BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022 nothings gonna stop us

BOWLZILLA Wellington, the National Bowl Skating Championships, tamed Tāwhiri-mātea. Even though 2022 started with a COVID hangover it is finishing with a pool party. There was nothing gonna get in the way of BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022

Shaun Boucher - BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022 Santa Cruz Open New Zealand National Bowl Champion. Photo: David Read, Manual Magazine

BOWLZILLA Wellington is a massive team effort every year and no one was going to let the worst of the last few years get in the way. Skateboarding.NZ and Wellington Skateboarding Association rallied with Wellington City Council to help the BOWLZILLA team achieve what everyone has been waiting for since early 2021. Skaters made their way from all around the country and OVERSEAS for the first time in a few years. The locals were stoked, the stands were filled and the festival’s week of events were all at capacity.

The New Zealand skateboarding community know just how fortunate they are to have such great support from Wellington City Council. The We Skate Poneke initiative that WCC have started up this year has given an even bigger boost to the community and is bringing some incredible spaces and gatherings for everyone to utilise. The BOWLZILLA Wellington week is like a big thank you for all their efforts.

Festivals like this are not achievable without the invaluable support of the volunteers, community and sponsors. For several years the women have been supported by ensuring the largest equality in skateboarding prize purse in New Zealand with the Yeah Gnar Women’s division. The future generation have been fortunate for years to have the Tech Deck 16 & Unders division nurturing and supporting them. The Masters are always inspiring and showcase how rad skating is as a lifetime pursuit and this year Santa Cruz stepped up to ensure the Open division was epic as always.

The Cambridge Hotel housed all the crew and competitors and provided the perfect gathering place and all the sponsors combined; Radioactive.FM, Tech Deck, Yeah Gnar, Pier People, Santa Cruz, Independent, Dickies, Skullcandy, Manual Magazine, Spitfire / Irrom Distribution, Protec / Hardcore Distribution, Powerhaus Automotive, Vans, Red Bull, Wellington Chocolate Factory, Wellington Skateboarding Association and Skateboarding.NZ were bloody awesome.

The BOWLZILLA Wellington Champions for 2022 are; Yeah Gnar Women – Taniah Meyer AU, Santa Cruz Opens champion for 2022 is Shaun Boucher, Tech Deck 16 & Unders champion – Felix Griffin combines with the Masters champion for 2022 Von Griffin to give us New Zealand’s first ever father and son division champions!

A huge THANKS goes out to all the friends, family, fans, media, sponsors, supporters, community and skaters for what was truly one of the best years ever for BOWLZILLA Wellington.

BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022 placings:

Tech Deck 16 & Under

1st    Felix Griffin – New Zealand Bowl Skating Champion 2022

2nd   Monty Graham

3rd   Devon Adams

4th   Zandar Hanson

5th   Tate studd

6th   Carlos Davies

Masters

1st    Von Griffin – New Zealand Bowl Skating Champion 2022

2nd   Chris Wood

3rd    Simon Hunt

4th    Aaron Bell

5th    Craig Harris

6th    Adam Warriner

Yeah Gnar Women

1st    Taniah Meyer

2nd   Poppy Olsen

3rd    Ignacia Munoz – New Zealand Bowl Skating Champion 2022

4th    Gala Baumfield

5th    Hannah Prout

6th    Ella Vincent-Hyde

7th    Alexa Guzman

8th    Erni Villanueva

Santa Cruz Open

1st    Shaun Boucher – New Zealand Bowl Skating Champion 2022

2nd   Bowman Hansen

3rd    Ethan Copeland

4th    Harvey Campbell

5th    Nixen Osborne

6th    Josh Wilson

7th    Ramon Thackwell

8th    Patrick Desroches

9th    Zef Robinson

Protec Best Slam of the Comp

Patrick Desroches

BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022 Webstream

Click here for the live bootleg webstream: https://youtu.be/QUb7nuS-8EM

Radio Active Announce Media Sponsorship of BOWLZILLA 2022

We are proud to announce we are officially partnering with Radio Active for BOWLZILLA Wellington in 2022.

Radio Active know BOWLZILLA is one of the most important events in the Te Whanganui-a-Tara calendar. Aotearoa's biggest gathering of skaters alongside art, music and community, it makes perfect sense we team up with the capital's best alternative station.  Following two postponements due to COVID-19 this year is going to huge and we are looking forward to Radio Active being part of it.

Listen in to Radio Active to hear about all the BOWLZILLA news and events information running up to the event then join us on October 29th down at Waitangi Park for the main competition.

BOWLZILLA Wellington – Once Again Back Is The Incredible

Wellington is set to again be the Capital of Skateboarding with the return of BOWLZILLA Wellington on Saturday 29th October. New Zealand’s National Bowl Skating Championships will be roaring back bigger than ever to crown the Nation’s best skaters.

BOWLZILLA Wellington is going to be the biggest gathering of skaters in New Zealand this year. With New Zealand opening back up again, this year’s festival is going to be a celebration like no other. The week offers; parties, music, art shows, industry catch ups, governance meetings, barbecues, ramp jams, the competition and most importantly community.

BOWLZILLA was established as a foundational event that the New Zealand skating community can depend upon and utilise as a platform for all things skate every year without fail. The competition is what makes it all possible but the whole week of all the things is the point. That is why this year there are a couple of new gatherings being added to the permanent schedule.

In addition to the Welcome Party, ARTZILLA, BOWLZILLA Wellington National Bowl Skating Championships, Dive In after party and the Karori Vert Jam and barbecue, a free women’s Learn To Ride clinic will be added at Waitangi Park during the week and some surprises with the inclusion of the more diverse creative outlets of New Zealand’s skate community for the art show. There are a few other awesome gatherings being announced as we get closer to the festival.

This is the second year in a row that BOWLZILLA Wellington has had to postpone due to COVID lockdowns and it will be the second year in a row New Zealand skaters will come out the other side with a bigger and better gathering to celebrate the awesomeness and resilience of their community. More skaters, more events, more fun and it’s all free.

