We made Tricklining Great Again
We left each other in 2019 with the last Trickline World Cup, won by the Chilean Abraham Hernandez. After that, more than 3 years of Covid, prevented us from meeting again to make this kind of event. But on June 25 and 26, 2022, slackliners from all over the world met in Stuttgart to compete in the Trickline World Cup in Stuttgart.
There were almost 1000 square meters of competition and interaction area in the center of the festival area. With women and men contest workshops, courses and challenges in the GIBOARD festival area. There were 6 female and 15 male athletes. The level of each one was very high but only one of them could be the winner of the competition. With the Trickline World Cup 2022, we were giving our athletes the same prize money (regardless of gender). This step was long overdue, but we are very happy about this decision.
There were four judging criteria during the competition which are: difficulty, diversity, technique and style.
It was getting hot in the kettle
All the athletes and the GIBBON team met for a morning warm-up and trickline training. Some rehearse their combos while others continue to hide their talents before the official start of the competition.
We found 12 different countries but we have an omnipresence of Japan which came in number with 7 athletes.
The athletes were able to perform two rounds on the first day face to face. Each round was scored by our 3 judges. The results of this first day allowed us to select, according to the scores achieved, the 8 best men and the 4 best women.
The first day ended with a party at the GIBBON booth, where the public and the athletes could feast. Except for the athletes who qualified for the knockout rounds, who are resting in preparation for the second day.
Trickline World Cup 2022 Ranking 1 Day
| Women: | |
| 1 | Koi Okazawa |
| 2 | Mao Takebe |
| 3 | Akari Sasaki |
| 4 | Kirke Vider |
| Men: | |
| 1 | Rikuto Nakamura |
| 2 | Shin Kikukawa |
| 3 | Alisson Ferreira |
| 4 | Haruki Kinoshita |
| Quarterfinal | Takushi Nakamura |
| Quarterfinal | Marius Kitowski |
| Quarterfinal | Benni Schmid |
| Quarterfinal | Valentin Huet |
Day 2
Only 12 athletes (8 men and 4 women) were competing in a knockout round. The tension was very high because the error pushes directly to the elimination.
The men’s final was 100% Japanese, just like the women’s final. Japan came in number to this event.
For this final, we find Rikuto Nakamura, 13 years old facing Shin Kikukawa. This round is one of the most exciting or each one connects the most crazy combos – double flips everywhere, and endless spins. Rikuto even made a buttbounce 900 to feet. The youngest of the two will be able to win in this competition against a tough opponent who will have defended himself superbly. For the small final, Alisson was facing Haruki. The Brazilian won, and climbed on the 3rd step of the podium.
In the women’s category, the fight was not less intense between the two competitors: Koi Okazawa and Mao Takebe. Both know each other well, but this day, the best one had to win. Koi Okazawa won by perfectly performing her combos and by taking more risks. A third Japanese completes this podium because Akari Sasaki won the small final against the Estonian Kirke Vider.
What is next?
We are working on the next Trickline World Cup in Germany for 2023.
In the meantime, now that we have proved to you that trickline is not dead (far from it!).
Don’t hesitate to check the events page of our website to find all the Slackline events, to participate or to watch, there will be something for everyone!
We wanted to thank all our sponsors for allowing us to do this event: Blackroll, Toto Lotto and Globetrotter.
We wanted to thank all the athletes for the show they put on, and to the public for coming in such great numbers and for putting on a great atmosphere!
