Flips, tail whips and massive air – there have been plenty of skills on show as the Blunt Side Sk8 Park Tours skate their way around the region and on Saturday it will be Parkes’ turn.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The group, who tour across regional NSW, bring clinics and competition days to skaters, scooter riders and bike riders in rural areas.
Organisers Rick Konza and Blake Gander said it’s all about changing the reputation around skate parks and their users.
“We are just trying to change how everyone perceives the community in skating, we’re not all just stoners or young street rats anymore who just like causing chaos, they are just good kids, this is just their outlet,” he said.
“It’s like being part of a brotherhood.”
Blake said it was also about giving country kids the opportunity to compete at a higher level.
“We are looking to expand and build scenes up elsewhere,” he said.
“The main reason why we do it is it gives the kids purpose, their grades improves, their home life improves, they go leaps and bounds now that they have something to strive for,” Rick said.
The competition features four different sections – Opens, Womens, 16 and Under and 12 and Under age divisions.
Saturday’s events will run between 10am to 2pm, with prizes and giveaways.
The cost to participate is $5.
Rick said while results matter, consistency and having fun were the most important parts of any competition.
“The top two in each division go to the final in Orange, and then we have a wildcard,” he said.
“It isn’t about who is best, the guys who just going out there and having fun, they win, you’ve all got a chance.”
Blake said the best part about running clinics and competitions are seeing the kids develop and seeing their parents pay attention.
“A lot of these kids are like dried spaghetti, we just throw them in the water with whatever they need to figure themselves out and they bend their own way,” Blake said.
“We are just like the sauce,” Rick said.
