Over the weekend of May 3rd -- 5th, thousands of skaters, rock fans and spectators flocked to the small town of Varazze on the Ligurian coast for a taste of the Californian lifestyle, as the Vans Off The Wall Spring Classic celebrated its 5th year anniversary. Already infamous for some of the best miniramp skating that Europe has to offer, great music and good times, not to mention the stunning beachside setting, this years Off The Wall Spring Classic promised to be epic. 65 skaters made their way to the beach for the qualifying rounds, and with the bar really raised for this years event, places for the finals were hotly contested. The Euros were joined by some of the world's finest, and as Mason Merlino had already proved in the 'Best Miniramp Trick' contest, the Americans really stood out, with Mason and Chris Gregson skating hard and impressing the judges. The UK's Chris Oliver and Daan Vanderlinden really made use of the new spine, which featured flat-to-down coping, transitioned all the way to the flat. Nevertheless, the accolade of 'best trick' in qualifying had to go to another Brit, Josh Young, for his Ollie up the extension to frontside nosegrind. Another young shredder, the native Ivan Federico of Italy, also went big, riding away from a crowd pleasing McTwist. With the level really pushed this year, a few of the guys paid the price, with France's Guillaume Mocquin ending up in an ambulance, but still managed to skate in the last jam. While Chris Oliver and Andy Scott fell too much to make the points necessary to get through, their riding impressed the judges, who awarded them a wildcard for the finals. They joined Denmark's Dannie Carlsen, who went through in first place, to complete the 28 riders who made the grade for Sunday's finals.