KAPA‘A — Asher Dillberg took the first place finish in the Under 9 Division yesterday for the first Meyvn Skate Contest at the Kapa‘a Skate Park. The contest began in the morning. Last minute sign-ups gave the competition an added
KAPA‘A — Asher Dillberg took the first place finish in the Under 9 Division yesterday for the first Meyvn Skate Contest at the Kapa‘a Skate Park.
The contest began in the morning. Last minute sign-ups gave the competition an added boost.
“We started out with the little guys — the Under 9 Division — then went up through the 12 year olds and the teenagers,” said Donovan Claytor, owner of Meyvn Skateboarding Clothing and co-sponsor of the event.
Meyvn collaborated with Leadership Kaua‘i and the County of Kaua‘i to put on the contest. This is the first time the county sponsored such an event.
Nearly 100 spectators gathered to watch as the kids did their tricks. Throughout the competition, contest volunteers threw T-shirts and gifts to the crowd.
It started off a clear day, but as the weather started to shift to sprinkles, the competition was cut short.
“Towards the end, we had to cut straight to the finals instead of doing semifinals,” Claytor said.
Luka Lo‘i took second behind Dillberg in the Under 9 Division. Kaeo Lizama took third.
In the 9 to 12 Division, first place went to Johnathan Crago. Noah Fukani took second, while Tabin Shamblin took third.
Cody Hashitate came out on top in the 13 to 16 Division, followed by Sean Gibb and David Kiefer.
For the 17 and Up Division, Kainoa Kuwabara took first place. Second went to Cirus Andrade and third went to Sam Andrade.
The winners received a prize package consisting of hats, T-shirts, a new skateboard, wheels and sunglasses from the sponsors.
There were three girls who signed up, but there was no separate girl’s category.
“That’s something we’d like to do in the future,” Claytor said. “I can see it within the store more and more girls are starting to get into it. It’s kind of like surfing how it started out with more guys doing it. But now more girls are getting into it.”
This was the first of four skate contests planned for this year. Claytor said they plan on keeping a lot of the things the same, but adding to it.
“In the future, we plan on having more pros come out so we could have more demos in between the contests,” he said. “Kaua‘i is getting to the mode of producing some pretty good skaters. One thing is that sometimes Kaua‘i is so secluded that (the kids) don’t get to see all of the moves out there. So getting the pros to come out will be better for them.”
The next contest will be mid-June at the Graceland Skate Park in Po‘ipu.
They will also host a skate camp July 18 to 22.
