If you had told me five years ago that Alliance would be spending so much time, energy and money covering contests, I would have laughed at you. But the Byerly Toe Jam is not just any contest — especially this year. What started out as another in the list of small ways Scott has tried to give back to the sport(s) that provide his living, has taken on an entirely new shine this year. The Toe Jam Stop #1, at the Projects in Orlando this weekend, is the first in a four-stop, nationwide tour this year to crown an ultimate Toe Jam champion.

So it was tonight that we found ourselves once again at the Aloma Cinema Grill, home of the never-ending wait to get a beer, for the sign-ups for tomorrow’s qualifiers. The final tally: almost 50 competitors vying for 16 spots in the finals on Saturday and Sunday. Drew McGuckin and I were trying to figure out the rules, and here is what we came up with: all 16 will compete in both the park and boat disciplines, with the top three earning a bye to the next stop of the Jam, in Texas on June 7-9.

Be sure to keep it posted here for our yearly barrage of all things Toe Jam, which will start tomorrow at 9 a.m. sharp (read 10:30.) Matt Manzari landed a double flip wake-to-wake today, so he should be a front-runner and the guy everyone has to watch out for, but no one is quite sure how he does on rails. One group to watch out for is George Daniels’ posse, they look like they could do some damage, or at least steal some beers while no one is looking.

PS – For some reason, both Garrett and my cameras were freaking out in the face of all the wakeskating greatness tonight. I included a couple of the shots because I think they’re kind of cool. I promise tomorrow you’ll be able to see what’s going on in the pictures (if that’s your thing.) Sweet dreams …