There are returning sponsors ensuring the Tech Deck 16 & Unders, Santa Cruz Open, Masters and Yeah Gnar Women’s divisions will be just as spectacular as always and to make it more interesting Protec are doing a special prize for the hardest skating most spectacular slam of the day. The parties are getting a bit of extra wow this year that will be announced shortly and Wellington Skateboarding Association, Skateboarding New Zealand and Wellington City Council via its Community Events and Sports Event funding are lifting the week to even bigger heights. To top it all off there is international broadcast via the live webstream with an international media partnership being announced shortly.

“Wellington City Council is excited to welcome back the annual BOWLZILLA Wellington event. Following the debut and success of so many incredible skaters at the Olympics, we look forward to seeing these athletes in action at the National Championships in the Capital. An incredible opportunity for our community to witness the skill of these skaters. To all of those competing at BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022 – we look forward to seeing you in action.” Mayor Andy Foster

Wellington City Council, Wellington Skateboarding Association, Redhead or Dead Events and Miryoku Agency have joined forces once again to bring this fantastic festival to the New Zealand skaters.

“Skaters are some of the most resilient people in the world. We are brilliant at adapting and taking whatever is in front of us and turning it into the best moments possible. BOWLZILLA 2022 is going to be a case study in this and we can’t wait to reunite with our friends and family in Wellington for the week of the 29th October to celebrate. The continuing support of Wellington City Council and our sponsors, which make it all possible, will be rewarded with the biggest skate party Wellington has seen to date. The whole week is free and everyone is welcome to come celebrate with us.” BOWLZILLA Director – Chad Ford.

With the new run date and borders now open, overseas friends are able to return. BOWLZILLA will be working with everyone to make this possible with accommodation being provided by the legendary Cambridge Hotel, which will also be the daily gathering spot away from the bowl for the week.

BOWLZILLA was born out of likeminded friends in the skateboard community looking for new platforms to promote the extraordinary talents of their friends and their talents that run in oversupply but are not often seen in the outside world. BOWLZILLA Wellington is the biggest platform for showcasing all of this amazing talent in skateboarding in New Zealand. There is an open invite for everyone to come and be part of the celebration.

There will be more information coming shortly about all the great events and sponsorships happening as part of BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022.

26/10/2022: Women’s Learn to Ride clinic – Waitangi Park Skatepark - FREE

27/10/2022: Welcome Party – The Cambridge Hotel

28/10/2022: ARTZILLA

29/10/2022: BOWLZILLA™ Wellington competition – Waitangi Park, Wellington

29/10/2022: Dive In – official after party

30/10/2022: Karori Vert Jam, Ian Galloway Park, Karori, Wellington

BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2022 Highlights

BOWLZILLA Gold Coast Turned the Tide

BOWLZILLA Gold Coast was postponed a week so friends and family could put their houses back together after the flooding. Beautiful Gold Coast came through to make sure their reunion celebrations were epic.

After the torrential rain and flooding of the weeks before, the water rolled back and everyone had a fantastic week of celebrating in the epicentre of Australian skateboarding; the Gold Coast. With Yeah Girl putting on a free women’s learn to ride clinic and a skate zine workshop, the debut of SALKZILLA, the ASF National Park Skating Championships and the final celebration – Dive in at Beach Burrito Company, it was the week everyone needed.

Once again the sponsors stepped up to make sure the skating community knew how much they are appreciated. Yeah Girl ensured the women had equal prize money once again making it the biggest Equality in Skateboarding competition in Australia and Girl’s Skate Gold Coast raised the stoke with some extra prizes, Dickies had the Opens covered, Protec raised the stakes by rewarding the Best Slam of the whole competition which ended up having to be shared three ways (heal up everyone0, and Vans, Santa Cruz, Independent, Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching, Zipang Fine Dining, Fryzee Tattoo, Girl’s Skate Gold Coast, Fiik, Beach Burrito Company, FUEL TV, along with Major Events Gold Coast, City of Gold Coast and Tourism & Events Queensland helped out with the all-important structural support and prizes.

Everyone worked so hard to help friends and family recover during the postponement and that good energy flowed over into the entire week. It wouldn’t have felt right to run the week before while our friends and family were going through so much. What a difference a week makes though. The community was so happy to rally and get together at BOWLZILLA. The festival is an opportunity for friends and family to gather from near and far to catch up, show off their art, get creative, socialise and skate. It is a gathering point first and foremost and that was what supplied all the best moments of the week.

SALKZILLA was a new addition to the festivities this year and will grow into its own beast soon enough, it seems. Yeah Girl, Girl’s Skate Gold Coast, Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching, Zipang Fine Dining, Fryzee Tattoos and City of Gold Coast all got together and created a night of good times, free barbecues, loads of prizes and cash giveaways for random tricks and maximum stoke. The whole of the park was set alight by all our friends for hours. No stress, good times, nothing timed or serious, just get in there and get at it. The beast has been unleashed.  

As the world recovers and adapts more friends and family from far and wide will be able to make the journey to BOWLZILLA. The last couple of years have been a challenge but that has laid the groundwork for even more awesome times ahead with the BOWLZILLA community.

“You can crush us, you can bruise us, but you’ll have to answer to the fact that skating is our way of life and no matter what is thrown at us we will always rise above and find ways of gathering to celebrate the best of our skate community. Skateboarding won’t change the world but skateboarders sure are. The resilience and fortitude and goodwill that skating teaches us has been shared far and wide the last few weeks. Look at the many members of our family that have been working overtime to help water-soaked communities recover. They weren’t doing it with skateboards but skating lifted them and supported the support. BOWLZILLA Gold Coast was bloody fantastic again this year, one of the best ones yet but I’d rather you take the time to celebrate those in our community that worked far harder and for far nobler causes. They deserve the accolades. I just hope we did enough to show them all how truly grateful we were this week. Thank you, every single last one of you.”  Chad Ford; BOWLZILLA – Director.

