LOS ANGELES (October 27, 2008)—The LG Action Sports World Championships (LG World Championships) is excited to announce that a line-up of the 2008 season’s most elite action sports athletes is confirmed to compete in Seattle for the most prestigious title of the year. From October 31 – November 2 at Seattle’s KeyArena 150 of the world’s best pros in Skateboard, BMX, and Inline Skating will vie for their share of the $600,000 purse and title of LG Action Sports World Champion.

The defending LG Action Sports World Champion in Skateboard Vert, Pierre-Luc Gagnon (Montreal, Canada), has claimed all the most notable titles this season (the Maloof Money Cup, the X Games and the Mountain Dew Cup) and plans to top it off with the 2008 LG World Championship title. However, he’ll have to overcome challenges from Bucky Lasek (Baltimore, Maryland), 17 year-old sensation Alex Perelson (San Diego, Calif.), Bob Burnquist (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and San Diego’s Andy MacDonald to name just a few. Skateboard Vert prelims take place on Saturday afternoon, with the finals on Sunday.

BMX Vert will feature a tough competition as all the competitors chase the top man of the last four years, 37 year-old Jamie Bestwick (Nottingham, England). Bestwick will be going for his fifth consecutive LG World Championships. Challenging him during the Saturday evening final will be a talented group of bikers including Simon Tabron (Newquay, England), Chad Kagy (Gilroy, Calif.), Jimmy Walker (Chicago, Illinois), Melbourne, Australia’s Steven McCann, and Paso Robles, California’s John Parker.

Rodolfo Ramos of Cascavel-Pavel, Brazil returns to the LG World Championships hoping to repeat his 2007 performance as the Skateboard Street champion. He’ll face a strong field of street skaters, including Paul Rodriguez (Chatsworth, Calif.), Greg Lutzka (Milwaukee, Wis.), Danilo do Rosario (Curitiba), and Austen Seaholm (Anaheim, Calif.). Prelims and finals take place on Sunday afternoon. Daniel Dhers (Caracas, Venezuela), Craig Mast (Warren, Ohio), Rob Darden (Greenville, SC), Ryan Guettler (Queensland, Australia), and Garrett Reynolds (Toms River, New Jersey), top the list of BMX Street competitors looking to dethrone the 2007 world champion Morgan Wade of Tyler, Texas. The BMX Street action begins on Friday, with the finals following on Saturday afternoon. The Inline Skating world will be represented by the superstar pros in both Vert and Street, as well as in Women’s Street.

A complete roster of athletes for each contest can be found on the event web site at www.lgactionsports.com.

Tickets for the LG Action Sports World Championships include daily concerts by The Game (Friday evening), MxPx (Saturday afternoon), Pennywise (Saturday night) and Hoobastank (Sunday afternoon), and sponsor village activities. Tickets can be purchased at the KeyArena Box Office, via Ticketmaster.com, at all Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 206 628 0123 to charge them by phone. Three-day reserved seats packages are also available at discounted rates through www.ticketmaster.com or at the KeyArena Box Office.

A morning trip to Lido Beach.

Bob Burnquist on his Mega Ramp: Photo Courtesy of The New York Times

VISTA, Calif. — The largest skateboard ramp in the world can be found on a 12-acre farm north of San Diego among the green foothills of the San Marcos Mountains.

Pilots routinely adjust their flight paths for a closer look, which is as good a way as any to sum up the scale of the Mega Ramp. The wooden structure is longer than a football field, as tall as an eight-story building, with a creek bed running through a 70-foot breach.

On a recent sunny afternoon, the ramp’s owner, Bob Burnquist, a renowned 30-year-old professional skateboarder from Brazil, peered over the side to treetops below and said: “I’m not afraid of falling. I’m afraid I might jump.”

That mind-set helps on the Mega Ramp, where skaters reach speeds of up to 55 miles an hour and soar like stuntmen.

Approximately 360 feet long, the ramp is 75 feet high at its apex. That is where riders begin their run, speeding down a 180-foot-long roll-in to a ramp that launches them across a 70-foot gap with trapeze netting below. Landing on a 27-foot sloped section, they then boost up to 50 feet above the ground from a 30-foot quarterpipe. A shorter route begins with a 55-foot-tall platform leading to a 50-foot gap, and the 30-foot quarterpipe. (more…)

Here is some old School footage of the Author Brandon cardone back in good old 1997. This video part came out of a skate video produced by Bingerville Productions and was put toghether to highlight some of the top unkown skateboarders in the upsate NY area back then.