The second ever Maloof Money Cup NYC (presented by Vans) is coming up June 4 & 5, 2011! Amazing event, killer skating and first-class all the way around. Not to be one-upped by Street League (Dyrdek’s brainchild,which is hopefully not turning into the WWE of sk8 with all the contract exclusivity nonsense), this year’s Maloof is boasting the biggest potential prize purse in skateboarding. The Maloofs, Joe and Gavin, also own the Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas and the NBA Sacramento Kings and they began the Maloof Money Cup in 2008 with an Orange County, CA contest that set a new standard for skateboard competitions.
The domain of big-money sports and skateboarding haven’t clashed too much and it’s great that the purses are reflecting the interest ( both fan and corporate) in extreme sports. Keeping legit sk8 major players as the heart of the competition is a must – and the Maloofs have it right by having Ryan Clements (O.G.) and SPoTlight Productions run and judge the Maloof Money Cup street contests.
But this year, there’s some funny vibes with contract issues have created a teensy bit of conflict for some skaters, particularly Greg Lutzka (who completely killed it at the Boston Dew Tour/ ISF Skate Open last year, let’s not forget). Lutzka was contracted to do Street League, but then would have to make a choice between that commitment and also skating in the Dew Tour and Maloof as the latter events are not “sanctioned” by Street League. For real.
Lutzka opted for the Dew Tour and Maloof and a big influence in the decision was no doubt the better exposure for himself as a skater, more fans watching the Dew Tour and Maloof and better media exposure for his sponsors. One issue regarding Street League: the events were great, courses great, skating unbelievable, but the delay in televising the events weeks after they happened was a real liability as far as making the events accessible for fans. This year, Street League events will be televised live (first event on ESPN and three following events on ESPN2), which will be exactly what the fans want.
Chris Cole is also a Street League skater and word is that Dyrdek will grant him a release to skate Maloof. This does bring up issues of fairness as well as remaining unfettered in a sport that is about being an individualist. There’s always a method to Dyrdek’s madness and it will no doubt be good for the sport, but a pain for a few individual skaters.
The Maloofs have also added another competition spot for this year: Washington, D.C. on Labor Day weekend.
They have a stacked selection committee selecting the skaters: Mike Burnett (Thrasher); Skin Phillips (Transwordl); Andrew Reynolds (Baker); JamieHart (Vans); Steve Rodriguez (5Boro); Mike Sinclair (Tumyeto); Fred Van Schie (Sole Technology); Bill Weis (Dwindle); and Sam Smythe (Girl) and SPoTlight Productions.
So who has been invited to Maloof so far? Here goes…
- Alex Olson
- Andrew Reynolds
- Anthony Van Engelen
- Arto Saari
- Austyn Gillette
- Bastien Salabanzi
- Brandon Westgate
- Brian Anderson
- Bryan Herman
- Chris Haslam
- Chris Pfanner
- David Gravette
- Dennis Busenitz
- Garrett Hill
- Geoff Rowley
- Grant Taylor
- Greg Lutzka
- Justin Brock
- Leo Romero
- Lizard King
- Sierra Fellers
- Tom Asta
- Tony Trujillo
- Vincent Alvarez
- Chima Ferguson
- Emmanuel Guzman
- Braydon Szafranski
- Stefan Janoski
- Zered Bassett
- Danny Cerezini
- Colin Provost
- Theotis Beasley
- Nick Trapasso
- Corey Duffel
- Eli Reed
- Jake Duncombe
- Nick Merlino
MMC 2011 will be tight as ever; the jam format will keep the high energy vibe and make for creative skating.
The MMC NYC contest will be broadcast live on FuelTV and also in a live webcast on MaloofMoneyCup.com
Medit8: Om Just Sayin' 