Sponsors and prize givers for BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2022 were: Gold Coast City Council, Tourism & Events Queensland, Yeah Girl, Dickies, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Independent Trucks, Vans, Fiik Electric Skateboards, Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching, Beach Burrito Company, FUEL TV, Protec, Girl’s Skate Gold Coast, Truck Stop Skate Shop, Fryzee Tattoos, Zipang Fine Dining and Australian Skateboarding Federation.

The final placings for BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2022 are;

PROTEC BEST SLAM OF THE COMPETITION – special prizes by Protec

Indi Barnard

Jake Thatcher

Harvey Campbell

YEAH GIRL SKATEBOARDING – WOMEN – equal cash prize purse with Open, prizes donated by Girls Skate Gold Coast.

1 Ruby Trew – ASF National Park Skating Champion 2022

2 Arisa Trew

3 Heili Sirvio

4 Taniah Meyers

5 Anneka Lewis

6 Zahra Johns

7 Coco Crafter

8 Haylee Powell

9 Jada Ward

10 Mila Sirvio

11 Isla Lillie Bower

12 Tanisha Gardner

13 Tora Waldren

14 Mel NC

15 Chihiro Young

16 Marley Williams

17 Kayla Matthews

18 Olive Williams

19 Jazz Kennedy

16 & UNDER – prizes donated by Protec, Santa Cruz, Independent, Vans                                                                                

1 Louie Daiguchi – ASF Australian Park Skating Champion 2022

2 Caylen Goldsbrough

3 Taj Wolfenden

4 Hudson Walker

5 Cayden Hawker

6 Noa Barnes

7 Jack Lewis

8 Jacob Hanson           

9 Asher Watt

10 Oliver Macdonald

11 Kruz Lovett

12 Jackson Schulze

13 Kai Gould

14 Yo Wuoti

15 Samson Scott

16 Tasman Cahill

17 Zion Gallagher

18 Elijah Jack Smith

19 Zen Dickson

20 Zane Perez

21 Gustavo Baker Brandini

22 Noah DC de Campos          

MASTERS

1 Trev Ward – ASF Australian Park Skating Champion 2022

2 Chris Enwright

3 Marcio Godinho Brandini

4 Justin Leslight

5 Iain Watt

6 Deryck Murton

OPEN

1 Marley Rae

2 Jake Thatcher

3 Shaun Boucher

4 Jesse Noonan

5 Ash Wilcomes

6 Matthew Beer

7 Charlie Holland

8 Marcos Baker Brandini

9 Nixen Osborne

10 Logan Graff

11 Kai Farrelly

12 Barry Taniwha

13 Jorge Tichbon

14 Bryce Mckean

15 Levi Yeaman

16 James Stuurman

17 Dylan Phillips

Message from the Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics and Paralympics Sport and Engagement. The Hon. Stirling Hinchliffe MP

Welcome to Bowlzilla, a wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in the Gold Coast’s local culture and community, and hopefully explore some of the superb tourism experiences on offer here.

The impacts of the pandemic have provided incredible challenges, but thanks to the hard work of Queenslanders our state was one of the first to put in place a COVID Safe Event Framework which paved the way for events such as this one to take place.

The Queensland Government is proud to support Bowlzilla, through Tourism and Events Queensland’s Queensland Destination Events Program and it is a feature on our It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar. Events are an important part of our state’s economic recovery from the pandemic because they attract visitors to the region which stimulates the local economy and supports local jobs. Events are also an important opportunity for communities, friends, families and visitors to come together, creating community pride and reconnecting us.

Congratulations to the event organisers and all those involved in organising this event – may it be a successful one.

If you are visiting for the event, I encourage you to make some time to explore the diverse tourism experiences on offer in this beautiful region.

The Hon. Stirling Hinchliffe MP, Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics and Paralympics Sport and Engagement.

SALKZILLA!!!

The first ever SALKZILLA is on tomorrow 15th March from 5-9PM at Salk Oval Skatepark; 2 Thrower Dr, Currumbin QLD 4223, Australia.

There’s gonna be some $10 and $20 notes being given our with some prizes for tricks and good vibes for all our rolling friends across the spectrum.

There’ll be a bit of a free barbecue and an over supply of good times. Everyone is welcome.

We want to thank all our sponsors and supporters for making this first year possible for us to share the stoke and have a bit of fun with all our friends and family.

BOWLZILLA Gold Coast – DATE CHANGE!!!

DUE TO CURRENT EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS ON THE EAST COAST OF AUSTRALIA WE HAVE MOVED THE FESTIVAL TO 15-19TH MARCH WITH THE COMPETITION BEING HELD 19TH MARCH. Please let everyone know.

The dates are being changed so that BOWLZILLA and ASF can offer support to our wider community who have been affected by the rain and floods. If anyone needs assistance with cleaning up then please contact ASF and BOWLZILLA directly and we will do our best to connect you with local volunteers to sweep and shovel and help put things back and clean up. We want as many of our community to be able to celebrate with us at BOWLZILLA Gold Coast and the best way of doing that is to make sure they are okay first. If you feel you can help then please get in touch. Sweep, clean, skate, celebrate.

BOWLZILLA Gold Coast is back bigger and better for 2022! The ASF National Park Skating Championships are bringing the Gold to the Coast once again.

Fans and competitors are rolling into the Gold Coast for the week of 15-19th March to celebrate the biggest week of Australian skating. Just in time for all the borders to be finally opening up for all.

Yeah Girl Skateboarding are launching the week with Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching and the City of Gold Coast putting on the free Women’s Learn to Ride clinic at Tugun Skatepark. A free lesson and barbecue to encourage and welcome women of all ages and abilities into skateboarding. We’re still flying the flag for International Women’s Day with this gathering, even though we’ve had to postpone a week.

There is a new addition to the week of festivities this year “SALKZILLA” which is on Wednesday 16th 6-9pm with a free barbecue for all and a fun skate jam at Salk Oval skatepark with cash and prizes being handed out to the skaters having the most fun and pushing themselves the hardest. This is going to be an opportunity for all the women skaters to really show what they have away from the formal competition settings they are usually given. Everyone is welcome to have a go and they may get lucky and roll away with some cash and prizes from Girl’s Skate Gold Coast, Vans, Dickies, Santa Cruz, Independent, Protec, Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching and Yeah Girl.

