Dirty Dayz, an annual mountain boarding and music festival, returned to Hazyview Adventure Backpackers and Hamilton Parks Country Lodge for the tenth time this past weekend.

Gathering all the mountain boards and gear, the crew slowly but surely got all the boarders together and headed to the Matumi Forest for the first race on the agenda.

This race is called ‘Free 4 All’: a shotgun start where riders raced down a steep and curvy forestry road to the Matumi River picnic spot.
After a little practice run down the hill they were ready.
First up were the men’s league, which consisted of four riders: Quisto van Greenman, Skolly Skolwani, Byron Hogan and Sean McLellan (aka “Chicken Boy”).

The first to the bottom of the pass determined who would receive the title of King of the Hill.
“With myself and the rest of the crew on the back of the bakkie, we raced behind them to try and keep up. They must have been going over 80 km/h on those mountain boards,” said Court Gibson.

“It was neck-and-neck, and we all thought Quisto would take the title, but a stick got stuck in his tyre and he flew right off his board. Laughing all the way, he picks himself back up and tries to catch up. By this point Chicken Boy is already falling on his face,” she recalled.
Hogan was still up ahead when suddenly, Van Greenman passed him.
“Skolly is nowhere in sight; far ahead, we lost sight of Quisto. Skolly eventually claimed the title of King of the Hill. Second was Quisto and third was Byron.

“I had a lump in my throat and my heart was pounding. All I was thinking, was that I have to go down this hill on this board and not come off.”
The ladies league for Queen of the Hill consisted of Natasha Emmerick, Court Gibson, Angel Hale and Keelan Kamp. Gibson and Emmerick (Graskop girls born and bred) took the lead with the two newer girls at the back, trying to scrape their bodies down the hill. “Neck-and-neck we raced until I could no longer take the speed, and Natasha overtook me by a mile. Natasha took the Queen of the Hill like a champ.”

The crew of 136 built a whole track for the event with ramps, rails, dirt, grass slopes, stage, bar and stall all set under the shade of a big tree. At around 13:00 the sun started coming out and the track started hardening.
First up was slope-style boarding, where riders got to show off their tricks and their use of the slope-style course, which is a grassy, mild slope with a few obstacles like ramps and rails. The judges would then rate the riders and the best rider won their very own Slope-style Trophy.

“At this point we had some new riders join the league and the men, women and child competed against each other in the same league. The riders were: Jan-Hendrick Nel, Chicken Boy, Byron Hogan, Skolly Skolwani, Jani Lourens, Court Gibson, Natasha Emmerick, Angel Hale, Dom Pappa, Taigen Wearne and Stanley Miller,” said Gibbs.
All the riders were pulling out their top tricks and hitting huge jumps, getting crazy air. Chicken Boy attempted a front flip and once again landed square on his face. He got up, brushed it off and took the trophy for Best Bail (which was ironically named after him as “The Chicken Boy Trophy”!)

Gibbs and Lourens pulled some aces out of their sleeves, and both took a tied win for Slope-style.
Second was Skolwani and third was Nel. “Even Taigen Wearne, an 8-year-old kid with more guts than a fully-grown man, hit a huge rail and took home the trophy for Rider’s Choice.”

Next up was Boarder-X: A dual boarder-x race on a long downhill track with burns, rollers and dirt table obstacles. Riders compete for the official Boarder-X trophy. This track goes right through the bar and stage area, giving the spectators a close-up view of the riders.
The ladies were up first, with Lourens taking the trophy home, Gibson in second followed by Emmerick and Hale.
The men’s league was next. This was a heated race with the boarders having some sort of a colour bomb strapped to their boards, leaving a trail of different colours behind them.

Hogan took home the trophy, with Van Greenman second and Nel third.
As the sun set it was time for the final, the Big Air. This show began with just one hit of the riders’ best tricks, over a six-metre gap. The best trick is decided by the judges and the winner takes home the trophy.

“These guys came out with the most intense tricks you have ever seen, flying over this massive ramp, Jan-Hendrick took first place with Quisto at a close second and Dom Pappa third.”