Vert skateboarding to unveil new look at Maloof Money Cup

**Updated with TV info.

Vert skating finally has an exciting new look, thanks to the progressive mind of Bob Burnquist, who won the X Games' big-air competition the last two years on the towering mega-ramp.

Burnquist, with input from Pierre-Luc Gagnon and Jake Brown, designed a miniature version of the mega-ramp, which was unveiled at a recent competition in Santa Rosa. It features a 35-foot roll-in ramp and a rainbow rail spanning a 25-foot gap, leading to an 18-foot quarterpipe wall.

For this weekend's Maloof Money Cup, which begins with practice and prelims on Friday, California Ramp Works has constructed a tweaked version of the mini-mega-ramp, which will connect to a tricked-out vert ramp. Athletes will compete in a multistage format that promises to be more entertaining than the back-and-forth acrobatics currently on display during traditional vert contests.

"This is where it's at," says Burnquist, who has a full-size mega-ramp in the backyard of his Vista, Calif., home. "This is the reality. This is not killing vert. This is vert."

Burnquist was referring to last year's situation at the X Games, when the vert competition was canceled -- briefly -- in favor of a superpark competition on a course many vert skaters did not like. Some even pulled out of that event.

Says Burnquist of the mini-mega-ramp: "Dude, this is  superpark. This is progression; what they were trying to do. It's happening and materializing. We still have to deliver, but I have a strong feeling about this."

Sunday's final, then, is about more than simply who wins. It might provide a glimpse into the sport's future.

Note: Fuel TV will provide a live HD webcast during the Maloof Money Cup on Saturday from 6:30-9:30 p.m., and Sunday from 1-7:15 p.m.

-- Pete Thomas

Graphic showing mini-mega-ramp courtesy of Maloof Money Cup