The Yeah Girl Zine Workshop is still going to run on its original date of Thursday 10th. Yeah Girl is running a Skate Zine workshop for women. More voices from the diverse diaspora of skaters out there only makes the community richer. The way Yeah Girl grows the talent pool and inspires the next generation of documentarians in skateboarding culture is inspiring to us all. These workshops are not to be missed. Everyone is looking forward to the new zines coming forth to document, celebrate and have fun with skating.

Beach Burrito Company are hosting everyone later Thursday evening with food and drinks for the opening celebration. This is always a big night and everyone is welcome and encouraged to take advantage of the free party. As much as all of us are looking forward to the competition on Saturday, it is the gatherings with our friends from far and wide that truly make the week.

The Australian Skateboarding Federation sanctions BOWLZILLA Gold Coast as their Park Skating National Championships. It is the largest and richest competition of its kind in Australia and the only nationally focused event. ASF competitions are run by members of the skateboarding community across Australia as a collaborative effort, and the ASF are stoked to have BOWLZILLA as the peak national park event for 2022 with all its fantastic partners and amazing festival events.

The four quarters of the competition are the 16 & Unders, Masters, Yeah Girl Women and Dickies Open. There are cash prize purses for Master’s and equal cash for the Women and Open divisions. Protec are making it more interesting and raising the risk/reward potential with a special prize for the hardest skating most spectacular slam of the day. Knobby are offering extra support to all the skaters this year too. The ongoing support from the sponsors that enables BOWLZILLA Gold Coast to happen is something all skate fans are grateful for. All the competitors deserve the biggest rewards possible for their amazingly hard skating.

Beach Burrito Company are hosting Dive In on Saturday night after the comp. Yeah Girl are curating it with bands playing live and some international female DJ talent to finish the weeklong festival off in grand style. These parties are legendary, free, and always packed. So, get there early to get yours.

City of Gold Coast (COGC) have for years worked hard to provide the support and platform for what is the Nation’s best skateboard community. They continue to do more each year with building new skateparks and facilitating greater opportunity as well asand supporting the events which help rally and showcase the skate community at its best. BOWLZILLA Gold Coast is the culmination of the great work COGC has done so far. This event is proudly supported by Major Events Gold Coast, who is now building upon this and fostering and supporting the future.

“Broadening our annual events calendar has never been more important,’’ said Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

“BOWLZILLA fits that bill perfectly as it attracts the best skaters from the country for a week-long program of workshops, shows, exhibitions and competitions.

“I applaud the organisers and look forward to visiting Elanora in March for the action.’’

BOWLZILLA Gold Coast is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar. TEQ’s support helps promote BOWLZILLA Gold Coast and attract friends and family from far and wide, not just for the week of the festival but throughout the entire year. Being part of the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar helps show off the best of us to the world and encourages them to come and be part of it all.

Come celebrate with our friends and family for the week as the borders open reopen and we are finally able to invite our friends from near and far. The whole week is free so that it is possible to allow everyone to come and be part of the awesomeness of the Gold Coast skate community.

“Being able to share the best of our community with the world and show off the incredible talents of our friends and family are the sum parts of BOWLZILLA Gold Coast. The city has spent decades building and supporting all that makes this possible and we work extra hard to show our gratitude. Working with everyone across all parts and places of skating to ensure there is more for everyone to participate in and enjoy is important to what we are trying to achieve because BOWLZILLA is about inclusiveness not exclusiveness. Everyone is welcome, so come celebrate with us.” Chad Ford; BOWLZILLA – Director.

BOWLZILLA Wellington – DATE CHANGE!!!

DUE TO CURRENT COVID RESTRICTIONS IN NEW ZEALAND WE HAVE POSTPONED THE FESTIVAL UNTIL NEW ZEALAND IS BACK IN ORANGE CODE. THE EVENT WILL RUN IN 2022 AS SOON AS EVERYTHING OPENS UP AGAIN. Please let everyone know. Follow @bowlzilla for updates.

Wellington is set to again be the Capital of Skateboarding with the return of BOWLZILLA Wellington once the current traffic light guidance changes from Red to Orange. Skateboarding New Zealand’s National Park Skating Championships will be roaring back bigger than ever to crown the Nation’s best skaters.

BOWLZILLA Wellington is the biggest gathering of skaters in New Zealand every year. The festival offers; parties, music, art shows, industry catch ups, governance meetings, barbecues, ramp jams, the competition and most importantly community. That is why the festival will run in 2022 as soon as soon as it is possible. And, it will be bigger and better than ever!

The initial goal of BOWLZILLA was to establish a foundational event that the New Zealand skating community could depend upon and utilise as a platform for all things skate every year without fail. The competition is what makes it all possible but the whole week of all the things is the point. That is why this year there is a couple of new gatherings being added to the permanent schedule.

In addition to; the Welcome Party, ARTZILLA, BOWLZILLA Wellington National Park Skating Championships, Dive In after party and the Karori Vert Jam and barbecue, a free women’s Learn To Ride clinic will be added at Waitangi Park during the week and some surprises with the inclusion of the more diverse creative outlets of New Zealand’s skate community for the art show. There are a few other awesome things to be announced once the date is finalised.

Last year BOWLZILLA Wellington was delayed three weeks due to a COVID lockdown and once it ran it was the largest gathering of skaters and fans from the regions that the event had ever seen. So upon return, this year will be even bigger and better as it will be the first truly National celebration of skating once the country goes back to Orange.

There are returning sponsors ensuring the Tech Deck 16 & Unders, Dickies Open, Masters and Yeah Gnar Women’s divisions will be just as spectacular as always and to make it more interesting Protec are doing a special prize for the hardest skating most spectacular slam of the day. The parties are getting a bit of extra wow this year that will be announced shortly and Wellington Skateboarding Association, Skateboarding New Zealand and Wellington City Council via its Community Events and Sports Event funding are lifting the week to even bigger heights. To top it all off there is international broadcast via the live webstream with an international media partner being announced shortly.

