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
