DOWNUNDERGROUND PERTH 2009 - FLATLAND JAM SERIES.

Words by Shaun Jarvis
Photos by Andy Fortini.

The Newcircle Downunderground round one Perth 6th November 2009.
Supported by Newcircle, Freestyle Now, Rebel Yell Bmx Mag, Colony, Airwalk


The weekend of the 6th November was a weekend where people travelled vast distances to ride a two wheeled human powered machine in a fashion most would see as peculiar.
It was the weekend of the start of the DownUnderGround flatland contest series. To masses, contests are all about winning and the competition must be crushed just like in the ending of karate kid but...........arrrrrrh fuck it who gives a shit about winning, we ride BMX bikes and compete against mates. Yes, it may have been a contest but to the riders it was an opportunity to travel and live. This is the essence of the DownUnderGround.

Riders from all over the country were in attendance and the action went down hard and fast. DJ Drew was on hand to throw down some phat beats and keep the pace up tempo.
There are two classes for the riders to compete in, Middies and Advanced. These two classes cover the broad spectrum of skills that are present in the flatland community here in Australia.

In the Middies Jason Parker took the win. Jason was not going to ride due to some back wheel problems but after some good advice from Queenslander Brett Dighton he kept his wits about him and took top spot with his unique style of tricks. Perth rider Mike Brandt, 2nd, rode some solid runs and kept his feet off the ground and on his bike to score second. Shaun Jarvis, 3rd, must have had an off day and could not keep his bike and feet connected all to well. Park and street rider Andy Fontini took to the comp well and made some new friends in the process. It was awesome to see him competing.


In the advanced class the riders had to compete to find the order for the battle round finals.
First up, Andrew McDermott. In his first run he was a bit rough but his second run was far better and knocked back some solid tricks. Representing his home state of South Australia and sponsors Newcircle and Colony, Shane Badman has a somewhat off first run but his second run more than made up for it. Queenslander Brett Dighton put out some super tough new links but a few too many touches was his only drawback. Ben Moran from Victoria is a very original rider and put some of his originality to good use. With original manoeuvres mixed with some mad spins Ben seemed to be focused. With the qualifying over it was time to battle it out in the qualifying order of Andrew, Brett, Ben, Shane.

Battle round 1
Andrew McDermott v Brett Dighton
Tricks were done and the judges awarded the win to Brett unanimously
4th place to Andrew McDermott and $100
Battle round 2
Brett Dighton v Ben Moran
With the battle round over the judges could not split them, so they had to battle again. Brett was stating to waiver with the demanding amount of riding he was getting through, but with some fine riding from Brett and with Ben having a few touches Brett took the win.
3rd place Ben Moran and $200
Battle round 3
Brett Dighton v Shane Badman
This could have gone either way. If Shane made too many mistakes and Brett was on it, it could have made for some interesting results. But that did not happen. Brett had the tricks firing out but they just did not have the same level of intensity as Shane had.  Shane was on it and put out two solid 30 second battle runs all while ripping his thumb nail in half in the process. The judges collectively knew Shane had it in the bag.
2nd place Brett Dighton and $300
1st place Shane Badman and $400

All in all the Newcircle Downunderground round one was a great success. The contest format was dialled. The setting was great, with a mass of people being exposed to bmx flatland. The surface was good and a happening vibe went down all day. Thanks to all the sponsors - Newcircle, Freestyle Now, Rebel Yell Bmx Mag, Colony, Airwalk

Round two in Sydney takes place on the 22nd may 2010

CHECK OUT here for more info and updates about the Jam in Sydney.