can't be denied that one or two riders wouldn't have minded a ramp in the shade, but from a purely photographic and spectator point of view, this was certainly more of a "downgrade". You always try to make an event more exciting from year to year, but here certain winds were taken out of your sails. Be that as it may, the Danes were back at the start, the Dutch were there anyway and the German miniramp elite were also pretty united. This was anything but a matter of course, as the "Mystic Cup" in Prague and the "Helsinki Helride" took place on the same weekend. However, our ever-popular "Frequent-Guests" once again found their way to Münster and so it promised to be a big party indeed.

So we started on Friday and were delighted when we finally made it into the hall with the real monster of a mini ramp (thanks to Schützi and IOU Ramps!). Control here, "admission only from 2" there (actually the contest should have started by then), it was like always at a festival like this. Sometimes you have the right wristband and the right security, sometimes it's the other way around. I still dream that at an event like this with a very manageable number of skateboarders there will be a wristband where all the security know "we'll leave them alone, it's all justified". It works with the artists too, at least I can hardly imagine anyone being stopped from doing a sound check there "because it doesn't open until 2 o'clock". But be that as it may, the plentiful beer supply finally put a smile on everyone's face and we were ready to go!

The contest was held in a jam format, which was the best solution according to everyone involved. What was certainly less well resolved was the medical care. Literally in the last minute of the final, Lenni leaned a little too far back after a transfer into the "taco", putting extreme pressure on his back leg and resulting in a "shootout". It was immediately clear that something had really happened, but it took what felt like an eternity for the first paramedics to arrive. They were hopelessly overwhelmed by the situation, as were all the other medical staff who gathered around Lenni over the next few minutes. It took a whole three quarters of an hour (!), 2 mobile stretchers, 2 emergency doctors and a few people from the fire department until Lenni was finally able to leave the flat of the ramp. This end to the Friday contest was quite a downer, but I was all the happier when I saw Lenni coming out of the hostel on crutches the next morning. The MRT will show what exactly happened, heads up Lenni!

The award ceremony started at noon on Saturday and Tim Rebensdorf took the title home to Stuttgart. His unbelievable lines and the way he "charged" the ramp had left a visible impression on the judges. Jason Lijnzaat, also recently recovered from a broken leg, tried again on the board, but had to admit after just a few laps that he probably needed a few more weeks to heal. Lorenz Schneider, on the other hand, joined in and proved that after almost half a year without skateboarding due to injury, he can still do the whole thing. He shared the Highest Air title with Dannie Carlssen and collected a few euros in "Cash for Tricks". Dannie and Sören Noe won the "Double Trouble" event unchallenged and so everyone was happy and satisfied at the end of the day. Thanks to everyone involved behind the scenes, the Vainstream, Rob Roulaux on the mic and, as always, all the riders, without whom this event would never have been possible!