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 – Lifting Boarders

BOWLZILLA Gold Coast was the last international professional skateboard competition of 2020 before the world closed down. It will be the largest competition of the New Year lifting boarder’s spirits around the country. Once again the ASF National Park Skating Championships will be back to bring the cheer.

With such a crazy year behind us, there are high expectations for 2021 and what it will bring. BOWLZILLA Gold Coast will be do its part in bringing back the positive with the festival hosting; art, music, learn to ride clinics, food, parties and of course the competition.

For the sixth year BOWLZILLA Gold Coast is the ASF National Park Skating Championships, which makes it the peak ASF park skating competition in Australia, with the highest prize money in Australia. The competition has equal prize purse across Yeah Girl Women’s and Dickies Open, the largest Masters prize purse in Australasia and an oversupply of prizes for 16 & Unders.

The BOWLZILLA Gold Coast festival is about the gathering of Australia’s skateboarding community for a week on the Gold Coast, which is the best skate community in Australia, to celebrate all that makes them great, art, music, food, friends, community and skating.

The main show, the competition is the Australian Skateboarding Federation’s biggest Park Competition of the year for them and the Nation. 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 2021 with all its fantastic partners and amazing festival events.

Global powerhouse Yeah Girl started on the Gold Coast and has grown to an international platform showcasing the many varied and awesome abilities of womxn’s skateboarding. They have supported BOWLZILLA since inception and work together every year to ensure the highest paid Equality-in-Skateboarding event in Australia and that it continues to support the ever-growing womxn’s skateboard community on its path to the largest international competitive stage.

"Yeah Girl began as a way to give voice and spirit to the ever growing and evolving womxn's skate community. Working with BOWLZILLA Gold Coast was a no-brainer — they have always tried to find ways to further develop their understanding and support of the womxn's skate scene. At the first BOWLZILLA Gold Coast in 2016, Shari Duffy became the first woman to judge an international skateboard competition and has since taken on the role of Head Judge. The competition itself, having the largest Equality-In-Skateboarding prize purse in Australia, and the many other things done during the festival and behind the scenes every year in planning, help promote the best of our community on the largest stage available in Australia.” Sarah Huston – Yeah Girl

The only reason BOWLZILLA Gold Coast is even possible is because of the foresight of the Gold Coast City Council. They have provided the support and the platform for what is the Nation’s best skateboard community. What they continue to do each year with building more skateparks and providing more learn to ride clinics and the supporting of events which help rally and showcase the community is beyond compare in Australia. BOWLZILLA Gold Coast being the largest event of its kind in Australia is testament to the great work GCCC has done so far.

“Our city is expanding its major events calendar, actively seeking out new format events to attract national interest in the coast,’’ said Mayor Tom Tate.

“You only have to say the word BOWLZILLA to make you want to hear more. Blending cool music with epic skate bowl skills, great food and world-class competition is the perfect recipe for a great event.

“I wish organisers and competitors every success with the program and look forward to the thousands of social media selfies being shared across the globe.’’

Major Events Gold Coast CEO Jan McCormick:

"I’m thrilled to see BOWLZILLA hit the Gold Coast once again in 2021. The action-packed event is an iconic feature in our city’s sporting events calendar. I look forward to welcoming the competitors, their families and the spectators to another memorable National Championships.”

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.

The BOWLZILLA Gold Coast festival is coming back for a sixth year! The week of fun on and off the board returns with a womxn’s learn to ride clinic with Yeah Girl and Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching, Beach Burrito Company is the night-time venue for the week for art, food and parties, there are several local hosted barbecues at some of the best skateparks in Australia and it is all wrapped around the biggest comp of the year in Australia at Elanora skatepark.

“This year BOWLZILLA Gold Coast is dedicated to the far too many we have lost in our community over the last year, especially Australian legend Grant “Biff” Murdoch. We realise how lucky we are to still be perpetuating our Peter Pan Complex with this festival and will do everything we can to lift the spirits of our community with a fantastic week on the Gold Coast. Our job is to spread joy and inspire and we will make sure there are equally high doses of both. We thank all of our supporters for assisting us in continuing the stoke that is BOWLZILLA Gold Coast. We are an Open Boarders event, so everyone with a positive attitude is welcome to come join us at our free week of skating celebration.” Chad Ford; BOWLZILLA – Director.

BOWLZILLA stands on the shoulders of giants and we strive in all we do to acknowledge the influential skaters and scene that came before us; Patti McGee, Tony Alva, Lora Thornhill, Jay Adams, Adrian Jones, Grant “Biff” Murdoch, Dog Town, Steve Alba, Suicidal Tendencies, Black Flag, Pearl Jam, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Hellmen, Glen E. Friedman, Thrasher, Independent, The Bones Brigade, The Beastie Boys, Lance Mountain, Chris Miller, Cara Beth Burnside and Tony Hawk. The new guard of Poppy Olsen, Keegan Palmer, Taniah Meyers, Grant Taylor, Lizzie Armanto, Danny Leon, Nicole Hause, Rune Glifberg, Omar Hassan, Bucky Lasek, Jack Fardell and Pedro Barros, would not be here without this heritage. BOWLZILLA™ acknowledges and celebrates this with plans to build on the past and write a bright and energetic future.

