By Kathy O’Reilly

The fourth annual Alert Bay Skateboard Competition brought riders of all skill levels to the Alert Bay Skatepark on Aug. 1 for a rain-tested day of music, food, prizes and community skateboarding.

The event featured a live DJ, a free barbecue and enough prizes for every participant to take something home.

“The event was great,” said event founder and organizer Jack Watson. 

“The rain held off long enough that everyone got to experience some fun.”

“The rain did happen and made the ground slick, but we were still able to do a Hippy-Hop contest,” he explained. “A Hippy-Hop is an old-school trick where your body jumps over the obstacle and the board goes under it.”

“We were all winners,” Watson said. “The rain kind of stopped us from really competing. There were enough prizes that every participant got to bring something home, whether it was a new deck or a complete skateboard.”

Roughly 25 people participated in the competition.

Watson said DJ Scott Macdonald helped set the tone for the day by scratching records on vinyl.

Macdonald, a former RCMP officer in Alert Bay, has been playing at the competition since it began.

Watson said the event also raised $1,000 for Evie Pritchard, 13, a skateboarder with family ties to Alert Bay who is competing internationally and aiming for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.