ULTRA Malmö Bowl contest weekend underway!

Yeah, what a loser – I’m sitting here in front of my laptop in rainy Hamburg, Germany and around the globe some major contests are kicking off. But not all is lost – the number of tech-oriented skaters and companies are growing and the live streaming possibilities are as well. But to get this weekend started let me show you the way to the ULTRA Malmö Bowl contest first (Malmö, Sweden – July 25th and 26th 2009).

Yes, back to the incredible bowl landscape in Malmö. This year Quiksilver is not the organizer/financing body behind the scenes – it’s been pushed by Bryggeriet, the city of Malmö and some other media partners this time around and the contest is concentrating mainly on the backyard pool which is tight, steep and offers pool specialists everything they need to rip. The list of participants is quite rad as well with Benji Galloway, Bill Danforth, Ben Schroeder, the incredible Kevin Kowalski and seriously many, many more top riders invading the Swedish air and grind space this weekend. 7000 Euros are up for grabs in the bowl and that’s not all. Semester Skateboards presents “Big Charge”, a best trick competition on the 10 stair and handrail spot where you can win some cash out of the 1000 Euros prize purse. And for the women out skating there’s a mini ramp contest with another 1000 Euros and almost unbelievable: a freestyle demo! I’m betting right now with myself that many readers haven’t ever even seen a freestyle skateboarder…am I correct?

The guys from Vert.nu (greetings dudes!) are there of course and they already have a great selection of pictures from Friday’s action online – check out the gallery right here.

And even more fun than the pictures: perfect if you didn’t make it and even better if it’s raining – there’s a live webcast of all of the action today and tomorrow from 12:00 – 19:00 CET, just click right here to watch it all!

So I’ll just head out into the rain to walk my dog and then settle on back in here to watch the riding: I have to admit that I’ll be secretly supporting the German crew that made the trip up there (Wolfgangsta, Anders, Thilo, Kevin and Gerd from Bailgun will be getting those good pics as usual). And definitely Ben Schroeder as well after the laughs we had last year, top guy!