Mike SciaccaPhilips Soul Bowl was packing nothing...

Mike Sciacca

Philips Soul Bowl was packing nothing but heat Sunday afternoon,

despite the refreshing sound of the crashing surf in the near

distance.

Performing plenty of tricks to keep sun-drenched spectators

enthralled in near-full stadium, 10 finalists battled it out for

first place in the Philips Fusion Soul Bowl Young Guns Bowl Jam skate

final.

Among the 10 finalists was a pair of local athletes and friends,

Westminster’s Brian Patch and Omar Hassan of Costa Mesa.

“It’s cool that a couple of local boys fought it out in the end,”

said 31-year-old Patch, a Soul Bowl veteran. “We’re good friends in

and out of the arena.”

The battle for Young Guns supremacy boiled down to the two locals,

and it was Hassan, 29, who edged out Patch in a hotly-contested

final.

It was the second year in a row that Patch had finished runner-up

in the Surf City event.

But, just like last year, Patch finished with enough points to

claim the overall Soul Bowl title for 2003.

Sunday’s event in Huntington Beach was the third and final Soul

Bowl competition of the year.

The season’s two previous Soul Bowl events were held in Hermosa

Beach and in Virginia Beach, Va.

“I’m pretty thrilled to win another overall title,” Patch said. “I

wish I could have done better today, but it was so hot that it was

hard to keep going.”

All the competitors felt the heat of the steel and Finnish Birch

half pipe, Patch said, noting that all 10 competitors declined a

final run after the 20-minute finals heat.

The jam format, which has finalists run in the order that they

qualified for the final, was tough, patch said.

After an introduction run by each competitor, a 20-minute final

heat ensued.

It was a common site for four competitors to drop into the bowl at

the same time.

“You’re out there trying to do tricks while at the same time

trying to navigate your way through the other guys,” Patch said. “It

was fun and definitely more exciting for the crowd to watch, but it

was sometimes difficult. I really didn’t do what I wanted to do out

there.”

Soul Bowl qualifying heats were held Saturday.

Other Young Guns Bowl Jam finalists were Mizael Simao, Cristiano

Mateus and Bruno Passos of Brazil, Australia’s Jake Brown and the

U.S.’ Rob Agliam of Virginia, Chad Shetler of San Clemente, Benji

Galloway of Georgia and Matt Moffett of San Diego.

Patch said he was well aware of the surf competition taking place

a few hundred yards off shore. The sounds inside and surrounding the

Soul Bowl heightened the experience, he said.

“It was exhausting, but a lot of fun,” he said. “The crowds were

awesome, and its really nice to be able to compete so close to home.

It’s just a great atmosphere.”

Cara-Beth Burnside of Orange County won the Women’s of

Skateboarding event. The Masters of Skateboarding winner was

40-year-old Tony Magnusson of Del Mar, and Loma Linda’s Eddie Elquera

won the Grand Masters of Skateboarding.

The Best Trick of Skateboarding winner was Matt Dove.

The BMX Soul Bowl High Air final was won by John Parker of

Phoenix. Parker’s first run, at 12 feet 6 inches, was the top run

among the four finalists.

The 29-year-old won $1,500 for his first-place finish.

Ednilson Rodrigues of Brazil was second to Parker. The 28-year-old

from the city of Jundi, hit the 12-foot mark on his second-heat run.

In third place was Denver’s Jay Eggleston. The 31-year-old had a best run of 11 feet.

Fourth place went to Kevin Robinson of Pennsylvania. Robinson, 31,

had a best run of 10-feet-6 on his first attempt.

Jam sessions were also held in Masters, Women’s and Legends

divisions.

“The Soul Bowl just continues to exert itself as a new dimension

in skateboard and bicycle freestyle competitions,” said James Leitz,

vice president of International Management Group Xsports, which

organized the 2003 Philips Fusion.

“As much as the competition hearkens back to the old days, these

guys, like Omar and Brian, are laying the future for new tricks.”