Xtreme SkatePark @ East Coast got off to a roaring start last weekend with the international Singapore Extreme Championship 2009.

Cult star athletes and masters of their respective extreme disciplines, Takeshi Yasukoto (Aggressive In-Line), Trevor Ward (Skateboard) and Tim Wood (BMX Freestyle) spoilt the crowd silly with stylishly executed demos.

Youth.SG resident shutterbug Alvin has pictures to show for it. Look!



Trivia: If you've got sharp eyes, you'd spot guest-of-honour PM Lee in the background of the above pics.

It was especially awesome for our very own local athletes Fazuly bin Sudarmaji and Juraimi bin Jumali, who came in tops for Aggressive In-Line and Skateboard respectively. Thailand's Rungrueang Phamee won in the BMX Freestyle challenge.

Top skater Juraimi, who was initially psyched about meeting Trevor Ward in the flesh for the first time, told Youth.SG afterwards that they were chatting like "old friends": "We talked as per normal about skating."

To prepare for his winning act, Juraimi religiously visited Xtreme SkatePark for all-day practice sessions every Fri in the leadup to the championship. He intends to continue honing his skills there from now on.

Dreadful rain on Sun, the day the championship finals were to be held, meant that original plans had to be ditched. At 5.30pm, the organisers decided to determine the winners by their performances in the Sat prelims. They were scored based on skills and showmanship, by three judges, Mike Opalek (Aggressive In-Line), Adam Banton (BMX Freestyle) and Charlie Wilkins (Skateboard).

Over 5,000 people attended the event over two days, and 75 regional athletes from seven Asian countries competed in total.

We quote Trevor Ward from a joint media release by NParks and MCYS, “It was fantastic to come to Singapore and see such effort taken to promote the sport... The park itself is phenomenal, there was a buzz in the crowd the whole weekend, and that can only be good news for the sport here, and in the region.”

Like Ward, Opalek had high praise for Xtreme SkatePark: "I was very excited to see a park of this stature, and the competitors certainly enjoyed it.”

Singapore Extreme Championship 2009 may have ended last Sun, but it is certainly just the beginning for Xtreme SkatePark. Visit the place! LCL

More outtakes over the weekend:



ARCHIVE
Xtreme treats this Sat
First to try out the new Xtreme Skatepark!
Knee injuries won’t stop this BMX biker
Whatever Xtreme SkatePark

PHOTO: ALVIN TEO
VIEW MORE PHOTOS HERE

Singapore Extreme Championships 2009 happened at Xtreme SkatePark @ East Coast last weekend. Catch the Oct 17, 7pm telecast on ESPN, StarHub Ch 23. Xtreme SkatePark is located behind Carpark F1.

Lai Chow is the editor of Youth.SG. She is often mistaken for a man, 'nuff said.

THIS ARTICLE IS PART OF Aug 31-Sept 6 :: The Learning Issue