“Wellington City Council is excited to welcome back the annual BOWLZILLA Wellington event. Following the debut and success of so many incredible skaters at the Olympics, we look forward to seeing these athletes in action at the National Championships in the Capital. An incredible opportunity for our community to witness the skill of these skaters. To all of those competing at BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022 – we look forward to seeing you in action.” Mayor Andy Foster

Wellington City Council, Wellington Skateboarding Association, Redhead or Dead Events and Miryoku Agency have joined forces once again to bring this fantastic festival to the New Zealand skaters.

“There is no stopping New Zealand skating, which is why BOWLZILLA Wellington will be running in 2022 as soon as is possible. We have the usual full week of amazing with the parties, music, art, skating and friends and family but we are really stoked to be growing it this year with the free Women’s Learn to Ride clinic, some awesome additions to ARTZILLA from the creative geniuses at Manky Chops and some other very exciting announcements to come as we get closer. Skateboarding is a verb, so we can’t wait to get back to the action of it all as quickly as possible. Be ready to go because once we can, we will. See you all in Wellington soon.” BOWLZILLA Director – Chad Ford.

Depending on when the run date is possible, overseas friends may be able to return. BOWLZILLA will be working with everyone to make this possible with accommodation being provided by the legendary Cambridge Hotel, which will also be the daily gathering spot away from the bowl for the week.

BOWLZILLA was born out of likeminded friends in the skateboard community looking for new platforms to promote the extraordinary talents of their friends, talents that run in oversupply within skateboarding but are not often seen in the outside world. BOWLZILLA Wellington is the biggest platform for showcasing all of this amazing talent in skateboarding in New Zealand. There is an open invite for everyone to come and be part of the celebration.

There will be more information coming shortly about all the great events and sponsorships happening as part of BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022.

Dates: Competition; Festival events 2022 ANNOUNCING SOON

Event info: TBC – coming soon!

2022: Women’s Learn to Ride clinic – Waitangi Park Skatepark - FREE

2022: Welcome Party – The Cambridge Hotel

2022: ARTZILLA

2022: BOWLZILLA™ Wellington competition – Waitangi Park, Wellington

2022: Dive In – official after party

2022: Karori Vert Jam, Ian Galloway Park, Karori, Wellington

BOWLZILLA Gold Coast – Boarders Open

BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2022 is going to be the biggest skating celebration of the year. With the newly opened borders there will be skaters coming from far and wide. The Australian Skateboarding Federation are ensuring the National Park Skating Championships will be bigger and better than ever.

2022 is already shaping up to be amazing and the annual week of skating festivities on the Gold Coast is going to put it over the top. With a packed line up of Learn To Ride clinics, Art Shows, workshops, Music, Parties, Food and the Competition, everyone is guaranteed a good time at BOWLZILLA Gold Coast.

ASF are again ensuring Australian skating is properly supported with the seventh annual BOWLZILLA Gold Coast National Park Skating Championships. The biggest competition of the year in Australia has nurtured Olympic champions like Keegan Palmer, Poppy Olsen and Kieran Woolley, along with underground legends like Shaun Boucher, Aimee Massie, Nixen Osborne and Shanae Collins. With divisions across all ages, abilities and sexes, the goal has always been to get everyone together to inspire each other and have all the fun. A source of pride is that it is the largest Equality in Skateboarding event in Australia with equal prize purse across the Open and Women divisions. It also has a huge prize pool for the 16 & Unders and prize money for the Masters.

It is important to skateboarding and BOWLZILLA, that ASF competitions are run by members of the skateboarding community across Australia as a collaborative effort, and ASF are stoked to have BOWLZILLA as the peak National Park Skating event for 2022 with all its fantastic partners and amazing festival events.

Once again back is the incredible; Yeah Girl. Their support of BOWLZILLA Gold Coast is invaluable each year. They kick the week off with a women’s Learn to Ride clinic, continue the awesomeness with workshops and art shows, ensure the Equality in Skateboarding prize purse is funded and finish off the celebration with curation of the Dive In after party.

"Yeah Girl was established to help promote and support the amazing talents of the international women’s skate community. We do this through our art shows, workshops, learn to ride sessions, advocating and support. BOWLZILLA Gold Coast is the perfect partner for us because they have always worked hard to ensure an equal platform for all skaters. They were the first international competition to have a woman as head judge for the entire competition and they are the largest Equality-in-Skateboarding competition in Australia. What we really love about BOWLZILLA is that it brings the skate community together and fosters great sports(wo)manship and camaraderie. BOWLZILLA regular Poppy Olsen was a prime example of this during the Women’s Park Finals at the Olympic Games when she lifted Japanese skater Misugu onto her shoulders in a show of support after she fell in her final run. This is what Yeah Girl stands for and BOWLZILLA Gold Coast supports.” Sarah Huston – Yeah Girl

Tourism and Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said events like BOWLZILLA were important to the Palaszczuk Government’s Economic Recovery Plan for the Gold Coast.

“Events bring competitors and spectators to the Gold Coast which benefits local jobs, accommodation and transport providers, as well as restaurants and cafés,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

That’s why in 2022 we’re backing events that make a sound contribution to the Gold Coast’s visitor economy.

“Learn to ride clinics at BOWLZILLA 2022 are a terrific way to get immersed in Australian skate culture.”

BOWLZILLA is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar. Their support helps promote the festival to a much wider audience and helps to show how participation in the skating community continues to grow each year. It helps show off the best of skating to the world and encourages them to come and be part of it all.

Gold Coast City Council have done fantastic things for skateboarding and also the local community through skating for decades. The number of facilities they have built, skate schools they support and events like BOWLZILLA Gold Coast that they encourage, has ensured the Gold Coast has the best skate scene in Australia. It also has benefits for the wider community with lifestyle and business opportunities. New world class facilities in the coming years heading toward the Olympics will only serve to cement this legacy.

