******Tex Has Friends In High Places******

Tex Has Friends In High Places
07-12-01
by: Dave Finger
EXPN.com
Tex Games Rocks in Omak,Washington
Full story and action photos at:
EXPN.TexGames2001-Omak,Washington

**********Extreme extravaganza**********

07-09-2001
Brian Downing,24, of Ferndale
soars through the air Friday

in the Tex Games 2001,
held in Omak Wa. over the weekend.
World photo/Kelly Gillin
By K.C. Mehaffey World staff writer

OMAK,Washington 07-09-2001
Seth Enslow walked up the 45-degree ramp,
held his hand over the visor of his motorcycle helmet and
looked across the tops of one motorhome and nine cars
and trucks to the dirt mound on the other side.

He then drove his bike up the dirt mound -- his landing pad
-- and looked the other way, back at the takeoff ramp.

The jump -- spectators said they saw a worried look on his
face just after takeoff -- landed him at the edge of the
mound, short enough so no one knew for sure if the
professional rider and dare-devil would make it.

Dirt flew as his rear tire made a four-inch pit in the earth.
He drove his bike up and over the mound to a cheering crowd.

How far? "Two hundred feet," said the announcer,
Cameron Steele. "Actually, in this case, it was 199."

That's extreme sports. Going to the edge, and making it.
You hope.

"You never know what's going to happen at the Tex
Games," said Steele. And he was right.

Police, who feared the games would get out of hand,
reported no problems, said Omak Police Chief Larry schreckengast.

Most of the 8,000 tickets available for both the Friday and
Saturday shows weren't sold, but organizers didn't seem to mind that either.

"Of course, it was a success," said promoter Dave McKay.
People had fun, the event went off without a hitch.

McKay said he still doesn't have figures on how many
tickets were sold, or how much money was raised for the
Scott Stamnes Give To Kids Fun(d), a memorial fund
honoring a top Bellevue skateboarder killed by a drunken driver last year.

Police estimated about 600 people were at the Stampede
grounds at the Eastside Park on Friday, and 2,000 on Saturday.

"We couldn't have been happier with the city of Omak,"
he added. "I think we helped expand some of the consciousness of this county.
It's all about breaking down barriers. We're like normal people."

The crowd was mostly twenty-somethings.
Lots of tanned bodies, tattoos and pierced body parts.
"I've never seen so much body art in my life,"
said Omak Councilman Bob Kawahara, who supported Tex Games.
"This is a little different crowd than we're used to," he said.
"But we didn't have any difficulty at all."

The City Council was reluctant to give its approval,
worried about reports of last year's Tex Games at Tex Devenport's
ranch in Glacier, near Mount Baker.
Schreckengast recommended that the council not allow the
games, saying police might not be able to handle such a
large crowd of young people on top of many Fourth of July events.

McKay said this year's event is the first time rodeo has
been mixed with extreme sports.

"We were real skeptical. Motorcycling and bulls usually
don't mix," said rodeo announcer Dale Crossland. "But I
thought they enjoyed the riding and we enjoyed the motorcycles."

He said bull riders commented that the motocross freestyle
riders were nuts, and motorcycle riders thought bull riders were crazy.

"I liked watching it (bull riding),
as long as I'm not the one getting injured,"
said Seattle resident Chris Robinson,
who does a lot of alternative sports.

Friday was the first time he had ever seen rodeo.
Local residents seemed to like the mix, too.
Tonasket teen-agers Jed Whittaker, Nick Pavek and Seth
Super sat in the stands watching their friends ride bulls,
but anxiously waiting for more motocross jumping,
snowmobiling through dirt and the truck tug of war.

"This is awesome," said Kevin Cornett, of Okanogan.
"It's neat we're getting something like this in Omak.
It's the best of everything. I hope they do it again."

Stampede President Fred Winningham said he thinks local
concern over hosting the Tex Games was from fear of the unknown.

He said he had some concern Friday night when impromptu
women's mud wrestling brought the entire crowd into the
arena after truck tug of war.

But the crowd was kept back, and the situation handled well, he said.

"It didn't get beyond a PG rating," he said.
Winningham said the noise level of the music,
which went on until after midnight both nights,
will likely be the only issue city leaders need
to address if Tex Devenport wants to return with his games next year.

"I thought it was a great opportunity for Okanogan County
to see another lifestyle," he said.
"If they can get everything pulled together and cleaned up,
there shouldn't be any reason for anyone to complain."

Crowd control not an issue as Tex Games
open with a whimper

By K.C. Mehaffey, World staff writer
7-8-2001
OMAK,Washington
Alternative sports, live music, a spur-of-the-moment women's
mud-wrestling competition -- everything came together at the
Tex Games here Friday, except the crowds.

But the sparse attendance didn't worry organizers,
who hoped to attract thousands and pulled in only several hundred people
for the first day of a two-day mix of motocross jumping, rodeo, truck tug-of-war,
skateboarding and BMX biking at the Omak Stampede Arena at the Eastside Park.

"It'll get better tomorrow, hopefully," said organizer Tex Devenport.
"If not, I'll be in Omak for a while washing dishes."

