Sports Authority/TASCO Am Sectional
Event Recap - By Jeff Hermanek

April 1 St. Petersburg, Florida
The TASCO / Sports Authority Extreme Sportsfest took place at Spa Beach along the Atlantic Ocean and the St. Petersburg Peir. This two day street event was nothing short of spectacular. The pleasant weather and ideal locale helped bring in hoards of people as the event was the center attraction of the Peirfest put on by Florida Festival of States and TASCO, the teen program that offers teens arts, sports and cultural activities. The event was spread out into a two-day format. The 12 and under and open divisions ran all of Saturday morning. It was a challenge to run almost 40 skaters in two hours, but it made for great competition and kept the bleachers full of spectators and supportive family members. The course, provided by Central Skatepark and the City of St. Petersburg, offered limited lines, however this helped bring out the creativity in all divisions. The mini ramp was incorporated into the street course contest and included a 9 foot roll in off the back of the elevated ramp. Somewhat local Floridian, Steve Calabrese, took the 12 and under title and left with a trophy that was almost as tall as he is. His brother, Patrick Calabrese took fifth. The Calabrese family is no stranger to the ASA Amateur Circuit thanks to a very supportive mom and dad. Keep your eye out for these two in the future, they have a promising opportunity to excel even further in this sport. Local Central Skatepark skater Stephen Malandro walked off with 1st place in the Open division. Last years winner in the Expert division, Mike Lilly, edged out favorite Chase Harding by only 2 points in a very exciting Expert final that was held on Sunday. The expert division advanced 10 new skaters into the Regional Championship event at Central Skatepark on June 10. The Florida scene seems to be as strong as ever. The only woman competitor, Amanda (L.A) Morris, represented the women's side finishing 9th overall in the beginners contests among 23 skaters. Congratulations to her. There was also a sanctioned skateboarding contest ran by the crew from Central Skatepark, Jay Turner and Dean Dupree, and their Skateboarding Association of America as well as a BMX street contest. All 3 contests saw a total of over 200 athletes in the two-day event. Thanks to all athletes for making an exciting event. Encompassing the event was a 3 on 3 basketball tournament, carnival rides, inflatable games, rock wall climb, product tents and concerts nightly. This was the second year for the Extreme Sportsfest. It was a new event for the ASA Amateur Circuit. We are already looking forward to the event next year. A big thanks goes out to Robert Norton and his staff at TASCO for producing a great event and to Jay Turner, Dean Dupree and their staff from Central Skatepark for providing and setting up all the ramps for the event.

Results below...