“Broadening our annual events calendar has never been more important,’’ said Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

“BOWLZILLA fits that bill perfectly as it attracts the best skaters from the country for a week-long program of workshops, shows, exhibitions and competitions.

“I applaud organisers and look forward to visiting Elanora in March for the action.’’

Chad Ford; BOWLZILLA – Director: “Seven years in and we’re just getting started with BOWLZILLA Gold Coast. When we began all those years ago the goal was to create a reliable, fun, entertaining gathering to show off our friends and family’s amazing talents and get everyone together once a year to catch up and celebrate. We have grown beyond that to become the biggest skateboard festival in the country, set international standards with equality in skateboarding with our prize purse and staffing, nurtured the local kids into becoming the current biggest sporting event finalists and gold medalists and most importantly become the dependable community gathering we had hoped we could be. None of this would have been possible without the foresight and investment made by Gold Coast City Council which provided the base for us to build upon and then the support from Major Events Gold Coast and Tourism & Events Queensland which has enabled us to support and promote the talents of our amazing community and of course the skaters and our friends and family that have driven it all from the outset. Everything is free and everyone is welcome to come and join us for the week to celebrate.”

All photos by Sarah Huston for Yeah Girl

BOWLZILLA Wellington – BARRIER BREAKING

BOWLZILLA Wellington is going to be the Celebration Capital on the 5th of March, capping off an amazing year of skateboarding Breaking Barriers. New Zealand’s National Park Skating Championships are returning once again to crown the Nation’s best skaters.

BOWLZILLA always delivers the biggest week of skating in New Zealand and nothing gets in the way. Through border closures and travel restrictions the celebrations continue. This March marks the seventh year of Wellington’s skateboarding festival bringing everyone together.

2021 saw the largest gathering ever of fans and competitors from outside of Wellington for the BOWLZILLA celebrations and given the massive increase in participation in skating the last two years the larger attendance is expected to continue.

Gathering friends and family together to celebrate them and the awesome community that is skateboarding is always the most important part of the week. The weeklong festival highlights all of this through art shows, music, barbecues, catch ups and of course the competition.

“Wellington City Council is excited to welcome back the annual BOWLZILLA Wellington event. Following the debut and success of so many incredible skaters at the Olympics, we look forward to seeing these athletes in action at the National Championships in the Capital. An incredible opportunity for our community to witness the skill of these skaters. To all of those competing at BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022 – we look forward to seeing you in action.” Mayor Andy Foster

It is fair to say this seventh year of BOWLZILLA Wellington is a triumphant celebration given the last couple of years. The growing field of inter-city fans and competitors, the full week of festival happenings and the continuing growth in participation will all be culminating in the biggest week of skating seen so far in New Zealand. The competitors will be going all out to give everyone the best show of the year with Tech Deck 16 & Under, Women, Masters 40+ and Opens. Everyone is welcome to come along and cheer and be part of the whole festival for free.

Wellington City Council, Wellington Skateboarding Association, Redhead or Dead Events and Miryoku Agency have joined forces once again to bring this fantastic festival to the New Zealand skaters.

“Skateboarding in New Zealand has seen a lot of change since the inception of BOWLZILLA Wellington seven years ago. Through all of the developments we have worked extra hard to stay consistent in our support and representation or our clan because they are our friends and family. No matter how big the skateboard, event or organisation, we have not been distracted and beguiled from doing our part to present our community how they feel they want to be. BOWLZILLA has and always will be the voice of the people and the platform for them to create opportunity for all. Everyone is invited to come enjoy, participate and celebrate with us.” BOWLZILLA Director – Chad Ford.

BOWLZILLA was born out of likeminded friends in the skateboard community looking for new platforms to promote the extraordinary talents of their friend’s talents that run in oversupply within skateboarding but are not often seen in the outside world. BOWLZILLA Wellington is the biggest platform for showcasing all of this amazing talent in skateboarding in New Zealand. There is an open invite for everyone to come and be part of the celebration.

There will be more information coming in the New Year about all the great events and sponsorships happening as part of BOWLZILLA Wellington 2022.

All photos: David Read for Manual Magazine

BOWLZILLA Wellington 2021 highlights

Highlights from the high life of free and open events in COVID free New Zealand. Book your flights, pack your bags and grab your board to meet us there in 2022.

BOWLZILLA Wellington 2021 the cure for 2020

BOWLZILLA Wellington, the National Park Skating Championships, were absolutely the best of Wellington this week. The host city really turned it on with welcoming everyone back from a year of COVID exile. The hospitality, the fans, the weather and the skating were exactly what everyone has been screaming for.

Skateboarding.NZ have been working hard to build a new model of national support and their good work shone through this weekend in that although BOWLZILLA Wellington is the only local pathway for local skaters to try and qualify for the Olympic Games, it was barely mentioned because the comradery of the community was absolutely the most important part of the whole celebration. The glory of the rings can wait, friends, family and skating came first.

It has been said so many times but that is because of the truth of it, when the weather is perfect in Wellington it is the best little city in the world. Combine that with the local fans, the incredible support of the city and sponsors and the skaters it seems all pushing themselves further than before and this year will really be remembered as a highwater mark.

Wellington City Council and the sponsors really went above and beyond to ensure that the post COVID welcome back was going to be nothing short of spectacular. Dickies with their hard wearing work wear made sure the Open competitors got paid properly for the hard work, Yeah Gnar once again helped cement the fact that Women’s skating is rightfully equally acknowledged and supported, Civil Parks worked overtime to get the site open and comfortable for all the fans, the skate nerds favourite toy Tech Deck gave fantastic support to the 16 & Unders, the Masters are always valued and supported by everyone, The Cambridge Hotel housed all the crew and competitors and provided the perfect gathering place and all the sponsors combined; Santa Cruz, Independent, Skullcandy, Manual Magazine, Spitfire / Irrom Distribution, Powerhaus Automotive, Sky Sport Next, Vans, Red Bull, Wellington Skateboarding Association and Skateboarding.NZ were bloody awesome.

