Forde wins freestyle football title.
By: Shari John (T&T Guardian).It was officially announced three rounds later, but Kerron Forde secured his third Red Bull Freestyle title in his first 20 seconds on the stage at MovieTowne’s Fiesta Plaza on Tuesday.
Three minutes, two players, one ball...those are the rules of the game, as players battle each other, showing off their skill in 20 second exchanges of freestyle supremacy.
Judged by Soca Warriors defender, Brent Sancho, Soca Artiste Sherwyn Winchester and Jabloteh head coach, Terry Fenwick, the final decision was a unanimous one, as with most of the decisions throughout the night.
With a ‘side head stall’ to begin and a ‘shin stall’ to end, the defending champion brought a breath of fresh air in his first three minutes and ignited the previously palled crowd which had waited over an hour for the competition to begin and was quite obviously unimpressed with what was being offered to them before.
“You set the crowd alive,” said Fenwick, after Forde announced his arrival to the competition with his precise style, control and creativity which were the criterion used for judging.
Forde introduced new tricks in his first battle, including a ‘round the world’ and ‘sleeping while balancing the ball on his head’, demonstrating his exposure, having represented T&T at the international Freestyle Tournament for the past three years, in his battle against Mark Taylor.
“It feels great knowing that all the training and hard work actually paid off again,” said the 18-year-old on winning his third national title. He said he believed it was his style and creativity which set him apart from the rest.
“I also think my experience in the international competition and seeing freestyling on that level has really helped,” said Forde. His only challenge on the night he said, was adjusting to the new material of the ball, which was different from that used in previous years.
His final competitor, Jonathan Miller, did well to keep himself in the game for at least a short time, but the winner had long been decided, and Forde has freestyled his way to yet another title and a trip to South Africa, where the international final will be held.
And, unlike the 2008 final in Brazil where he did not place, the Business Management student hopes that this time he can step up and do a lot better.
Ford 3-time T&T 'Street Style' champ.
T&T Express Reports.For the third time running, Keron Ford emerged champion of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Bull Street Style Final at Fiesta Plaza, MovieTowne.
Last Tuesday, 15 other participants tried their best to outdo Ford with their tricks, flicks, control and creativity, but the returning champ impressed the trio of judges-former T&T footballer Brent Sancho, San Juan Jabloteh coach Terry Fenwick and entertainer Shurwayne Winchester-enough to earn their approval.
Ford, who edged Jonathon Miller for the title in the ultimate round of the event, will now compete at the world finals in South Africa in March.
’I feel really happy to win and even more to win three years in a row. I’m glad to represent Trinidad and Tobago in South Africa and thankful to Red Bull for giving me this opportunity. It would be great to meet up with my friends from all over the world,’ he told reporters after the win.
More than 500 patrons crowded the balcony at Fiesta Plaza and any other space where they could find a view of the fierce competition and cheer for their favourite freestylers.
After showing amazing moves with the ball and some interesting trick combos, including head stalls, ATWs (Around the World) and chin stalls, Keron was chosen unanimously by the judges, taking home the title for the third straight year.
Red Bull Freestyle winner, Kerron Forde ‘break dances’ with the ball during his hat-trick winning performance on Tuesday night at MovieTowne’s Fiesta Plaza, Invader’s Bay. Forde beat Jonathan Miller in the final round to capture the title for a third consecutive time.
