Three skateboarders slid, ollied and kickflipped to their first titles over the weekend.
All three divisions saw first-time winners at the Whitehorse Skate Competition at Second Haven Skate Park on Saturday.
According to Whitehorse’s Noah Hutchison, the stiffer the competition, the better everyone performs.
“If you skate with the best you can ride the best,” said Hutchison. “You push each other and that’s what really does it. It’s a team, that’s how I see it. No one is really better than anyone, it’s who gets their tricks done.”
Hutchison picked up his first title in the advanced division. The 20-year-old, who placed third in 2012, tried to have smooth runs by avoiding risky tricks.
“It’s consistency. I wasn’t doing crazy tricks, I was keeping it consistent,” said Hutchison. “Having fun is the main thing.”
Curtis Carlick, who placed third the last three years, moved up to a second place finish in advanced.
Five-time and defending champ Max Melvin-McNutt placed third. The 22-year-old, who is the first Yukoner to make Canada’s national snowboarding team, recently retired from competitive snowboarding due to a series of injuries.
Following the advanced division runs Paddy Robinson won the best trick segment of the competition with a 360 free flip down the six-step.
While Hutchison kept his runs safe, Whitehorse’s Braeden Dolan did the opposite.
Skating in his first comp, the 18-year-old wowed judges with a backside 180 with a kickflip down the six-step to win the intermediate division.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever landed it and it was in my comp run, so it was pretty nice,” said Dolan.
“It’s fun, just having a good time with the homies,” he added of the event.
Brother Talon Dolan took second and Brenden Germain third in intermediate.
After coming close the last two years, Lewis Bunce finally rose to the top of the standings in the beginner division. The 11-year-old out-performed Kieran Mooney, who finished second, and Lucas Robinson and Declan Casey, who tied for third.
“It’s pretty good. The last two years I’ve come second, it’s good to finally come first,” said Bunce.
“I’ve been practicing that little grind on the box at least a couple weeks now. I think that was my best trick.”
In the past the annual event was the Canada Day Skate Comp and was held July 1. Organizers with the Skate for Life Alliance and BYTE (Bringing Youth Towards Equality) decided to hold this year’s event on July 2 to avoid competing with Canada Day events.
Whitehorse rock duo Soda Pony closed out the competition with a concert.
Contact Tom Patrick at tomp@yukon-news.com