The New Zealand National Champions for 2021 are; Women –Krysta Ashwell NZ

Champion, Tech Deck 16 & Under – Sam Westerkamp, the Masters champion for 2021 is Orson Reynolds and the Dickies Opens champion for 2021 was the Tech Deck 16 & Under champion for 2020 – Niwa Shewry.

A huge THANKS goes out to all the friends, family, fans, media, sponsors, supporters, community and skaters for what was truly one of the best years ever for BOWLZILLA Wellington.

BOWLZILLA Wellington 2021 placings:

Tech Deck 16 & Under

1          Sam Westerkamp

2          Max Hancock

3          Monty Graham

4          Marshall Littlefair

5          Felix Griffin

6          Ace Findlay

7          Lochie Barrie

8          Jake Harris

9          Carter Williams

Masters

1          Orson Reynolds

2          Leigh McKenzie

3          Von Griffin

4          Nathan Adams

5          Hayden McDermott

6          Simon Hunt

7          Nicholas Bennett

8          Aaron Bell

9          Craig Harris

10        Scott Wilkinson

11        Adam Warriner

Women

1          Krysta Ashwell

2          Billie Morrison

3          Yeva Sauytska

4          Gala Baumfield

5          Ela Poynter

6          Ella Vincent-Hyde

7          Jessica Ready

8          Evelyn Armstrong

9          Poppy-Jo Garratt

10        Jessica Lord

11        Georgia Hudson

12        Chrystal Daller

13        Eva Corkery

14        Aaliyah Iwikau

15        Poppy Cottrell

Dickies Open

1          Niwa Shewry

2          Bowman Hansen

3          Dereck De Souza

4          Stefan Robin

5          Josh Wilson

6          Tom Mitchell

7          Chris Wood

8          Remus Henare

9          Rico Henare

10        Noah Winningham

11        Levi Rhind

12        Ken Te Ohaere

13        Nick Bush

14        Alexi Dowley

15        Nicholas Joyen-Conseil

16        Chris Curran

17        Kere James Milroy

18        Will Butler

All photos by David Read for Manual Magazine @manualmagazine

BOWLZILLA Wellington 2021 Webstream

Open Boarders for BOWLZILLA Wellington

The Capital of Skateboarding is finally open! This weekend the 27th of March, BOWLZILLA Wellington is running for its 6th year in a row. Skateboarding.NZ’s National Park Skating Championships return once again to crown the Nation’s best skaters.

Everyone is starting to arrive in Wellington and there are tonnes of social media posts being done of plane take offs and road trips. Excitement levels are high. Another epic week of celebrating skaters and their amazing talents is upon us.

It all gets going this Thursday night 25th March at The Cambridge Hotel from 9pm who provide excellent free accommodation to the competitors and event crew. Food, music, drinks and friends from far and wide will make for an awesome welcome to Wellington. It is free and everyone of legal age is welcome to come.

Manky Chops are a local institution. The support and promotion they have given to local artists has helped add to Wellington’s reputation as the best creative little city in the world. The crew will be putting on ARTZILLA again this Friday night from 6.30pm in Opera House Lane. Their shows are always unique and epic and talked about all year. They really are not to be missed. The plans for this one are next level. Entry is free but bring your cash to take home some art and a limited BOWLZILLA Wellington 2021 shirt.

The excuse that gets everyone to Wellington and makes the whole week possible is the BOWLZILLA™ Wellington competition itself. First heats start at 10am this Saturday 27th at Waitangi Park. It is Skateboarding.NZ’s National Park Skating Championships and the only event in New Zealand where locals can earn Olympic qualification points to represent Aotearoa on the world’s biggest stage. With four competition divisions: Tech Deck 16 & Under, Women, Masters and Dickie’s Open, it is going to be a heated session. It is all free and the seats fill up quick so get in early and stay for the day. It will be live streamed for those that can’t get to Wellington in person.

After the comp is done everyone will Dive In at the official after party. With CubaDupa on the same night it is going to be busy in Wellington so make sure you grab an invite. The party is free but spaces will be limited due to crowds.

Sunday there is a barbecue and ramp jam to wind down from another epic BOWLZILLA Wellington week. Everyone is welcome, it’s free to keep the stoke going. So come along to the Karori Vert Jam at Ian Galloway Park, Karori, and say goodbye to old and new friends.

Wellington City Council, Wellington Skateboarding Association, Skateboarding New Zealand, Redhead or Dead Events and Miryoku Agency have joined forces once again to bring this fantastic festival to the New Zealand skaters.

“Everyone knows what a crazy year it has been and our international friends and family will most definitely be missed. Wellington has a way of turning on its charm regardless though and 2021 will be no exception. The community spirit this year is really high. The whole festival is free and everyone is keen to have at it, so come celebrate like you haven’t been able to since this time last year.” BOWLZILLA Director – Chad Ford.

25th March – 9pm: Welcome Party – The Cambridge Hotel, 28 Cambridge Terrace, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand

26th March – 6.30pm: ARTZILLA – Manky Chops, Opera House Lane, Te Aro, Wellington 6011

27th March – 10am: BOWLZILLA™ Wellington competition – Waitangi Park, Wellington

27th March: Dive In – official after party – ask a friend

28th March: Karori Vert Jam, Ian Galloway Park, Karori, Wellington

BOWLZILLA Open Boarders on the Gold Coast

Good weather, great skating, amazing crowd, and an even better vibe, all combined to make BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2021 the best one yet.

A solid weekend of rain was predicted all week and in the end it didn’t show. Almost as if it knew to not get in the way of the biggest Park Skating event in the country since Australia got shutdown last year straight after BOWLZILLA Gold Coast. It seemed fitting that the last event before COVID lockdown would also be the first major event since reopening.

The whole week went great. Starting off with the Yeah Girl and Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching free Learn to Ride Womxn’s clinic at Tugun Skatepark. That positive community outreach set the tone for the rest of the week. Yeah Girl continued things on with free workshop for womxn to develop their skating documentary skills on Thursday night and all the participants then were given press passes for the competition on Saturday to further hone their new abilities. Beach Burrito Company and Red Bull hosted the welcome party the same night for all the intercity and interstate attendees which went down a treat.

