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JACKALOPE VIRGINIA BEACH 2024: Highlights of the Skateboard Competitions

June 11, 2024 / By vanessa

Greetings to all festival-goers, athletes, and partners,

What a ride JACKALOPE Virginia Beach 2024 has been! Your enthusiasm and energy made it truly unforgettable. This year marked our second venture onto the beach, and boy, did we make waves. 🌊

With a staggering attendance of 47,016 from Friday to Sunday and a record number of registrations for the six different disciplines, we’re beyond thrilled. It feels like a mission accomplished as we reflect on the weekend’s highlights. Before we get into the highlights, don’t miss our video recap—it captures the essence of the festival perfectly.

 

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TOP MEN’S STREET SKATERS

Between the FINAL and the SUPER FINAL, Matias Dell Olio was working on a switch kickflip back tail on the out ledge, giving it countless tries. The landing was tight, making it look pretty risky. But as soon as the SUPER FINAL kicked off, Matias went for it and nailed it on his first try, scoring extra points that helped him secure a spot on the podium!

 

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During the SUPER FINAL, Ivan Monteiro was on fire, landing many insane tricks—as expected from Ivan. He went wild on the same out ledge, pulling off a switch backtail heelflip out, but he had something even bigger in mind. After many attempts, he couldn’t land his trick before time ran out. But the crowd wanted to see it, so he kept going and finally nailed one of the most mind-blowing tricks: the switch back tail varial heel out!

This happened just minutes after Angelo Caro realized he was in Ivan’s landing zone—something you’ve probably seen all over social media. Everyone thought it was over for Angelo in the SUPER FINAL. He didn’t look good at all, but after a few seconds, he surprised the crowd by going for the biggest trick of the weekend: a huge bigspin flip front blunt shuv down the handrail, just before time ran out!

 

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MEN’S STREET PODIUM

🥇 Angelo Caro
🥈 Ivan Monteiro
🥉 Matias Dell Olio

SUPER FINAL LIVE

BEST TRICK RECAP

WILDCARD TO MISSISSAUGA

VISIT MISSISSAUGA was thrilled to offer an incredible opportunity to the standout athlete of the street division! The lucky winner scored a WILD CARD, landing an all-expenses-paid trip to JACKALOPE Mississauga from July 12-14, 2024. And guess what? It’s none other than Mike Piwowar, who actually ended up 4th!

LOCAL SKATERS LOCOS

We’d like to kick things off by shining a spotlight on the incredibly talented local skaters who rocked the street and vert contests in Virginia Beach. Chris Wimer, Collin Graham, and McCauley Hoover, just to name a few.

Right after the vert final, Collin decided to keep sending it, going for his massive elguerial over the 10-foot channel—and he absolutely aced it, sending the crowd into a buzz of excitement. Meanwhile, McCauley dominated the Grom Girls Street Podium, snagging that top spot. Chris held his own among 60 contestants, landing 1st place in the qualifications, securing his spot in the FINALS, and ultimately finishing in 8th place in the street division.

We’d also like to give a shout out to Mike Fava, who made it to the fest but had a stroke of bad luck—he actually broke his ankle during the BEST TRICK event on Friday, so he had to sit out for the rest of the weekend. Wishing him a speedy recovery!

TOP WOMEN’S STREET & VERT SKATERS

The women’s competitions at JACKALOPE are always a blast, packed with great performances. This year was no exception, as the participants brought serious talent and style to the table.

 

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The street SUPER FINAL was particularly insane, with the girls just killing it one after another. They really lit up the street course and the vert with their skills. Kylie Frank and Laura Zackova were the only two women who landed kickflips down the double set. This was just one of the many tricks that earned them first and second place in the women’s street division.

Juri Iikura, a 12-year-old girl from New York, is already making her mark on the podium in the women’s category with her insane bag of tricks!!

WOMEN’S STREET PODIUM

🥇 Kylie Frank
🥈 Laura Zackova
🥉 Juri Iikura

Joey Yarbrough wowed everyone with her clean caballerial and effortless hurricane. Lady Meek also impressed the judges, the crowd, and the MC—and while we’re at it, shout out to her recent FS hurricane featured in Thrasher Magazine! Carlin Makibbin, fresh off a knee injury, returned in full force. Watching these athletes skate the vert was like poetry in motion, each bringing their unique style to the mix.

WOMEN’S VERT PODIUM

🥇 Joey Yarbrough
🥈 Lady Meek
🥉 Carlin Makibbin

TOP MEN’S VERT SKATERS

Let’s kick things off with Mitchie Brusco, our vert superstar, who absolutely nailed a mind-blowing switch backside 540 melon during the final. Mitchie‘s not just an incredible skater, he’s also an inspiration and a huge supporter of the new generation of vert skaters. And here’s something exciting: you can now reserve your spot for JACKALOPE Mississauga’s exclusive 2-hour VIP vert jam with him.

JD Sanchez, a 15-year-old ripper, pulled off a huge alley-oop BS 540 melon, earning him 2nd place on the podium. Reef Orlando really amazed us, especially with his cab nosegrind nollie bigspin out—like what?!

MEN’S VERT PODIUM

🥇 Mitchie Brusco
🥈 JD Sanchez
🥉 Reef Orlando

MENS VERT FINALS RECAP

THE NEW GENERATION

The next generation of skateboarders turned out in record numbers from far and wide. The winner on the boys’ street was Xavier Lafontaine, one of the local skaters from our hometown, Montreal! We’ve seen his evolution and are so proud of him.

Nathaniel Blanchard was the one to beat, and he didn’t give the others a chance, taking second place—also from our hometown, Montreal. Nicolas Dela Cruz, a regular on the podium, was very close to the top spot and proved once again that he’s an elite competitor with his tricks and consistency.

 

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GROM BOYS STREET PODIUM

🥇 Xavier Lafontaine
🥈 Nathaniel Blanchard
🥉 Nicolas Dela Cruz

On the girls’ side, McCauley, the local multi-talent we mentioned earlier, took first place in the Grom Girls Street and also made it to the women’s street and vert FINALS! Keep an eye on her—she’s on fire! Ally Schierer snagged second place after a fierce battle with Penny Donovan, who rounded out the podium in third.

GROM GIRLS STREET PODIUM

🥇 McCauley Hoover
🥈 Ally Schierer
🥉 Penny Donovan

The winner of the boys’ competition was none other than local star Kalani Ferolino. Jayden Aleman, who made the crowd go crazy more than once, took second place. And young 9-year-old Winston Sievers rounded out the podium. They all gave great performances and blew our minds.

GROM BOYS VERT PODIUM

🥇 Kalani Ferolino
🥈 Jayden Aleman
🥉 Winston Sievers

The best part of the weekend? Easy. It was when the MEN’S STREET FINAL wrapped up and the whole street course turned into this massive dance party. You had festival-goers, athletes, and staff all coming together, just soaking up the good vibes, dancing their hearts out, and drinking out of bottles of champagne. Watching those golden pieces glittering against the lights and the night sky just made the whole scene even more magical. It was one of those moments you wished would last forever.

Next stop Mississauga + See you in Virginia Beach 2025

For the first time in JACKALOPE history, you can buy your favorite shots here and share them on the ‘gram!

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