LOS ANGELES (April 18, 2009) — The sun was hot, but the competition was even hotter as round one of ASA Entertainment’s FMX Team Energy Cup revved into action from Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort San Diego North this afternoon. It was Team Nevada – Mike Mason, Brian Foster, Matt Buyten and Drake McElroy[in for the injured Adam Jones] – versus Team SoCal – Jeff “Ox” Kargola, Blake “Bilko” Williams, Rob Adelberg and Cam Sinclair – in Best Whip and Best Trick contests and a seeding round, setting up the head to head battle for the Finals on Sunday afternoon to determine the sport’s first ever Best FMX Team.
Each team was tasked with selecting two men to compete in the Best Whip contest and two men to compete in the Best Trick contest; they strategized to select their best athletes for each challenge. In the Best Whip contest Team Nevada pitted Foster and McElroy against Team SoCal’s Adelberg and Kargola, and after three runs each, Kargola came out on top earning two points for Team SoCal.
Mason and Buyten for Team Nevada faced Williams and Sinclair for Team SoCal in the Best Trick contest. Back flips and releases moves abounded. In the end Sinclair captured another two points for Team SoCal, resulting in a sweep for the Southern California stars. After two contests the scoreboard stands at 4 (Team SoCal) to 0 (Team Nevada) as the competition heads into Sunday’s Finals.
In the seeding round each athlete was given 90 seconds to throw their sickest tricks to position themselves atop the scoreboard and gain the upper hand in the head to head format for the Finals. The prelims ended with three Team SoCal riders taking the top three slots – Kargola, Sinclair and Adelberg, respectively – however Mason, as the top scorer on Team Nevada, tied with Adelberg for third. SoCal’s Williams landed in fifth in the rankings.
With the match-ups set heading into Sunday, each team is regrouping and strategizing for the last rounds of competition. “We’re going back to our hotel rooms for a pep talk,” said Team Nevada’s Mason. “We need to step up our game. We only threw a few flips today while their whole team flipped in nearly every run. We’re bringing it tomorrow.”
Kargola and his boys were pretty confident after today’s results. “We’re going to do the exact same thing we did today, ” he stated. ” We’re going to get into their heads. It’s all war games. The best thing about this competition is that we’re all friends. There’s no pressure.”
The Finals get underway on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. with two rounds of competition.
The match-ups are as follows:
Round 1
Matt Buyten (Nevada) vs. Blake Williams (SoCal)
Brian Foster (Nevada) vs. Cameron Sinclair (SoCal)
Mike Mason (Nevada) vs. Rob Adelberg (SoCal)
Drake McElroy (Nevada) vs. Jeff Kargola (SoCal)
Round 2
Matt Buyten (Nevada) vs. Rob Adelberg (SoCal)
Drake McElroy (Nevada) vs. Cameron Sinclair (SoCal)
Mike Mason (Nevada) vs. Blake Williams (SoCal)
Brian Foster (Nevada) vs. Jeff Kargola (SoCal)
Tickets start at $25 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. For more information or media photos, please contact Denise M. Abbott ASA’s Director of PR & Marketing at 310 430 0496 orabbott@asaent.com or visit www.ActionSportsTour.com.
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About ASA Entertainment:
Founded in 1994, ASA Entertainment, LLC is an action sports event, television and content production agency focused on creating and executing customized, turn-key marketing programs that range in scale from grassroots to global. ASA’s events, featuring skateboarding, freestyle BMX, inline skating, free-skiing, freestyle motocross, snowboarding and music, are broadcast domestically on CBS, Spike, VERSUS, FUEL TV and Fox Sports Net, and distributed during 937 hours of programming to more than 1 billion HH globally via our 32 international broadcast partners. ASA’s productions span the spectrum from large, international competitions such as the LG Action Sports World Championships to amateur contests, lifestyle and branded entertainment events, demonstrations, exhibitions and mobile tours. As one of the most established organizations in action sports, ASA Entertainment strives to develop premium content around the fastest growing sector of American sports. ASA Entertainment is a member of the Omnicom Group. For more information, visit www.ASAentertainment.com or www.ActionSportsTour.com.
About Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort:
Winner of the 2007 SHRM Workplace Excellence Award (Marble Award in the Large Company category) and owned by the Rincon San Luiseno Band of Mission Indians and managed by HCAL, a subsidiary of Harrah’s Operating Company, Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort is located at 777 Harrah’s Rincon Way (33750 Valley Center Road) in Valley Center, CA, 20 minutes northeast of Escondido. With approximately 1,600 employees and an identity as a top resort-gaming destination, the casino offers state-of-the-art amenities and the unparalleled customer service that has made Harrah’s a nationally recognized brand.