Bowl Jam part of big weekend

Mangawhai’s famous annual Bowl Jam returns on Waitangi Weekend, Sunday February 5, in what is now considered one of New Zealand’s premier skateboarding events.

A line-up of the best skateboarders in the country is set to take over the world class Mangawhai skate bowl for the sixth running of the event.

The skate park at the Mangawhai Activity Zone (MAZ) will receive its final stage of upgrades later this year putting it firmly on the map as the best in the country and an ideal training park leading towards Tokyo 2020, where skateboarding will make its Olympic debut.

An official Bowl Jam after-party at the Mangawhai tavern will follow prize giving with feature bands Racing, THPS, and Byron Bay-based Israeli Chicks. This should be a spectacular weekend for competitors and spectators alike.

Jesse Peters started the event six years ago.

“My intention was to create a grass roots event that would provide a platform to allow local talent to grow,” says Jesse Peters who started the event six years ago. “Last year we had a crowd of well over a thousand spectators so it’s exciting to see how this has grown. The challenge is to keep the core ethos of ‘by skateboarders, for skateboarders’ at the heart of the event. It’s about bringing boarders together from the length and breadth of New Zealand, to compete against and push each other, and have a damn fun time doing so.”

Competition divisions include Under 16, Open, Masters, and Best Trick.

This year Bowl Jam will combine with the Logger Heads surf event on February 4 for a full weekend of surfing, skating and sounds.

n WHAT: Vans Mangawhai Bowl Jam. WHERE: Mangawhai Activity Zone. WHEN: Sun, Feb 5, 11am start.

JAMMING: Top skating action packs ‘em in every year.