Hats off to everyone and anyone that came out to Rust Cup 2026, we'd be remiss if we didn’t start this off with a big THANK YOU! No other way to put it, you had to be there. This year’s series of Quad events on the East coast kicked off with the fourth annual Rust Cup and it did not disappoint. We’ll paint the picture…
Unlike every year prior, this year took place in May ☀️ as opposed to February ❄️ and it felt like a mixed drink between a High School Musical reunion and the vibes of Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. (idk, don’t ask)
The contest officially took place on Sunday, May 24, 2026, and conveniently lined up with Memorial Day Weekend (U.S. observed holiday), which allowed us some extra play time - consider this the new tradition.
Rollerskaters fresh & seasoned showed up in Jamestown, New York to compete, hang, judge, spectate, bounty hunt, skate and maybe a little bit of party.
You best believe we were there for every moment of the action, from yoga to headbanging. And, who do we have to thank, specifically? BUFFALO QUAD CREW. They really do it like nobody else and are a growing community force in Western New York.
The Rust Cup crew, led by New Wave OG - Ace (IG), Radio’s Finest - Clara (IG), and official herald and occasional jester, Sam (IG) delivers a home run every time.
In case you missed the action, we’ve got you covered. Throughout the weekend, roller skaters had the opportunity to create teams to play in the Bounty Hunter Challenge, spear-headed by Clara. This consisted of a series of on and off-skate challenges to be documented with videos. The team with the most submissions by the end of the challenge would be declared our Bounty Hunter winners.
To kick off competition day, Ace led not one, but two workshops: Yoga for Skaters and an instructional bowl sesh helping skaters find their line and build confidence in one of the gnarliest indoor bowls.
📸: Martina M.
From there, we dove right into some more bowl flow and the competition where Sam narrated the gnar-play-by-play over the mic. Many first-time competitors took their chance in the AM division. It was so rad to see new faces and lines in the bowl. Jamestown Skate Products (JSP) is home to one of the most unique indoor bowls with a wide variety of features to be tamed. There were a total of three heats of 5-6 skaters that competed in AM Qualifiers. After AM Finals, it was time for the ‘elders’ to grace the bowl. A legendary part of the annual Rust Cup competition, the Elders division, features skaters 35+ and skateboarders who’d like to take the bowl at their own pace or might not want to formally compete but definitely still want to show out! #Respect
Check out some of the skaters tearing it up:
Photos below by Kevin Gates.
🎆
The fireworks everyone was waiting for definitely popped off during the Open Division featuring three heats of rippers. Open Finals featured skaters Elise, Ivey, Christian, Irina and Sam. First place was due a $1000 prize.
To see all the action, check out the official Rust Cup livestreams produced by Modes Media. There’s a sneak peek of the release schedule below, so make sure to follow along on our YouTube channels.
Congratulations 2026 Rust Cup Podium:
OPEN DIVISION
AM DIVISION
winner, winner
Elise takes First Place
We caught up with Elise post-comp to find out...
How do you mentally “lock in” and block out the noise before a high-stakes moment?
"Mentally, I don’t think I have ever locked in- In skate competitions, I try to find my best friends either in my heat of competition or in the crowd and just have fun! The second I put pressure on myself to skate well, I totally bomb it and eat shit."
If you could relive one specific second of the competition/weekend, what would it be and why?
"If I could relive one moment of this weekend, it would be the pre skate pep talk that Ivey, Ace, Darcy and I shared. We all sat around (having a particularly intense and emotional weekend all around) and collectively decided to block it all out and skate and have fun for ourselves. The sense of community in that moment from these wonderful, amazing friends I have is why I feel so drawn to skating! The whole weekend, everyone was so amazing and welcoming and supportive- I truly love this community. P.S. the Seraphine’s Cleaver set also was freaking awesome."
Make sure you’re with us to celebrate the FIFTH annual Rust Cup next year in 2027 and stay up to date with Buffalo Quad Crew and Modes Media to catch more content from Rust Cup.
Subscribe to the Modes Media and Buffalo Quad Crew YouTube channels, and don’t miss when we re-air the 2026 Rust Cup competition.
Post-Comp
Of course there's always more skating going on. Skaters gon' skate! But, afterwards, we were also graced by the sounds of Seraphine's Clever, a band out of NYC and a local Buffalo hardcore group called BAAG.
Plus, during the awards ceremony we found out who THEE Bounty Hunters were. Congratulations to The Mmmmmm-Air-Landers team, a crew from Maryland.
Learn more about Rust Cup, the JSP Bowl, and hear what skaters have to say:
AM WINNER
Maxie
Being that it was your first competition, what is your next major goal now that you’ve got a win under the belt?
"My next major goal would be to improve my skating and learn how to do cart wheels and hand stands and compete for the Brooklyn Cup."
Was there an unexpected obstacle you had to get used to/overcome during the competition?
"The main obstacle that affected me was having to skate in front of a so many great skaters."
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Photos by Martina M. (@rolllntoke) and Kevin Gates (@kgatesphotos)
Rust Cup Graphic Design by Sam H. (@quadskatecowboy)
To get high resolution photos, use our contact form or DM Modes Media
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