Wide World of Sports, Alva vs. Hester

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Adam Trahan
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Wide World of Sports, Alva vs. Hester

Post by Adam Trahan » Mon Dec 23, 2002 4:17 pm

Wide World of Sports
TV's Wide World of Sports coverage (Quicktime Movie) of Henry Hester and Tony Alva's race at Carlsbad back in the day. TV coverage of two AWESOME skateboarders in contrasting style and definately captures the agony of defeat.

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1. Beginning skate teaser/introduction to the episode. (0.8Mb, 6Mb)

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2. Intro to the original Wide World of Sports program. (1.6Mb, 11Mb)

3. ?

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4. Getting ready for the Slalom finals, describing the rules, etc. (2.1Mb, 14Mb)

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5. Hester & Alva’s first final run. Hester fall. (3Mb, 22Mb)

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6. Second final run. Hester comes back and smokes Alva for the win. (1.6Mb, 12Mb)
Last edited by Adam Trahan on Sun Apr 18, 2004 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

John Gilmour
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Post by John Gilmour » Mon Mar 17, 2003 5:36 pm

I forgot to ask Alva at the Redbull competion in NYC if he really was out of control at the finish in the second Bobby Piercy Vs. Alva race- or if he just tossed in a fall and snagged the spotlight being the strategic skaters not only in skill but in playing the media- cool move. It guaranteed him all the attention of the press despite coming in second on that run and that can help your psyche for the next race. Then again he has to almost dive for the finish to hold onto the .7 second advantage he earned in the first race where Bobby Piercy DQ's. Given Piercy's lead at the runout section- I think Alva might have had to dive. Though I don't know what the cone penalties were.

In the First Alva VS. Hester race you can see Alva get a near perfect start- crossing the start line within about .1 second of the buzzer while Henry is crossing about .2 seconds later.

The course is short- only 25 or so cones so the winner will be heavily determined by the start.

Henry has a higher top end pump than Alva- Not surprising as Alva is on a solid wood deck. Henry's high speed pump near the end really shows him using his arms in classic surf style arm technique. (Classic- because it's Henry- The King).

Hester knows he can outpump Alva and probably went easy on Alva in the first heat in terms of the start. With a 25 cone course Hester now knows he can't go easy at the start and has to beat Alva at the start and through the cones. Hester might pick up .4-.6 seconds in the cone gap.

Alva feels he can go soft on the start in the next heat as he has .7 seconds advantage and is just worrying about not DQ'ing. Not a bad idea because he saw how long .7 seconds was when he raced Piercy and Piercy was unable to make it up on the second run. Alva figures that Piercy was as fast or faster than Hester through the course and so isn't worried enough. Alva knows if he can keep Hester a little further behind him than Alva was on Piercy - he's got it.


Hester will likely risk a false start on Alva the next run in order to get as close to a perfect start as possible- and knowing that if he false starts it might screw up Alva's "momentum". If the false start doesn't trigger...Henry smoke' Alva at the start and Alva will have to try and keep the gap small while staying clean.

Hester also knows exactly what Alva's top end pumping speed is and so if Hester gets the lead Alva won't catch him- but a super fast start is essential to try and make up .7 seconds on a 25 cone course. The course has a lot of pitch -see the steep angle of the hill as the spectators line up it- will not have any "Slow cones" where .7 seconds could easily be made up.

It is harder to make up time going through fast cones than going slow cones. So Hester Knowing this has to pump like a lunatic for the top 5 cones- secure a lead and switch to high gear to try to smoke Alva all while making sure he buries Alva at the start. Good thing for Hester that it is a Common start and not separately timed starts or he would have a harder time mnaking up the time.

Hester gave up .2 seconds on the first start and if he flips it (ie. Alva goes soft on teh second start and Hester gets .2 at the start-Hester will have to make up .5 seconds on a 25 cone course. Figuring they are doing about 4-5 cones per second at the bottom Hester will have to be ahead by about 2-3 cones plus rely on Alva taking a 1-2 more cone penalties than Hester while straining to catch up.

In a 25 cone course for clean runs Hester would have to be 4 cones ahead to win if both guys are clean.

(How's that? 45 seconds of commentary for a 8 second run.)