It seemed nothing was going to stop the main event on Saturday and no one was leaving until it was done. COVID affected all parts of the event; planning, funding, infrastructure, attendance and running but the one thing it did was really lift everyone’s spirit of community. BOWLZILLA Gold Coast is a community based and focused event and this year that really shone bright. So many people and organisations went that step further to ensure that the festival went on regardless and that everyone attending enjoyed themselves in ways almost forgotten over the last year.

From Gold Coast City Council ensuring safety measures were easy to implement and the event was funded, to Tourism & Events Queensland helping promote the festival to the regions, Dickies and Yeah Girl funding divisions so there was adequate and equitable prize money, Donny Fraser and his team from Australian Skateboarding Federation really going above and beyond to help manage entry and judging requirements and then the whole BOWLZILLA production team headed up by Nikki Lovelace and her trusty sidekick Jay Hetherington, Sean Goff and Rob Ayton even found ways of assisting all the way from England. They say it takes a village but everyone’s efforts this year somehow felt greater than that. It felt more like family.

It is understandable that many did not or could not attend given the world is yet to actually transition through the COVID situation but it has been unanimous from those that attended that regardless of everything, this year’s BOWLZILLA Gold Coast was the best so far.

“Those of us that are “lifers” in skating like to tell tales of how our community is caring and open and supportive like no other. What we saw this year with BOWLZILLA Gold Coast and the extra work and support that everyone gave to make it happen, affirms these folkloric stories. I am truly humbled to be a part of such a great skate community. A HUGE THANK YOU from the BOWLZILLA family goes out to everyone involved; sponsors, supporters, skaters, media and fans alike. With friends and family like ours it feels like anything is possible. BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2022 will be brighter than the sun!”  Chad Ford; BOWLZILLA – Director.

Sponsors and prize givers for BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2021 were: Gold Coast City Council, Tourism & Events Queensland, Yeah Girl, Dickies, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Independent Trucks, Vans, Fiik Electric Skateboards, Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching, Beach Burrito Company, GoPro, FUEL TV, Red Bull, Grassfires Magazine, Girl’s Skate Gold Coast, Truck Stop Skate Shop and Australian Skateboarding Federation.

The final placings for BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2021 are;

YEAH GIRL SKATEBOARDING – WOMXN – equal cash prize purse with Open, prizes donated by Girls Skate Gold Coast.

1st    Ruby Trew – ASF Australian Park Skating Champion 2021

2nd   Taniah Meyers    

3rd    Poppy Olsen       

4th    Indiana Barnard   

5th    Zahra Johns        

6th    Aaliyah Wilson     

7th    Aimee Massie     

8th    Tora Waldren      

9th    Heili Sirvio           

10th  Arisa Trew           

11th  Isla Lillie Bower   

12th  Mel NC   

13th  Sailor Allen          

14th  Mila Sirvio

15th  Lily Britton

16 & UNDER – prizes donated by Santa Cruz, Independent, Fiik Skateboards, Vans

1st    Jake Thatcher – ASF Australian Park Skating Champion 2021

2nd   Freddie Arnold     

3rd    Logan Graff         

4th    Nakula Boag        

5th    Lukas Byers        

6th    Harvey Campbell 

7th    Jack Lewis          

8th    Louie Daiguchi    

9th    TJ Lewis 

10th  Jacob Hanson     

11th  Aston Lawrence   

12th  Kalani Salussolia 

13th  Kruz Lovett          

14th  Zen Dickson        

15th  Kai Gould

16th  Jesse Pratt          

17th  Oliver Macdonald

18th  Cayden Hawker   

19th  Henry Dunne       

20th  Alex Santos         

21st   Asher Watt          

22nd  Max Hanson        

23rd  Elijah Jack Smith  

MASTERS

1st    Ian Davidson – ASF Australian Park Skating Champion 2021            

2nd   Nick Heppenstall   

3rd   Chris Enwright       

4th   Trev Ward 

5th   Simon Dixon         

6th   Justin Leslight       

7th   Marcio Brandini     

8th   Iain Watt   

9th   Michael White

OPEN

1st    Kieran Woolley – ASF Australian Park Skating Champion 2021

2nd   Marley Rae           

3rd   Shaun Boucher     

4th   Louis Newman      

5th   Keefer Wilson        

6th   George Richards   

7th   Oscar Berry           

8th   Nixen Osborne      

9th   Charlie Holland      

10th Jorge Tichbon       

11th Barry Taniwha       

12th Samuel Windhorst 

13th Dylan Phillips        

14th Ash Wilcomes       

15th Dani Campbell      

16th Marcos Baker Brandini       

17th Levi Yeaman         

18th Austin Gray

19th Tynan Williams      

20th Kai Farrelly

21st Rhys Schwitter

BOWLZILLA GOLD COAST Message from Tourism and Sport Minister, Stirling Hinchliffe

BOWLZILLA on the Gold Coast is one of Australia’s largest skate festivals.

This premier event showcases the best of the Gold Coast lifestyle and gives skaters the chance to qualify for the Australian National Titles.

BOWLZILLA is now in its fifth year on the Gold Coast and celebrates the best of Australian skate culture with art, music and competition. 

The Palaszczuk Government and Tourism and Events Queensland’s Destination Events Program are proud supporters of BOWLZILLA Gold Coast.

BOWLZILLA visitors to the Gold Coast are always spoilt for choice in tourism experiences.

The Gold Coast is Australia’s favourite holiday playground with good skate bowl infrastructure, golden surf beaches, thrilling theme parks, stunning national parks, great restaurants and some of the country’s best night club venues, just to name a few of the attractions that keep visitors coming back.

Whether you’re in the hunt for an Australian National Titles spot at BOWLZILLA or immersing yourself in the local skate culture, make the most of your stay on Queensland’s Gold Coast.  

Stirling Hinchliffe

Minister for Tourism and Minister for Sport