Vic West Annual Skateboard Competition

The Annual Vic West Skateboard Competition took place last Saturday, June 8. There were lots of enthusiastic competitors of all ages and genders. It's fascinating to watch the incredible tricks these kids can do with those little bits of plywood on wheels. See also this post from a few days ago.

Vic West Skate Park

A wonderful place to take pictures.

Vic West Skateboard Competition

The Vic West Skateboard Competition was held last Saturday and it was an inspiring event. It reminded me how different skateboarding is from most of what we consider to be sports. It was the first truly urban sport, the first sport that developed in and utilized the modern urban environment of cement and curbs and railings. It also seems to me to be the sport that is most driven by kids themselves. I can't remember when I last saw a bunch of kids playing soccer or baseball outside of an adult-organized situation. Kids like those sports but they seldom seem to play them unless there is a lot of adult assistance and motivation. If you drive by the skateboard park, however, on any day when it's not raining you will see dozens of kids out there bouncing around and working on their skills, interacting with each other and teaching and learning from each other. It's exciting to see kids so focused on learning something that takes effort and concentration and often results in hard landings. Kids of all ages and both genders took part in the competition and my hat's off to them all.

Vic West Skate Park

Here's another archival image from late last spring, of the skate park in Victoria West. I'm planning another visit here in the next month or so but next time I'm going to be shooting through a fish-eye lens.

Victoria West Skate Park

Skateboarding is a sport that seems to have popped into existence in the sixties and become very popular. My son-in-law skates and here is a photo of him today at the local skate park.