John Gilmour
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Post by John Gilmour » Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:28 pm

So where is the second run???
One good turn deserves another
john gilmour

Hans Koraeus
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Post by Hans Koraeus » Tue Apr 13, 2004 2:28 am

I have it and I will put it up soon. But be aware of the hefty size. The above file (no 5?) is 23Mb! You better have broadband connection. The "second run" file (no 6?) is only 12Mb or so.

Wes Eastridge
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Post by Wes Eastridge » Tue Apr 13, 2004 3:58 am

I have them and the first is 4.9MB while the second one is 2.6MB. Give me the server space and I will upload them.

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Post by Jack Quarantillo » Tue Apr 13, 2004 4:05 am

wes,
email me the second, and i'll host (unless adam chimes in...)

Jack

(edit) PM'd you my email addy

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Post by Rich Stephens » Tue Apr 13, 2004 4:26 am

The accusation that Alva dove on the Piercy run just to look cool or grab more spotlight is ridiculous. Compared to the other squares, Alva would have had the spotlight anyway...

It may be true that "Hester can outpump" Alva, but I feel you are seriously looking at the wrong guy if you are looking for cool skateboard style. If that run is a typical example of Hester's "surf style arm technique" he should have spent more time in the surf. Tony's style is just so much more subtle and smooth, while Hester's was overly exaggerated, and flappy.

I know most slalom guys, especially the slalom-only guys, don't care about style (obviously from all that hinged arm high above the head stuff) but there is indeed more to life than crossing the line first...

-Slim
(who personally doesn't have to choose between style and speed, because I don't have either, ha!)

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Post by Karl Floitgraf » Tue Apr 13, 2004 5:43 am

If you need extra space. I've got plenty that I'm not using. I really need to update the spot.
BOSTON BAKED BEAN
HONORARY TEXAS OUTLAW

Wes Eastridge
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Post by Wes Eastridge » Tue Apr 13, 2004 9:14 am

Dammit. In addition to my internet connection being really slow, Adam’s email address bounced the two movie files back.

I’m not going to email these files again. Please give me temporary FTP access to your server if you want either of these files.

Wes Eastridge
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Post by Wes Eastridge » Tue Apr 13, 2004 10:51 am

Here you go. I found the addresses of the files on a server. Get them while they are still available. The site itself appears to be no longer up.

Hester & Alva’s first run, where Hester falls (small version and large version).

Hester & Alva’s second/final run, where Hester comes back and smokes Alva for the win (small version and large version).

I’ve noticed that at least one website refers to the clip of the first run as if it was of the final run.

Here are the previous clips:

Part one: Begining skate teaser/introduction to the episode.
(small version and large version).

Part two: Intro to the original Wide World of Sports program.
(small version and large version).

Part three: Getting ready for the Slalom finals, describing the rules, etc
(small version and large version).

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Post by Hans Koraeus » Tue Apr 13, 2004 1:43 pm

Great with smaller size files! Now it's only the 3'rd part missing. I wonder what that could be all about.

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Post by Vlad Popov » Wed Apr 14, 2004 2:16 am

Great video! Esp. part II.

If by slalom "style' we mean slalom "technique", then we can compare and contrast different slalom “styles”. Luca, for example, has a very precise style which allows him to stay cleaner then most of his competitors most of the time, while Jani’s style is so sloppy, that he can hit 10 straight cones in a row at the end of the Trocadero's 40-cone straight slalom course for no apparent reason.

If there's a line for the site's password, may I please be next?

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Post by Hans Koraeus » Wed Apr 14, 2004 2:49 pm

Vlad, I just happen to know that Jani's "sloppy ride" when he took many cones in Paris last year was mostly because he just took one of his new boards he had put together the day before and just went for it. The board was not set up correctly for the course. I can't believe you think Jani's style is sloppy. Time to buy new glasses Vlad.

Talking about style. Your avatar doesn't give you any plus points. :-b

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Post by Adam Trahan » Wed Apr 14, 2004 3:38 pm

...watch Hester's winning run against Alva. You can see Henry "thrust" his board out to cross the finish line FASTER and totally different from the "shoot the tube" technique.

I forgot about Hester winning and even watched it at the time. Over the years HYPE took over for me and when I saw the "replay" and Hester going down and was behind, I forgot the actual finish. I felt bad about posting that here, but I also knew that these two racers where so fast and part of our HISTORY that it was more important to have the record of it.

