Goldman crowned winner at The Gathering

Dirt Competition

Santa Cruz Syndicate's Jamie Goldman was on fire at The Gathering, a dirt jump and skatepark competition held January 27th-28th in Renton, Washington, USA. Goldman (Santa Cruz, SRAM, Rock Shox) won the overall by earning third in the dirt jump competition and fifth in the skatepark; the only rider to podium in both events.

Spectators packed the stadium on Friday night to watch the dirt jump competition. Kurt Voreis (in attendance but not competing due to an ankle in jury) had a lot to say about the event. "The bleachers were filled with about 500 people who paid $15.00 a pop for both nights to be there, which is pretty unbelievable in the mountain bike world for a dirt jump/skatepark comp. A few BMX'ers showed up. Legend Leigh Ramsdell came out and was thoroughly impressed. Ruel Erickson throwing down a decade over the second set had a good outing, but wasn't strong enough for the mountain bike contingent. Finals actually happened in the practice before the finals. Some of the stuff getting thrown down in hopes to pull off a new trick for the final was sick. Those guys were going insane!"

The skatepark comp was held Saturday night. Voreis said, "The four man jam sessions moved things along efficiently. The six-minute format allows the rider to take a break while another rider takes a line. This gives them a chance to perfect their line and look for a possible new line while others are search for theirs. The riders end up completing four or more runs each in a six-minute jam session."

Goldman, who placed fifth, preferred the format over a single run saying, "I was stoked about how the jam session went. It made you get super psyched about what other guys were doing and made you want to try other stuff. It was like the dirt jump comp going off, how crazy it was! I flipped the spine and did a flip, 1-footed x-up on the spine, things I had never done before. I never flipped a spine until this comp,"