Fast runs and wide grins at the skate park

“If you’ve never touched a deck before in your life, you can just run through the course!” This was how competitors were welcomed to the now legendary skateboarding competition organized by Tikari Skateboards. Afterward it was added that the course could also be completed by bicycle, or by motorbike, if one was so inclined. The presenter’s jokes summed up the atmosphere of the entire event: chilled and fair. The energy coming off both the skaters and the audience was tangible. Finding the skate park was easy enough just based on sound, as even before the competition got under way, the course was buzzing with skaters young and old as they warmed up for the contest. The event had drawn all kinds of people to the park and the age spectrum of the participants was very broad. What all competitors had in common was a wide grin that could be seen from afar as they raced their boards around.

Before the first competitive group got underway the crowd was treated to a montage of last year’s winners. We even got to see one “skate king” who completed his run cape-a-flying and crown-a-gleaming in the sun. This wasn’t the only bit of fun at the event, far from it. The presenter delivered rapid-fire commentary via a megaphone and cheered the competitors on in a way that couldn’t help but lift the spirits of everyone at the park. The first category, speed runs, got underway at 12:30 and the goal was to get the fastest lap around the course, obviously enough. Face plants were remedied with cheers and retries, which the judges were eager to hand out. There were no serious accidents, even though the going could get pretty wild. At times the skateboarding whiz kids and older connoisseurs made the noble sport look easy, while other runs clearly showed how demanding skateboarding can really be. Hats off to the young skater who cleared a bar set up at the height of 105 centimeters while barely being taller than that himself. “What you learn as a boy, you are the master of as a man,” said the presenter. This reporter could add to that that once you’ve got it, you’ll never lose it – this would seem to be the case with skateboarding, at least.

Text: Helisa Reittola
Photo: Tuomas Vitikainen
Translation: Jyrki Laitinen