Dates:

13th March 2021

Event info: TBC – information coming soon

9th March: Yeah Girl x Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching – Girl’s Learn To Ride Clinic – Tugun Skatepark, Boyd St, Tugun 4224

10th March: Gold Coast Grill – local hosted BBQ skate session – more to come

11th March: Tic Taco art exhibition / video premier – Beach Burrito Company; The Strand Shop 25/26, 72-80 Marine Parade, Coolangatta 4225 Ph: (07) 5536 4192

12th March: Gold Coast Grill – local hosted BBQ skate session – more to come

13th March: BOWLZILLA™ Gold Coast, Australia’s; National Park Skating Championships – 1 Pines Lane, Elanora QLD 4221

13th March: Dive In – official after party – Beach Burrito Company; The Strand Shop 25/26, 72-80 Marine Parade, Coolangatta 4225 Ph: (07) 5536 4192

@bowlzilla

#bowlzilla

#bowlzillagoldcoast

#nationalparkskatingchampionships

@destinationgoldcoast

#playgoldcoast

#WeAreGoldCoast

@yeahgirlskateboarding

#yeahgirlskateboarding

BOWLZILLA Wellington – Capitol Asset

BOWLZILLA Wellington, Waitangi Park 9/03/2019

This is the year New Zealand skaters are launched onto the world stage via BOWLZILLA Wellington 2019. Big returns are coming for the skaters of New Zealand with the maturation of their skateboarding Capitol Assets.

The road to the Olympic Games for skateboarding begins this year. Qualifying points start accruing the beginning of January for skaters competing in National Titles and other international professional competitions around the world. BOWLZILLA Wellington is the first points awarding Park competition in the world for the year and the beginning of the path.

The annual National skateboard festival BOWLZILLA Wellington is returning for its fourth year with the highlight being the all-encompassing New Zealand National Park / Bowl Skating Titles. SBNZ the National Governing body of skateboarding in NZ, sanctions this event as the National Championships for Park / Bowl skating which sees skaters from all around the country and expats flying in to have a craic. The festival includes an art show, some parties and music and an old school ramp jam and barbecue. It is the greatest week of skateboarding in New Zealand and everyone is invited to join in the celebrations.

“It is only fitting that Wellington is home to the National Titles of Park Skateboarding – BOWLZILLA Wellington. We are very proud of our creative and healthy community here in Wellington and the promotion of our fantastic lifestyle to the world through this event is brilliant. As skateboarding enters into the Olympics and Wellington becomes a pathway for our local athletes, we look forward to growing this festival and the benefits it has on our community for years to come”. Justin Lester; Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand.

There is increasing interest and participation in the competition each year and with the Olympic points opportunity thrown in it is going to make the choice of the next National Champions for 16 & Under, Women, Masters 40+ and Pro/Am Open all the more difficult. With 2018 being the first Equality in Skateboarding event ever held in New Zealand, thanks to Yeah Gnar NZ, this year there is going to be a larger and more inspired international field in the bowl.

“Over the years, New Zealand has produced some of the world's most talented skateboard professionals: Gregor Rankin, Dave Crabb, Lee Ralph and Andrew 'Morri' Morrison. The path was gruelling, and their professional careers always began overseas. This year Skateboarding NZ (SBNZ) received international sanctioning as New Zealand's National Sports Organisation for skateboarding. Several New Zealand competitions are now on the World Skate calendar for Oceania, including BOWLZILLA Wellington as the National Titles. Skateboarding NZ now offers a local platform with international standing so kiwi skaters can begin their professional journey here at home. Starting off the year with BOWLZILLA Wellington is fantastic - for a small country we’re making big steps this year." Ramon Thackwell, Director – SKATEBOARDING NEW ZEALAND – SBNZ

Wellington City Council, International Skateboarder’s Union, Redhead or Dead Events, Skateboarding New Zealand and Miryoku Agency have joined forces to create this fantastic opportunity for New Zealand skaters.

“Whatever lay ahead for skaters with the new Olympic stage we will be here supporting our friends in the skateboard community. We have built a gathering to unite those who love what we do and celebrate the skaters who inspire us to have as much fun as possible on four wheels. Even if you know nothing of skating, we guarantee that time spent at any of the BOWLZILLA Wellington celebrations will turn you into a fan. Come and enjoy the good times with us in Wellington.”  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 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.

The will be more information coming shortly about all the great events happening as part of BOWLZILLA Wellington 2019.