Point Loma resident Josh Stafford, 17, has returned from Shanghai, China, where he placed second in the vert skateboarding competition in his first professional foray during the X-Games Asia.
Stafford participated for the third consecutive year in the X-Games ” the previous two times qualifying as an amateur athlete.
“It was a good experience. It was really crazy over there since it was my first time out of the country,” Stafford said.
Stafford finished second in the vert event with a time of 86.67 behind fellow American Andy MacDonald. Stafford also won the silver medal in the 2007 X-Games and claimed the bronze medal in 2006.
The X-Games Asia includes in-line skating, BMX bike riding, vert skateboarding, motocross motorcycling and sports-climbing speed events for men and women.
The vert competition involves a skateboarder on a U-shaped vertical ramp surface that allows the skater to fly into the air and land back onto the ramp.
While in the air, the skater performs tricks like flips, spins or other maneuvers that cannot be done on a flat surface. Scoring the vert competition is based on a combination of points, assessing the ability to flip the board, getting altitude off the ramp and overall style.
Last year, skater Jake Brown was injured while he performed on the vertical ramp, flying too high, losing control of the board and falling 40 feet to the bottom of the ramp. Brown landed on his back but was able to walk away despite his injuries.
The SMP Skatepark in New Jiangwan ” just outside Shanghai ” is the world’s largest skatepark.
“This is the second year that they have had the event over there. The people over there are really into the X-Games. It is very popular there,” Stafford said.
SMP opened in 2005 and is over 150 meters in length and over 147,000 square feet in total size.
Because of his second-place finish in the X-Games Asia this year, Stafford will qualify for future X-Games events, including the upcoming ASA Finals in Dallas.
“You don’t really qualify to make the X-Games in Asia. You have to be accepted, and my finish this year will allow me to qualify for these future competitions,” emphasized Stafford.
