They came.
They came.
They saw.
They all tried to conquer.
On a sunny, picturesque Hawaiian day in April, about 50 skateboarders — from children to adults — descended on Honokaa Skatepark with one goal in mind.
They each want to be crowned the Big Island’s first King of the Concrete.
Their quest continues this weekend with the second of the three-part King of the Concrete skateboard contest series set to roll onto Kapaau Skatepark on Sunday.
“We’re changing the game up,” said contest series lead volunteer and organizer Jessica Tolar.
The competition is the first skateboard contest series to which the Big Island has played host. There are four contest divisions — Groms (ages 13 and younger), Intermediate, Advanced and Girls — and competitors in each have 45 seconds to pull off as many tricks as they can. The series is using a cumulative scoring system; points are awarded and docked per trick completed successfully or failed, respectively.
Prizes are awarded to the top three winners in each division after each single event, with the top competitors in each division at the end of the series garnering not only the title of concrete king, but grand prizes of three one-week trips to Camp Woodward, an action sports and gymnastics/cheer camp in Tehachapi, Calif., and one trip to the 2016 PHXAM skate competition presented by Cowtown and Vans in Phoenix.
“It’s essentially just giving kids opportunity that’s not really readily available for them,” Tolar said.
While the advantage goes to those competitors who take part in all three of the contests in the series, Tolar said “if you come and give it your all and you’re an exceptional player in the game,” those who begin the competition this month or even in the third event, slated for Sept. 19 at the Waikoloa Skatepark, have just as much chance of claiming the crown as anyone.
Tolar and volunteer contest photographer Shawn Pila, of Ena Media Hawaii in Hilo, said the turnout for the first contest was great. Not only did the competition draw about 50 entrants, there were more than 100 people, including many parents, who came out to watch them fly through the air and roll on the concrete in their quest for the crown.
“It was cool because a lot of the parents don’t really get to see their kids skate, so they all came down to the contest and they got to really experience what it was all about,” Pila said, adding the attendance also showed how supportive the Big Island community is of the growing sport.
Tolar said the contest is generating a lot of buzz throughout the Big Island and beyond. There were contestants at the first competition from Maui and Oahu.
“People are really showing support for it,” she said. “Right now, we’re kind of breaking some boundaries.”
First off its kind
There have been other single-day skate competitions on the Big Island before, but never a contest series, according to Tolar and Pila. Tolar said the idea for the series has been stewing in the skate community for a few years and skaters have been waiting for a contest like this. So, with the help of about 30 initial sponsors and donations of merchandise and funds from several sources, the nonprofit Hilo Skateplaza Coalition — which is putting on the contest — decided to move on it.
“We just kind of went for it,” Tolar said.
Proceeds from the contest series will be used to pay for the grand prizes, but anything above and beyond will go to the Hilo Skateplaza Coalition, which is raising funds to build the first skateplaza in the Big Island’s largest community. In fact, with many of the other communities on the island already having skateparks, it’s surprising to some that Hilo doesn’t yet have one.
“Skateboarding is a growing, competitive sport,” said King of the Concrete judge Dan Ishikawa via email. “More kids are skateboarding now than ever before and Hilo, the biggest city of the Big Island, doesn’t have (a skatepark). Why is that? I don’t understand that. Volcano, Pahoa, Hawi, Waikoloa, Kona and now Honokaa have skateparks, but not Hilo?”
Ishikawa, 24, who has been skating since he was 6 growing up on Maui and now lives and works in Honokaa, said Hilo is in need of the skateplaza to create a positive, safe and healthy environment “where kids of all ages can go to grow in the sport.”
“The truth is that these kids will skateboard one way or another, and it would be best to channel this sport to a location where it’s encouraged,” he said.
“Skateboarding is not a crime,” Pila said.
Pila echoed Ishikawa, saying there is a need for more healthy alternatives for children on the Big Island.
“And the skateplaza would be a world-class facility,” he said.
Why not in Hilo?
Plans for the plaza call for not only a skatepark, but also a walking track, a flat track for roller derby, a recreation center for keiki and other amenities such as barbecue pits, chess tables, a basketball court and more, according to Tolar.
It will be, “essentially, a community center in the heart of Hilo,” Tolar said.
The contest series is not only a way to raise funds for the skateplaza, it’s also a way to shine light on the need for a facility of its kind in Hilo, according to skateplaza coalition secretary Mealoha Kraus.
“The competitions show what a need there is for a facility in Hilo, both through the number of people participating and the fact that the events must be held outside of Hilo because there is no venue for us to have it in Hilo,” she said in an email.
Tolar said it would be good to have a centralized location in Hilo for skaters to use and a place where they wouldn’t get in trouble for participating in a sport they enjoy and love. She mentioned activities for youth in Hilo seem to be dwindling, including the closure of the bowling alley, discounted movie theater and other places during the past three years, adding Hilo is in need of a place kids can go to stay busy and stay off the streets.
“The island is relatively small, but it is a big place when you have no car and you’re young and you want to do fun things and not get in trouble,” she said.
“I think it’s very important for Hilo to have a skatepark because it’s a great place for skateboarders to participate in a sport they love as much as paddling or volleyball or any other mainstream sport,” Kraus said. “It is a healthy activity that often appeals to an age demographic that can be at risk. This facility would provide these youth with a place to expend some energy and have some fun in a healthy way.”
“Imagine what a skatepark (like the one in Honokaa) could do to Hilo,” Ishikawa said. “Let’s make this happen already!”
The talent is there
The talent and dedication to their art some of the island’s skateboarders have was apparent during the first of the three-contest series.
“The talent was really varied,” Ishikawa said. “As you can imagine, the Groms division featured kids of beginning experience to kids airing over the lip in the deep section of the bowl.”
He said contestants in the Intermediate division came out strong and competitors in the Advanced division did “shockingly well.”
“Overall, for a local Big Island contest, the talent level was what I would put to be an average skill level for Hawaii,” Ishikawa said. “But remember, skateboarding is becoming a huge competitive sport and in the more populated regions of Hawaii, where skateparks are more common, the skill level is rising at a fast pace. To see kids with an average skill level of Hawaii in a small rural town on the Big Island is actually pretty impressive. I did not expect that.”
And, really, despite how cliche the phrase has become, Tolar said the contest and the efforts to raise funds for a Hilo skateplaza are all for the keiki.
“The smiles are what made it worth it,” she said about the hours of work she and the other more than 20 volunteers, food vendors, musicians and others who donated time to make the first contest successful. “I thought it was awesome. The most important thing was that the kids were stoked.”
“And the skateboarders showed up,” Pila added.
Contest series volunteers expect many of them to participate in this Sunday’s second contest, too. What better way is there to spend International Go Skate Day and Father’s Day?
Sign-in for the Kapaau contest begins at 8 a.m., with action beginning at 9 a.m. Entry fee is just $15.
For more information about the contest series or to volunteer or sponsor the series, call Tolar at 854-9654 or email jessbeehappy@yahoo.com. For more information about the Hilo Skateplaza Coalition, visit www.hiloskateplaza.com.
Email Nathan Christophel at nchristophel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.