With two rounds of the NPFS 05 now under their belts, the X-Zone crew are all feeling pretty stoked about things so far.

Round 1 - Black Rock Sands, Gwynedd, N.Wales - 23-24 Apr 05

The first event at Black Rock Sands, N.Wales was a great test of the comp formats and arena layout, and NPFS Head Judge Gary Grayston, and Beach Master Steve `Burgy` Burgoine worked their arses off to ensure everything ran smoothly. Wind was a little light, but some top-notch performances were still turned in by the riders. Top KGB rider was Lewis Wilby with his board `variels` and other low level moves, with Ozone rider Glen `Butch` Butcher doing well despite his greater weight and the low wind conditions. The buggiers also struggled with the light winds, but still threw down aerial `heel-clickers` and other sweet moves. The verdict on this first round was a unanimously positive one, with all the riders looking forward to the next round at Weston-super-Mare in April.

Round 2 - Weston-super-Mare, N.Somerset, UK - 7-8 May 05

Round 2 kicked off as planned on Saturday 7th May at Weston-super-Mare, and it was blowing its tits off!!! With onshore winds averaging 18-20 mph, a rock hard beach, and a hard core group of kite radicalists, the scene was set for monster competition. Despite the loss of Richy Stones to kit failure and a resulting fractured pelvis and broken arm, the other riders set about going HUGE!!! (get well soon Richy). The local TV news people were out lapping up the action, as were a number of video crews, photographers and radio journalists.

With Butch busting massive airs, tweaked grabs and mental low-level powered-up transitions, he walked away with a deserved 1st place. Joe Hockley came in 2nd with a series of clean combos and Andrew `Woody` Goodricke was close behind in 3rd. The buggiers were going big too, and although Mikey Altwood (Surface Tension) was an early casualty with a busted ankle, the variety of tricks in show was incredible. From `Phat` Dan Vaughan`s inverted aerials, to Kelly Howlett`s (Ozone UK) slick foot-out rotations - the judges were blown away by the level of riding on display.

So a monster result for everyone, and a major success for the worlds first dedicated KGB and Freestyle Buggy series. Expect more great things to come from the NPFS at round 3. Even better, non-UK residents are now welcome to compete, as long as you can prove current insurance that allows you to compete overseas we`d love to see you on the beach.

Next round is 1-3 July, Black Rock Sands, N.Wales. It forms part of the X-Zone Summer Games 2005, and registration and accommodation details will be online soon at: www.x-zone.co.uk.

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