It was a Toe Jam first, as the pool jam/winch contest moved from the muddy shores of the Projects to the sandy shores of OWC. Scott Byerly and several of the other riders had hand built the pool gap, complete with two extra long ledges and a serious gap for Friday night’s festivities.

In grand Toe Jam tradition things got off to a slow start. There were some technical difficulties with the winch set up. Since the pool emptied out into the PWC beginner course, which has a lake on the other side, the winch was floating on a barge. A few bungee cords were securing the boat, but when the riders would go, it would pull the winch towards them. The executive decision was made to just pull with the Sea Doo, so it wasn’t really a “winch jam” per se, but it made things a lot faster and safer.

The competition consisted of four heats of four, with the best trick advancing to the finals. Ben Horan took the first heat with a noseslide shuv. Andrew Pastura got through his heat with a noseslide. Clint Tompkins silently shredded his way to the final with a backlip shuv, and Reed Hansen shook things up, throwing a 180 over the gap.

The sun went down and the lights came up. It was like a Paris Hilton sighting with the paparazzi and their flashes all around the pool. DJ Dan-CE made magic happen on the PA and the crowd was about loose enough to have a really good time.

The final four got 45 minutes to throw the best trick, but it was only Clint who was really able to best himself. He held the lead, then took it over not once but twice, finally taking the whole event with a backlip 270 shuv. Oh wait, we are not supposed to know that until tomorrow, but I think it’s ok to let this cat out of the bag.

See everyone bright and early at the cable tomorrow! Toe Jam 2008 is nearly a wrap.

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