OCEANSIDE — Sun Diego’s Am Slam Skateboard Contest will give up-and-comers the opportunity to show off their stuff at Melba Bishop Skatepark Sept. 29.
“It’s a good place for kids to compete and see where they stand with their peers,” Eric Steddom, contest director, said.
This is the sixth year the series has been held and the first year a contest will take place in Oceanside.
“It’s the first time we had a stop in North County,” Steddom said. “We had a lot of requests.”
Competition is divided into three age division brackets and one open division. The youngest competitors start at about age 6 in the 13 and under division.
Each age division competition begins with a jam session in which all competitors skate at once.
Then the field is narrowed to the top 10 in that division who are scored on timed runs. The riders with the top three scores win the division.
“Judging is focused on the consistency of different tricks and how many they’re landing,” Steddom said.
Plaques and prizes are given to the winners in each age division. The open division winners receive cash prizes ranging from $300 to $1,000.
“It’s a family atmosphere,” Steddom said. “Parents come up to watch kids and cheer them on. There are vendor tents, a ring toss game where you can win giveaways — a lot of cool things going on.”
The contest also provides the opportunity for kids to skate in front of vendors in the industry who are on the lookout to sponsor promising youth for their teams.
The event is the final competition in the Sun Jam series.
Previous events were held at the Wavehouse Belmont Park in Mission Beach, Clairemont YMCA Skatepark and Carmel Valley Skatepark.
The series is sponsored by Sun Diego Board Shops. For more information, go to sundiego.com.