He jumped through several hoops -- including hiring Starplex Security
and paying the Omak Police Department $15,000 to bring on eight additional
officers each day -- to get approval from the City Council to hold the event.

Omak Sgt. Frank Rogers said they could have done with three
instead of the 13 officers patrolling the grounds.

Aside from a few alcohol-related disturbances,
there were no problems, he said.

Outside the gate, a group of Omak boys tried out a new pyramid and vert ramp
that Devenport's crew constructed this week to enlarge the city's skate park.

Most said they planned to attend Saturday, except Ted Storm, 14,
who was directing cars to parking areas. "I'll go in later
tonight," he said Friday, noting his job gets him in free.

Cory Michels, 10, who was riding his BMX bike on the new course,
said he couldn't wait to see the professionals in action.
"I'll just watch everything," he said.

Some said they were waiting until today so they could catch
Seth Enslow's 170-foot motocross jump over motorhomes, scheduled for 3 p.m.

Inside the arena, three huge mounds of dirt and two ramps sent professional
motocross freestylers flying across the afternoon sky where they did midair tricks.

In between, a boxing ring was covered in tarps,
waiting for today's toughman-style boxing.

Organizers also postponed the truck tug-of-war finals until today,
hoping for better traction for trucks. Hooked together with a metal cable,
the four-wheel-drives gunned their engines and sprayed dirt 20 feet into
the air trying to pull each other over the line.

But the wet surface was perfect for mud wrestling,
so the announcer asked for, and got,
donations from the audience for prize money.

A crew from Blue Torch TV was filming the event,
which will air later on Fox Sports Network.

*****Tex Games bring the 'extreme' to Omak*****

06-11-2001
Tex Games bring the 'extreme' to Omak
By K.C. Mehaffey World staff writer
OMAK -- Omak is preparing for an extreme weekend July 6 and 7.

The Tex Games -- a mix of alternative sports, rodeo events
and music -- expects to draw 8,000 spectators to the
Eastside Park and Omak Stampede Arena each day.

The Omak City Council recently approved the event,
although the city's police chief recommended against it.

But organizer Tex Devenport, from Glacier, near Mount
Baker, said he's confident he'll pull off a well-organized and
well-policed event that will leave the city asking for more.

Last year's Tex Games, held at his 40-acre ranch, was a
year-end party for Mount Baker snowboarders, and parts of
the two-day bash admittedly got out of control, he said.

An article on ESPN's Web site describes last year's Tex
Games as a huge drunken bash policed by the Banditos,
a biker gang.

A wet T-shirt contest that turned into a strip show apparently
drew police, although no one was arrested, according to the article.

Devenport said the report made the overall event sound more shocking than was the case.
He said there will be no wet T-shirt contests this year.

A sergeant at the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office said
deputies made no arrests at last year's Tex Games,
but he added his department had a manpower issue that weekend.

"It was a huge success for them, but it was kind of nightmare
for authorities," said Warner Webb, Whatcom County fire marshal.

Webb said the state Department of Transportation had a
problem with cars parking on the Mount Baker Highway,
and the state Liquor Control Board apparently wasn't pleased
with beer garden control.

He added the same promoters have since put on a couple
snowboarding events, which were much better organized.

"If I had to vote somebody most improved, they'd be it," he said.

But Omak Police Chief Larry Schreckengast said he worries
that the event will attract a younger crowd, and a crowd that
is more likely to consume large amounts of alcohol. He said
no one he talked to when investigating last year's Tex Games
gave him any indication it was a wholesome, family event.

This year, Devenport said, he plans to create an opportunity
for all to see some of the world's top alternative sports
competitors, with proceeds going to a cause close to his heart.

Devenport said 10 percent of ticket sales, proceeds from
vendors and sponsor funds will go to the Scott Stamnes Give To Kids fund.

Stamnes, who was rated the eighth top amateur skateboarder
in the world, was killed by a drunken driver in France early
this year, he said. His Bellevue parents set up the fund to
give young people the opportunity to pursue alternative sports, music and art.

Devenport said Stamnes was a personal friend.
"He was just a real cool,
positive person who always helped people in need," he said.

He said many of the world's top skateboarders, pro-BMX
riders and freestyle motocross jumpers have pledged to
perform just to support the cause.

Among them is motorcycle jumper Seth Enslow, who will
jump 170 or more feet over motor homes outside the arena
on Saturday, and perhaps on Friday if more sponsors commit,
said Devenport.

In addition to the BMX and skateboard exhibitions,
there will be boxing competitions, truck tug-of-wars,
open mini-bike races, professional rodeo exhibitions,
calf riding for kids, and live music by 20 bands from around the West.

He said beer gardens will be monitored to prevent people
from drinking outside the boundaries.

He's hired Starplex, a security team used at the Omak Stampede,
to patrol the Eastside Park.
He also will pay for additional police officers required by the council.

Schreckengast said he still has concerns about the event,
particularly since his Omak officers will be busy patrolling
the city during the three-day Fourth of July weekend.

But now that the city council has approved Tex Games,
he said he'll work to ensure it's a safe weekend for all.

Tickets, not yet on sale,
are expected to range from $28 to $30 per day, Devenport said.

On the Web: www.texgames.com