The Freestyle Now crew headed north for a street course skatepark competition at Balga Skatepark. This competition included all disciplines, skateboard, scooter, BMX, inline and rollerskate. Joining the crew for the day was Freestyle Now team member Hudson Goodchild, renowned scooter rider and DJ. It was good to Hudson back in the event team schedule and judging for the day and bringing the good times all day long. We set out for a longer than usual day due to all the disciplines but the sun was shining and the vibes were high, and time flies when you’re having fun.
Kicking off the day was our inline and rollerskate competitors. It’s been wicked watching these action sports grow in participation over the last few years. In first place for Inline we saw young Jacob Burro, he was repping a full new inline set up and absolutely killed his run. In second place was up and comer, Ariana Waters. Ariana’s determination to progress in her sport has been nothing short of amazing and we can’t see what the future holds for this talented young rider. In third we saw Tahn Crawford who also rode in our inline division at Action Sports Games this year, Tahn has been showing up for his community and is always all smiles. Next up we saw a showcase of talent from two very different rollerskaters. In first place Sasha Berg took the win, first competition since a recent MCL injury she took it easy but executed solid grinds and airs and kept flow around the course. In second place was Larissa Hendry, showing off her awesome artistic skating style and her super strong drop ins. We are super stoked on all these competitors coming down to get involved and happy to provide a platform for them to show their skill and unite.
Up next was our scooter division, some course favourites for the scooter riders seemed to be the gap and euro. In beginners, Curtis Gepp came out shooting and won first place. He started his run by whipping into the transition and then just about whipped every other obstacle on the park. In second place was Dawid Cieszynski, showcasing great use of the park and in third we saw Cody Chipchase. Special mention to Max England in fourth for his fear defying drop of the tombstone, it was a very fun watch for beginners. In intermediate we saw Spencer Park take out first place. Spencer impressed us all, making huge progress since we last saw him at the Bassendean competition. His run had many tricks, good use of the park and perfect consistency, a sure fire way to see yourself climb up the leader board is to nail all of the judging criteria, which Spencer did. Flynn Read followed him in second place, with a good effort and Kody Weston came through in third place, he seemed at home on a street style park as this is the style of riding he gravitates to, he made an impression with a huge finger whip over the A frame and we are keen to see him back in our upcoming competitions. In the Open we saw Brandon Black take out 1st, showcasing great skill and progression and getting super technical, showing off fakie skills out of a quarter and holding it to a 180 down the bank. This type of creativity really gets the judges attention. In the runner up spot we saw crowd favourite, Joshua O’Neil. Who gapped the whole A frame over the ledge and onto the flat. It was wicked to see him thinking outside the box. All of our scooter competitors showcased some mad skill and we are stoked to see friendly faces returning and building up that community.
Clockwise from top left – Lachlan Mcgough thinking outside of the box, as usual. – Kody Weston hitting a huge finger whip over the a-frame. -Alistair Viviani Going for the tallest rail in the park. – Jacob Burro who came 1st place in the Inline division. To see the full album from this day head to our facebook page here.
We rolled into skateboard next, this was our busiest discipline of the day with 19 competitors. We kicked it off with beginners and the 1st place getter, Ziggy Wolf, came out flying. With huge power his run scored him that top spot. It was great to see Ellie Stathakis on the podium again in second place and following in 3rd was Fletcher Arpin who wowed the judges with a massive ollie down the stair set. In the intermediate we saw young Elliott Hanley take the win, coming in 1st with a wicked display of skill. Liam Davey followed up in second place with power and precision. And Tayah Payne came through in third place showcasing great flow and street skill. In open we saw some new faces. In 1st place was Alistair Viviani, Alistair made a big impression with a huge 180 down the stair set. Following him in second place we had Julian Phillips, who put up a good fight and in third was Luke Bourke who made great use of the whole park. Special mention to regular, Geoff Knibbs for nailing his first 50/50 in competition after many attempts at previous competitions. It’s wicked getting to see those wins and progression in real time.
To finish up the long day of competition we saw an extremely talented group of BMX riders go head to head. In the beginner section it was Salva Hogan who took the win, young Salva has been working hard and it certainly shows. In second place was Garnet Rock. Garnet was trying for a 360 but didn’t quite get there, we look forward to seeing it in the near future. In third place was young Logan Knibbs who always comes through with the cheek and originality. In intermediate we had Bailey Smith take the win, with loads of originality as well and buckets of tricks. In second was Damian Luck and in third was Levi Heerema, getting double pegs up on the ledge was certainly a highlight for us and for Levi. In open we saw a wicked showdown of talent, The Furukawa brothers came down from Geraldton, Jay took out first and Koutaro took out second. These guys hit trick after trick including backflips, 540’s and tailwhips. It was an amazing watch and a tough judge. Following the brothers in third place was Joshua O’Neil who put up a good fight and put on a good show.
Overall, the Balaga skatepark competition was an absolute riot, with big numbers and big smiles. We count down the days until the next one where the community can come together and celebrate our love and talent in action sports. A huge thanks goes out to the City of Stirling, without them the event just wouldn’t be possible and we can’t wait to collaborate again in the future. Thanks to everyone who came down to compete or support, we will see you at the next one!
We would like to thank our partner, Right By You. Rightbyyou.org.au is a mental health resource made for young people, by young people. There is easy to understand, useful information on the website if you or your friends are in a mental health crisis situation. Head to rightbyyou.org.au if you need to help a friend or yourself today.
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Balga Skatepark Competition – Official Results – 12th April 2025
Inline Open – 1st Jacob Burro, 2nd Ariana Waters, 3rd Tahn Crawford
Roller Skate Open – 1st Sasha Berg, 2nd Larissa Hendry
Scooter beginner – 1st Curtis Gepp, 2nd Dawid (David) Cieszynski, 3rd Cody Chipchase, 4th Max England, 5th Jonah Grund, 6th Elisei Rezanov, 7th Fabien Gepp
Scooter Intermediate – 1st Spencer Park, 2nd Flynn Read, 3rd Kodi Weston, 4th Cruz West, 5th Taj Driessen
Scooter Open – 1st Brandon Black, 2nd Joshua O’Neil
Skateboard Beginner – 1st Ziggy Wolff, 2nd Ellie Stathakis, 3rd Fletcher Arpin, 4th Sullivan Arpin, 5th Lucy Davie, 6th Logan (Squid) Carter, 7th Dawid (David) Cieszynski
Skateboard Intermediate – 1st Elliott Hanly, 2nd Liam Davie, 3rd Tayah Payne, 4th Hash Unurbat, 5th Jaimie Ogley, 6th Sebastian Coonan
Skateboard Open – 1st Alistair Viviani, 2nd Julian Phillips, 3rd Luke Bourke, 4th Tex Macpherson, 5th Boadie Meldrum, 6th Geoff Knibbs
BMX Beginners – 1st Salva Hogan, 2nd Garnet Rock, 3rd Logan Knibbs, 4th Lachlan Mcgough, 5th Elisei Rezanov
BMX Intermediate – 1st Bailey Smith, 2nd Damian Luck, 3rd Levi Heerema
BMX Open – 1st Jay Furukawa, 2nd Koutaro Furukawa, 3rd Joshua O’Neil, 4th Archie Welten, 5th Kody Strong, 6th Gerard Mcgough
