In the end it would be Kevin Delaney taking home the cash and the biggest smile in the Legends division. Long time shredder Cameron Beck ripped it to 2nd, while Chris Roach finished in 3rd.

Young ruler, Cody Horan, took home the open class with huge airs and stylish spins. The future is in good hands. Chris Roach once again killed it and took 2nd in the overall open division while Christie Elder made it a sweep with her stylish 1st place finish in the women’s open division.

Chuck and Dino

The overall titles went to Christie Elder and Cameron Beck for the Legends division and Cody Horan in the open division. Each overall winner won a one-of-a-kind Sims snowboard with special graphics from the event. The day was a perfect tribute to Tom and his legacy with sunshine, a killer pipe and friends ripping harder as the day went on.

Along with the Tom Sims Retro contest, the Legends of Tahoe Snowboarding inductees were announce. A yearly tradition, the Legends of Tahoe Snowboarding honors three to four local legends for their involvement and contribution to snowboarding in the Tahoe area.

This year paid tribute to the Reno side of things and longtime Tina Basich sidekick, Heather Mills. The Reno honorees were Fall Line Films’ Jerry Dugan and Artie Krehbiel and legendary photographer Chris Carnel. There was a surprise honoree and it went to hardcore dedicated skater, snowboarder and all around great guy, Edgar “Pineapple” Rivera. He has been in the scene locally for well over 30 years.

The most moving part of the weekend came after the awards ceremony when longtime skate and snowboard legend, rider, videographer, and the best guy ever, Mike Chantry, stepped up to the mic to pay tribute to his longtime old friend, Tom Sims.

He spoke about Tom’s vision for the first halfpipe contest and how this was exactly how Tom would have envisioned it: Everyone stoked, warm sun, killer snow and riders tearing it up. It was such an emotional moment that we were all crying and possibly reflecting on our own moments with Tom. Long time Sims creative designer, Scott Clum, talked about how close he became with Tom and their inside joke about Sharpies. Scott was such an important part of Sims Snowboards; it would have been impossible for him to be anything less than a brother to Tom.

More tears flowed and everyone seemed comfortable in the moment despite our shared sadness. Former Sims Skateboards team rider Michael Hess was up and he made it clear how deep his loyalty to Sims runs. He talked about first meeting Tom in 1977 and once he stepped on Sims, he never looked back. Mike most recently collaborated with Tom on some new skate designs and he will continue Tom’s vision with Hess Skateboards.

Chuck Barfoot took the mic and told the very real story of just how close he was with Tom, reminiscing about living together and virtually sharing every aspect of each other’s lives. He got very emotional in sharing how much Tom meant to him and explained that it looked like a rivalry to any outsider, but the truth was, they were longtime friends. They moved to California together, shared the same surf and skate visions and eventually created boards together. It was an incredibly special moment for every person in the crowd. These are the moments that make history and it was so fitting for it to be at this historic event.

Legends Pipe Crew

Possibly the most magical moment of the afternoon was when Tom Hsieh, founder of the first snowboard magazine, ISM, took the stage. He told me earlier in the day that he had a surprise for everyone. Tom had worked political angles with some people in the California State Assembly and it was simple for Assemblyman Phil Ting to see the great contributions Tom Sims made to not only skateboarding and snowboarding, but to the State of California as well. The California State Assembly and Assemblyman Phil Ting honored Tom Sims with a Memorial Resolution that Tom Hsieh read aloud. It was so perfect and was read with incredible emotion and power, with numerous “whereas” and “as such-es” combined with descriptions of Tom’s accomplishments. It felt like the lead solo in a blazing guitar rock song and I got excited as my heart pounded for Tom Sims. He is forever immortalized and recognized, as he so well deserved decades ago. We miss Tom every day!

The day could not have happened without the major work effort by Mike Chantry. He did most of the heavy lifting as Tom Collins, Don Bostick and myself just had to follow Mike’s lead.

We’re already looking forward to next year! Thanks to Sims Snowboards, Soda Springs, Skullcandy, Flow, Sessions, Smokin Snowboards and especially, Tom Sims.