On Wednesday the festival kicked off. Thousands of festival goers descended onto the small town of Newquay, blocking the streets as they queued up to collect their crates of cider. Thursday was the first practice day on the familiar Canna miniramp. There had been some small alterations this year however, switching from a 4ft transition to another 5ft and widening the channel gap. These alterations were approved by the majority of the riders.

“After one run, the heavens opened with no chance of letting up…”

Although it was dry and warm, the wind was an issue in the larger 7ft section, blowing you onto the deck one side and to flat on the other. Because of this, instead of big airs, a heavy tech session went down that day.

Saturday’s qualifiers got rained off, with the hope to run straight finals on Sunday. That meant most riders didn’t even have a practice session on the ramp. Sundays finals kicked off with a uncertain weather forecast… Due to the forecast the judges wanted to go through all 30 riders in one, instead of heats. This ensured every rider got one run on the ramp. Luckily we got through 27 before a small shower halted proceedings. Then after the ramp dried the last 3 riders rode.

Everybody sent it with the likelihood of only getting that one chance of riding… And that is exactly what happened. After one run, the heavens opened with no chance of letting up. This meant that every rider was based on their single appearance on the ramp. Based on that one run, Tom Justice came out on top, putting together a stellar run mixed with boosted airs and difficult tech that only Tom is capable of doing. Mark Webb rocked 2nd and Jack Clark took 3rd.

Even though the weather tried to put a dampener on the weekend, a sick time was had by all – partying all night and spending long hours in the arcades and the sea. Boardmasters 2018, you have once again brought together the BMX family from all over the country and that is why I will be coming every year for the foreseeable future. Cheers!