What is the Berrics?
The Berris is a private indoor skatepark in LA founded by Eric Koston and Steve Berra. The skatepark has been the home of skateboard culture, both online and in California’s skate mecca.
Berra + Eric = Berrics
What is The Battle at the Berrics?
BATB for short
The Battle at the Berrics is a professional skateboarding competition for the classic game of skate. The flat ground only flip trick competition is a bracket-style elimination similar to March Madness. It is a one-game elimination with the winner moving on to the next round.
WBATB – Women’s Battle at the Berrics
2019 was the first year they introduced the first WBATB. The bracket consisted of female pros and ams along with skaters hand-picked from Instagram clips using the hashtag #whoisinwbatb. Fingers crossed this competition continues in the following years along with the men’s!
The Battle at the Berrics Rules to the Game of Skate
1. FLAT GROUND ONLY
BUT that does not mean everything on flat ground counts
The game of skate is traditionally only played with tricks done on flat ground. That means only flip tricks count, no ramps or rails will count.
2. No feet on the ground
That means you are not allowed to do no-complys, hand plants, or bonelesses. If you
3. No grabs
A grab on a skateboard is when your hand reaches down and holds the board while in the air. No
4. No Manuals
Flat ground tricks need to be landed on all four wheels to count as a land.
5. No tricks that slide on the ground
Especially if your opponent popped their trick!
The ground at the Berrics is notoriously slippery, but that doesn’t mean you can do a 360 sliding all the way around.
7. The last letter gets two tries on E
The defense gets only one try to land the trick to avoid the letter until the final round. When the skater is on their last attempt to land, two tries helps them stay in the game.
8. Offensive toe drag gets one do-over
When setting a trick, there is a higher level of how clean it should be. If a foot touches the ground from heel drag or toe touch, the skater has a second chance to clean it up.
9. Defensive toe drag has a bigger margin of error
But it will ultimately be decided by the referee if it was a particularly sloppy trick or if the tail skid on the ground there might not be a second chance.
Watch the final battle from BATB 11 with Luan Oliveira & Chris Joslin
Who Has Won Previous Battle at the Berrics?
2008 Battle at the Berrics – Mike Mo Capaldi
2009 Battle at the Berrics 2 – Chris Cole
2010 Battle at the Berrics 3 – Paul Rodriguez
2011 Battle at the Berrics IV U.S. vs. Them – Morgan Smith
2012 Battle at the Berrics V Team Berra vs. Team Koston – PJ Ladd
2013 Battle at the Berrics VI Goofy vs. Regular – PJ Ladd
2014 Battle at the Berrics 7 Pros vs. Joes – Cody Cepeda
2015 Battle at the Berrics 8 – Sewa Kroetkov
2016 Battle at the Berrics 9 New Blood – Diego Najera
2017 Battle at the Berrics X Best of the Best – Chris Joslin
2018 Battle at the Berrics 11 Team Captains Mike Mo & Chris Roberts – Luan Oliveira
2019 Women’s Battle at the Berrics – Monica Torres