For the first time in rebeljam history the event was street only. It was decided to give the street riders an unfiltered BMX platform in London at the York Hall Leisure Centre. Riders had shown up during the week and were anxious to try the course designed by
BK and
Jeff K on Friday. The last decals were thrown on the obstacles in the morning and once the light was turned to green, the riding never stopped. Art ramps had transfered the course design on paper into an interesting street course which is donated to Rampworks after the event. Riders in the Liverpool area will get to ride the rails etc. in the upcoming months.
66 of the best street riders got to enjoy the set-up for muliple hours on Friday and Saturday and the atmosphere was great. Riders were feeding off of eachother and the tricks and lines were pushed to the next level. People were simply enjoying the sessions and many high-5-s, knuckles and man hugs were shared. The international field of riders were scheduled to compete at 14:45hr on Saturday.
With limited spots available for people to watch, the place filled up quickly at 2pm right before the contest started. With
Catfish and
Darryl Nau on the microphones the comp was in good hands. These MC-s have been announcing multiple rebeljams and they know what sort of vibe it can create.
A total of 11 groups had to be taken care of on Saturday in qualification, plus finals. Add 4 hours of practice to 22 November and you'll understand there was no shortage of grinds, transfers and barspins that day. Making it to the finals were:
Dennis Pavlov, Mike Curley, Jason Eustathiou, Alex Kennedy, Dan Paley, Felix Prangenberg, Reed Stark, Simone Barraco, Kevin Kalkoff, Ty Morrow, Alex Donnachie, Joris Coulomb, Roy van Kempen, Bruno Hoffmann, Dakota Roche and
Garrett Reynolds. Four of which got a final spot through a wildcard, decided by the judges.
The live webcast kicked in right when the finals started. Red Bull had brought over a TV crew with 6 of them big cameras and set up a full studio underneath the stage. It was a full on production studio getting the right angles on all the action during the live feed. You've probably seen the videos and or live feed or maybe you were lucky enough to get a seat at the York Hall to witness it live. To name all the tricks is pointless these days as videos speak louder than words.
Although it was a street only contest the riders had different styles and used the course in their own ways.
Kevin Kalkoff for instance rides bowls a lot but entered the street comp because he liked the set-up and won the Best Style award, one of the extra prizes to be won at the rebeljam. Kevin said:
"I was really surprised to win the best style award. I came here knowing it was a street contest but I saw the course and said to myself I'll go anyway because I really like the rebeljam format. I made it to the finals through a wildcard and am really happy I got the best style award."
The Best Line award went to
Bruno Hoffmann who even skipped a party to do well the next day, which still started off with a few crashes in practice but once the pressure was on, the German Vans/Red Bull/Federal posterboy pulled it together. His
opposite icepick grind to manual to oppo ice on the kinked rail to 180 out was a good way for him to finish it up in Bethnal Green. It's impossible to think of a scenario to end an event with a banger but it seemed like the riders really wanted to bring it and do something they really wanted to do.
Joris Coulomb is a great rider but seems to get nervous during comps but at the rebeljam he had enough practice to feel comfortable and blocked out all surroundings to go for his best trick. The French Subrosa won the Best Trick award and said: "The course was perfect for my type of riding and the vibe was cool. Everyone was riding good in practice and I got really comfortable, more than usual. I got stoked to ride and then it worked. The last trick just crossed my mind. It was scary but I knew I could do that rail manual to switch whip in the bank. So stoked about it." Next to the special award winners the normal comp results saw a surprising winner. Judges had a hard time defining the ranking for the top five but with guys like
Markus Wilke, Cory Martinez, Jeff K, Hank and
Alex Valentino in the judging panel it was in good hands.
Third place went to
Alex Kennedy who almost rode a home game. His tech riding with nose bonks over a fence to tables and t-bogs thrown into grind lines got smiles on the judges faces. His 180 crook to 180 crook on the kinker was nuts. Second place went to
Garrett Reynolds who has won many comps in his life before but had to settle for second and was probably happy he didn't have to do the TV interviews after his riding. Garrett is such a technically skilled shedder that it's hard to tell when he's riding switch or spins the bars the other direction or turns the other way. The Red Bull rider can do it all.
Imagine you're coming down to ride the comp just because all your friends are going to be there and you don't want to miss out on the good times. Imagine winning the comp and your friends pick you up and bring you to the stage to pick up your first place trophy. It happened to
Alex Donnachie from Scotland and he simply could not believe it. It was even the first big contest he ever entered and things just fell into place when he was riding in front of all his BSD friends.
In Alex the 2014 Vans rebeljam had a happy ending with a surprising winner but one who deserved it the most.
Bring on 2015.
BdJVans rebeljam 2014 Winners
1st Place: Alex Donnachie (UK)
2nd Place: Garrett Reynolds (USA)
3rd Place: Alex Kennedy (UK)
Special Awards
Creativity Award: Bruno Hoffmann (GER)
Style Award: Kevin Kalkoff (FRA)
Hardest Trick Award: Joris Coulomb (FRA)
With limited spots available for people to watch, the place filled up quickly at 2pm right before the contest started. With Catfish and Darryl Nau on the microphones the comp was in good hands. These MC-s have been announcing multiple rebeljams and they know what sort of vibe it can create. 
Although it was a street only contest the riders had different styles and used the course in their own ways. Kevin Kalkoff for instance rides bowls a lot but entered the street comp because he liked the set-up and won the Best Style award, one of the extra prizes to be won at the rebeljam. Kevin said: "I was really surprised to win the best style award. I came here knowing it was a street contest but I saw the course and said to myself I'll go anyway because I really like the rebeljam format. I made it to the finals through a wildcard and am really happy I got the best style award." 
The Best Line award went to Bruno Hoffmann who even skipped a party to do well the next day, which still started off with a few crashes in practice but once the pressure was on, the German Vans/Red Bull/Federal posterboy pulled it together. His opposite icepick grind to manual to oppo ice on the kinked rail to 180 out was a good way for him to finish it up in Bethnal Green. It's impossible to think of a scenario to end an event with a banger but it seemed like the riders really wanted to bring it and do something they really wanted to do. 
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.