Local skaters shred and grind at the third annual UBC skate competition

Salomon Micko Benrimoh
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Published on Sept. 24, 2016

The UBC skate park on Thunderbird Boulevard was taken over on Thursday, September 22 by The Calendar for the third annual UBC skate competition and BBQ. Local skaters from around the campus and Vancouver put their bodies to the absolute limit for every trick, all for the entertainment of those in the crowd.

The event is in its third year and its second in the month of September — an approach that has proven to attract a larger crowd as opposed to the original date in April. Last year’s event attracted just about 100 people and skaters, and there seemed to be no change in attendance at this year’s contest.

The event itself began with a free skate that lasted about an hour and a half. This gave plenty of time for all the skaters to warm up across the park in the bowl, on the flat bar and quarter pipe, and down the six-stair gap. Meanwhile, the skate club staff provided the crowd with refreshments and one-dollar wieners, and a fairly diverse playlist of Kaytranada, Jimi Hendrix and old school hip-hop.

After the warm up period, the skaters got down to business. The first portion of the contest was a 20-minute jam session along the lane between the flat bar and quarter pipe.  This saw the skaters get technical as they started to bust out different combinations of flip tricks and grind tricks. 

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The contest then shifted over to another 20-minute jam session, this time in the bowl section of the park. This part was definitely a crowd pleaser, as spectators reacted more as the skaters gained more air time.

The third portion of the contest saw the skaters tackle the six-stair gap and rail in an extended jam session.  The skaters competing showed their determination, getting up after every bail to try again and again until they landed the trick exactly as they wanted.  Three winners were announced from these three jams and each were awarded a new deck, a sheet of grip tape and a beanie courtesy of Pacific Boarder skate shop.

Overall, there was good weather, a good turnout and even better skating. This all came together to give UBC Skate and The Calendar another successful annual skate competition.