After 10 years on Montreal soil, the JACKALOPE festival has moved to Virginia Beach in the USA! 🇺🇸 Crowds, adrenalin, an exceptional atmosphere and thrills. To experience or relive JACKALOPE Virginia Beach, click below.
1ST EDITION OF THE JACKALOPE FESTIVAL AT VIRGINIA BEACH
June 19, 2023 / By jean
Before you start reading, it’s worth watching the after-movie JACKALOPE Virginia Beach 2023. FOMO guaranteed!
1/ VERT SHOWDOWN: Tony Hawk and his friends prove that Vert is still relevant.
The big poster for JACKALOPE Virginia Beach lived up to its promise! Tony Hawk and his friends (Elliot Sloan, Tom Schaar, Collin Graham, Mitchie Brusco, Reese Nelson and Bucky Lasek ) broke everything despite the strong winds and storm.
A few hours before the vert showdown, the luckiest members of the general public had the chance to meet the riders for a signing session at the Meet n’Greet with Tony Hawk & friends. What better souvenir of the Festival than a board signed by the best vert riders in the world!
With one trick after another, the riders set the Virginia Beach beach scene alight.
The images speak louder than words, and we’ll let you dream just below:
2/ SKATEBOARD: the energy was at its peak!
For the first edition, we had the California Skatepark crew build a Virginia Beach-style skatepark right on the beach. It was quite beautiful to see, and to ride. And what about the crowd during the final? It was insane! The energy from the VB community clearly got the riders pushing their tricks even harder, to the delight of everyone watching.
In the Men’s competition, Micky PAPA (Canada) took first place ahead of Jake ILARDI (USA) and Matias DEL’OLLIO (Argentina).
The international podium was a reflection of the festival, with no fewer than 8 countries represented.
Micky PAPA won ahead of his two buddies thanks to tricks such as his Varial Heel flip backside smith grind on the huba, a magnificent Lazerflip backside lipslide on the rail and a Nollie heel flip front crook.
Jack ILARDI, with a splendid Bigspin flip front blunt slide, managed to confirm his second place ahead of Matias DEL’OLLIO, author of an impressive halfcab noseslide nollie bigheelflip out.
These tricks were performed in the men’s street and best tricks competitions. It was a truly spectacular moment, and the creativity of the runs was ever more extensive and inspiring.
We might as well tell you that Neptune and our Virginia Beach shark were the first shook by all our competitors!
PODIUM:
1. Micky PAPA
2. Jack ILARDI
To see the final in full: here
On the women’s side, our competitors outdid themselves and impressed our public as they do every year!
With an atmosphere full of camaraderie and solidarity, it was Christine COLLAM who took first place on the podium, ahead of her compatriots Poe PINSON and Jordan PASCALE.
In other words, a podium entirely in American colours! 🇺🇸
In holiday-like conditions, our girls were able to concentrate and offer the public a variety of spectacular tricks. Their runs included a bigspin frontboard to fakie on the flat rail at the top of the pyramid (Christine COLLAM), a pop-shov 50-50 shove-out on the Gel Blaster box (Poe PINSON) and a flat down on the pyramid rail (Jordan PASCALE).
PODIUM:
2. Poe PINSON
JACKALOPE couldn’t be a true skateboarding event without showcasing the up-and-coming talent in the discipline. Our GROMS (Kids) quickly showed that their young age meant absolutely nothing!
Aaron PIKE, won the judges over and took first place.
He beat Nicolas DELA CRUZ, in second place, and Nick TODERO for the bronze medal.
Take note of these names, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them in top skateboarding competitions in the future!
PODIUM:
1. Aaron PIKE
3. Nick TODERO
3/ Bouldering competition
Have you ever seen a block wall on the beach? Not many people would say yes. Well, this was the case at JACKALOPE Virginia Beach. Among them, it was Charlie BARRON in the men’s category and Sienna KOPF in the women’s category who finished first in their category. They beat Ethan FREUDENHEIM and Benn WHEELER in the men’s category, and Zoe BEAUCHEMIN and Nina SCHROEDER in the women’s category. Well done to all the athletes for their participation and commitment. Special mention to Charles BARRON, who held on to his title!
PODIUM:
Men:
3. Benn WHEELER
Women:
1. Sienna KOPF
4- BASE jump record: First legal jump from a building
For this edition, the athletes had the chance to jump from the Hilton Hotel from a height of 200 feet and land in the middle of the Festival. In this precision competition, it was Sean CHUMA who came out on top, landing directly on the centre of the target, followed by Mat LAJ and Katie HANSEN.
PODIUM:
1. Sean CHUMA
2. Matt LAJ
3. Katie HANSEN
5. Skimboarding competition: a first at JACKALOPE
Organised by our partner SkimUSA, the different categories of competition had their respective successes. The competitions were held in a friendly and supportive atmosphere, with both professionals and amateurs taking part.
Participants performed a series of tricks with style and technique to decide the winner. It was Yahir Valencia who caught the judges’ eye to win the pro competition, ahead of Americans Mason Broussard and Dane Cameron. In the girls’ competition, Sydney Pizza got the better of her rivals, followed by Libby Rendall in second place.
PODIUM:
Men:
3. Dane CAMERON
Women:
1. Sydney PIZZA