I bet that the repercussions of this race will live on. Slalom RACER against the surfer skater, "Who is going to win?"

For those of you who may not remember, Hester put on a vert series of contests, a slalom racer promoting "radical" skateboarding too, imagine that.

Now that we have most of the files, I'll put it together nicely and the story can be up for your own interpretation.

Thank you Henry Hester for helping get slalomskateboarder.com in the books.

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Post by Rich Stephens » Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:18 pm

adam trahan wrote:For those of you who may not remember, Hester put on a vert series of contests, a slalom racer promoting "radical" skateboarding too, imagine that.
And if my memory is correct, the winner of the first Hester series was...Steve Olson, who is of course still the most stylish person down the hill and often the fastest as well.

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Who won?

Post by John Gilmour » Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:29 pm

Rich Stephens wrote:The accusation that Alva dove on the Piercy run just to look cool or grab more spotlight is ridiculous. Compared to the other squares, Alva would have had the spotlight anyway...

Likely so- but Alva knew at an early age how important it was to get in front of the camera- photo ops pay bucks. Also as the underdog coming from a vert background there was interest....Besides...who knows....maybe they didn't interview Piercy because he was in the bathroom-.... Or Alva had the scrapper image vs Piercys image..its all just conjecture, how should I know?...I wasn't there, I'm just trying to add some commentary.
Rich Stephens wrote:It may be true that "Hester can outpump" Alva, but I feel you are seriously looking at the wrong guy if you are looking for cool skateboard style. If that run is a typical example of Hester's "surf style arm technique" he should have spent more time in the surf. Tony's style is just so much more subtle and smooth, while Hester's was overly exaggerated, and flappy.
Well I am more concerned with how has the fastest time as opposed to style. As racing is not about style so much as it is about speed. Tony has a pumping advantage as well as this hill....if you can believe that(In hills that are very steep vert skills come into play). At La Costa '01 I turned in a fast qualifying time by riding the hill as if it was a vert transition in snowboarding. I combined my lateral pump with a vert transition type pump. IF Alva was doing any of this it could explain some of his fast times- as likely he had great leg strength from riding pools.
Rich Stephens wrote:I know most slalom guys, especially the slalom-only guys, don't care about style (obviously from all that hinged arm high above the head stuff) but there is indeed more to life than crossing the line first...

-Slim
(who personally doesn't have to choose between style and speed, because I don't have either, ha!)
Post up some video clip of youself- that way people could offer advice.

Lastly- and quite likely it is possible that the left course was faster or was grippier on that side for pumping. Hester's acceleration on that second run at the top was blistering. I think Henry rode a very stiff, low flex Hester Model with an Extra ply. Does anyone know if Ed Economy has that deck?

I tried timing the differential at the finish line by hand as making up .8 sec in an 8 second course is very hard- though possible.

Would others start their watch when Hester crosses the finish and stop it when Alva passes the finish? I'd just like to see what others are getting.

Not that it is so accurate as I don't know the actual frame rate of the camera (24, 25, 30 fps?- assuming Betacam (SMPTE type L) circa 1975) meaning every frame would be about .04 sec.

Still I am posting times around .66- .61 for the differential assuming common start. Hester likely picks up .005 for the shove of his deck. The camera angle from the top isn't ideal.
One good turn deserves another
john gilmour

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Post by Vlad Popov » Wed Apr 14, 2004 9:09 pm

Oh, c'mon, Corky, it's just a "warm-up" before Paris. I don't think it's sloppy....










I know it!Image

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Post by Hans Koraeus » Thu Apr 15, 2004 12:41 am

I know Vlad, don't worry. I just take every opportunity there is to crack down on your missplaced avatar. :-)

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Post by Hans Koraeus » Sun Apr 18, 2004 4:53 pm

Adam,

Your updated first post is really nice.
Last edited by Hans Koraeus on Mon Apr 19, 2004 2:09 am, edited 1 time in total.

Adam Trahan
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Post by Adam Trahan » Sun Apr 18, 2004 9:27 pm

Thanks Corky.

I have a dial-up account and that's a lot of footage to phone in.

I have the "screen shot's" now set up and I can tell you this, when I was watching the standard Wide World of Sports intro, I was totally taken back. It's odd how these things spark memories.

I've watched them all now and I'm stoked to have them here, definately one of the highlights of www.slalomskateboarder.com The movie database is awesome.

adam

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