--Skaters show their skills, Gatineau Skateboard hosts virtual competition

Despite cancelling its fourth and final youth competition of the season, Gatineau Skateboard decided to one-up coronavirus by organizing a virtual one. Inviting the National Capital region’s skaters to film their best tricks and post them on social media, Gatineau Skateboard’s Program Director Jean-Philippe Roy said there will be plenty of cool prizes and bragging rights to be won.

To qualify for the event, videos must be shot in a local skatepark, be less than one-minute long and participants must hashtag their respective age group - #Gatineauskateboard2020U10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 – when posting it on Instagram of Facebook before October 31. “It needs to be filmed in a City of Gatineau skatepark,” Roy said.

The U10 category is for participants born after 2011 and categories go up to U18. Gatineau Skateboard will unveil the prize winners via social media on November 1. Gatineau Skateboard’s fourth competition of the season was initially scheduled to take place at Parc Central in the Plateau on October 4, but was cancelled because of recently implemented Quebec government safety measures. With videos already being embedded in skateboard culture, Roy said turning the competition into a virtual event was the logical next best thing to do. “Some of the kids already love [filming] a lot,” Roy said. “This will maybe let them be creative with their video editing. It’ll be fun to see that.”

Providing plenty of opportunities for local youth to build confidence and grow over the last three years of hosting competitions all over Gatineau, Roy feels grateful to be part of such a unique event that positively impacts the community. “It’s fun to see that we don’t only have an impact in the sport but in their life in general,” Roy said.