2013 Nike SbA Am Series The Finals – Skatepark of Melbourne Saturday 30th of March Words: Morgan Campbell Photos: Matty Hooker except where noted Video: Shane Fowler + Louie Dodd Song: 'Love' Performed by HAMJAM (hamjam.bandcamp.com) After a summer of seven incredible qualifiers in six states and one territory we were all excited to see the level at The Finals and it surpassed all expectations. March 30th saw over forty talented skateboard units hone in on Melbourne and spend a couple of days interpreting the obstacles at the Skatepark of Melbourne. There were a few course tweaks since The Finals last year. The micro-wheelchair ramp from last year was replaced with a more realistic version, which was designed and built for the Shocklands contest. The snowplough was also added which is a steep wallie hip. The spined area was simplified to just be a pump bump. This allowed more space, faster speed and greater flow throughout the whole joint. In order to get a good view of the entire course the SbA judging and MC area was assembled on a scaffold high above the course. The judges for the day were new SbA head judge Jim Dandy, OG Melbourne street guru Ben Harriss, the heavy-hitting Kurt Winter and last year's Open Am Champ Mr. Sam Tran aka ‘Gunti’ aka ‘Thug Angel’. Is Thug Angel not one of the best nicknames of all time? Cuzza and Fludey took to the mics as the psyched up MC duo. Considering the talent up in that scaff we sure were in good hands. Of course none of this would have happened without the dedication of the rest of the SbA team and the Logistics Manager Steve Murphy. Steve has spent the whole of the series without a home in the name of the next gen. He has literally been working towards this final for months and except for one moment where I saw him crumble and take a relaxation f