OG Summer Gypsy Games 2008

By Shane Badman

The OG Summer Gypsy Games is a week long non-profit event. It’s held every year in the beautiful city of Ajka, approximately 2 hours by train or car from Budapest the capital city of Hungary. The Gypsy Games is run and organised by the OG Bike Co. with many of their team riders including Adam Kun, Peter Sarlos, Markus Redlberger, Valter Guerreiro, Cory Fester, Effraim Catlow and OG Marton in attendance.

When you compare the OG Gypsy Games to other events around the world it rates as one of the best. The OG guys go out of their way to make everyone feel welcome from picking up the riders from the airport to helping you find a ride to the event. No matter who you are, everyone is made to feel welcome. Riders from all over the world come to attend from countries including Germany, England, France, Austria, Slovakia, The Czech Republic, Japan, Canada, Australia, Portugal and everywhere in between –the Gypsy Games in Hungary is truly a global event.

So how did all this happen? OG Marton and Andras at OG Bike Co. came up with idea of the Games together with Robert Voller as a response to the lack of an event on the contest calendar that had a main focus of being fun and without the stress and hassle that a lot of the bigger contests have. Putting their heads together, they came up with the concept of the Gypsy Games. The event runs for approximately 7 days from Monday to Sunday with daily weekday practice scheduled followed by a no stress contest over the weekend with support provided by Red Bull.

Whether you decide to leave Budapest by train or car, the journey to Ajka passes quickly and it is a perfect opportunity to see the changing scenery of Hungary. Arriving in Ajka it is likely you will see groups of riders getting around, exploring or visiting the shops closeby. At the site of the Gypsy Games in the city centre, you will check into your private hostel where the riders stay and just outside sit 3 perfect practice courts available to ride anytime with plenty of space for everyone and every type of trick.

So how do riders find the OG Gypsy Games? The atmosphere of the week is really laid back with riders sessioning and practicing at all times, people just cruising around or getting crazy at the water park. At night the riders all go to check out the various clubs in the area to just hang out or throw down their skills on the dance floor. This just goes to show how much emphasis there is just to have fun.

The OG Gypsy Games is truly a world-wide event – what other contest or jam is there that runs for a week with riding all day and partying all night? Hanging out with some of the best pros in the sport with everyone around you motivated to ride as much as possible and all in a country, city and scene that breathes flatland?

If you’ve got any questions at all email the guys at OG (info@original-gypsy.com), they’ll be more than happy to help you out. Whether it’s booking flights, helping with transport or what to pack, they’ve got it sorted. We look forward to seeing you all the 2008 OG Summer Gypsy Games on July 14 – 20.