So I’m sitting up here in Canada. Yep, not at the Toe Jam but through a string of text messages that I have been receiving since early this morning and a couple of calls to some close friends I think I got a pretty good idea of how it went down.

Well when I called reed he didn’t have much to say except for that he made it thru. Nice bud I had a feeling you would. And he also said that like of Horan and Nicky t had made it into the top16 as well then I got a text saying that Brooke was having fun in the sun and playing with all my friends. And that G Daniels was jumping off of stuff. Helpful yes , so I call Freedom up to see how things were shaping up for him being last off the dock today he didn’t have much to say except for the fact that George and Hampson were in the same heat right along with the bomb dropper Andy Pastura. I still don’t know how this all went down. Text messaging is only good for so much I just couldn’t capture the emotions of what really happened

I better let D Hanson tell you what really went down.- James

It’s that time of year again: the water has warmed up, the sun is shining, and wakeskaters the world over are vying for their shot at fame in the 2008 Toe Jam Tour. Stop number one kicked off today with the rail qualifiers at the Projects rail park in Bithlo, Florida. Today’s qualifier was something I have looked forward to for quite some time now, mostly for the chance to see who was coming up, who is turning heads, and who has been putting in some water time over the winter months. With over fifty competitors in attendance, the end of the day granted sixteen lucky contestants their pass to the rest of the weekend’s riding.

The rails were prime at the Projects today, which included our favorites like the flat rail, long A-frame, and incline rail, but riders were also pleasantly surprised by some new obstacles, such as a kicker, an elevated incline to flat, an inclined box/launch ramp, and a second flat rail. Even despite the unfamiliarity of the riders to these new rails, they still had no problem at all adapting immediately to them. The sun was shining, Dan-o the Man-o was making sweet love to the microphone, and everyone seemed to be smiling and happy to not only be on the water, but mingle once more with their wakeskating buddies.

The riding this year even in qualifiers already seems insane. There is becoming more and more of a female rider presence at the Toe Jam, thanks especially to girls like Jenny GilanFarr, Steph Wamsley, and Renee Jacquess, who all competed today against the guys. The girls are stepping it up and linking together some solid lines out there, along with sticking some of the toughest rails out there. Ross Gardner was charging everything and sticking it all, Gib Gibbons stuck the first ever varial heelflip in contest, Clint Tompkins kickflipped off the incline box first try, Matt Hooker makes it pretty clearly known that the Projects is his second home, and Danny Hampson…well let me talk about Danny Hampson for a second. So first of all, last night at the Aloma Cinema Grill we got to see some Volume Issue 7 footage, including Danny’s Pro Spotlight. Once everyone was thoroughly blown away from the complete epicness of that part (seriously, just wait until it comes out… mind blowing), this man goes to the rail qualifiers today and completely annihilates every single obstacle available to him. It’s pretty clear that Danny is hungry for victory, and with tricks like the unbelievable boardslide bigspin 360 off the incline rail, it looks like Danny just might get his fill.

Just remember, it’s anybody’s game on any given day, so come out to the Toe Jam and watch history in the making. Events continue through the weekend with the Boat Finals tomorrow and the Rail Finals Saturday. Definitely bring some sunscreen, and maybe even a pit bull.

Be sure to check back later for video. Special thanks to Matt Manzari, David Hanson, Keaton Bowlby and Andrew Pastura for shooting photos all day.

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO PAGE FOR THE DAY 1 VIDEO

Official Results

Wakeskate (all levels)
Qualifying Round Heat #: 01
1 Hansen, Reed USA 76.00
2 Little, Bret USA 65.00
3 Humpsch, Dieter 60.00
4 Gregory, Chase USA 50.00
5 Rivet, Cody USA 40.00
6 Genis, Josep Dosta 11.67
Wakeskate (all levels)
Qualifying Round Heat #: 02
1 Cambell, Steven USA 53.33
2 Dosta Vidal, Enric SPN 40.00
3 Giesey, TJ USA 40.00
4 Manzari, Matt USA 35.00
5 Vanoli, Ludvico 20.00
6 Sutherland, Bobby 10.00
Wakeskate (all levels)
Qualifying Round Heat #: 03
1 Doyle, Ryan CAN 70.00
2 Shinn, Stuart USA 55.00
3 Norman, Josh 40.00
4 Watson, Reed USA 30.00
5 Wamsley, Stephanie USA 20.00
6 Lima, Yuri USA 10.00

Wakeskate (all levels)
Qualifying Round Heat #: 04
1 Horan, Ben USA 65.00
2 Thomas, Brandon USA 50.00
3 Gibbons, Gib USA 40.00
4 Byerly, Scott USA 35.00
5 Becqueriaux, Luis SPA 30.00
6 Gilanfarr, Jennifer USA 20.00
Wakeskate (all levels)
Qualifying Round Heat #: 05
1 Taylor, Nick USA 66.33
2 Gardner, Ross USA 65.00
3 Steele, Blake USA 50.00
4 Danielo, Drew USA 45.00
5 Fortenberry, Andrew USA 20.00

Wakeskate (all levels)
Qualifying Round Heat #: 06
1 Hampson, Danny 96.33
2 Pastura, Andy USA 80.00
3 Daniels, George USA 60.00
4 Doran, Travis 55.00
5 Coleman, Matt 30.00
6 Jaquess, Renee USA 20.00

Wakeskate (all levels)
Qualifying Round Heat #: 07
1 Tompkins, Clint USA 90.00
2 Grubb, Brian USA 80.00
3 Roberts, Grant USA 60.00
4 Lemons, Ryan USA 50.00
5 Bowlby, Keaton USA 40.00
6 Brightwell, Russell 20.00

Wakeskate (all levels)
Qualifying Round Heat #: 08
1 Hooker, Matt USA 70.00
2 Harlos, Nick 55.00
3 Reed, Aaron 50.00
4 Danzat, Nicholas 30.00
5 Kovacich, Tim USA 20.00
6 Mulvaney, Patrick USA 10.00

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