Go Skateboarding Day, June 21st

Event Report!

Every year, we strive to bring the whole skateboard community together & celebrate the Go Skateboarding Day movement. We really wanted to have this at the same time & date as the USA & other places around the world, but due to June 21 not being a holiday in Hong Kong, China & most part of Asia, we decided to do this on the 1st weekend right after June 21. Most Asian Countries celebrated this on June 23 as well.

I remember a handful of us celebrating GSD many years ago when it first started, just a few skaters, skating all the spots in Hong Kong.

Now, over the years, we as a skateboard community have the support of Skateshops, brands, local government & various organizations to promote skateboarding in a positive way. For a small place, Hong Kong has a number of skateparks, these range from modular street plazas to full concrete parks. All this in addition to the countless street spots in this crowded place we call home.

This year, we are very thankful to have the support from the two major skateshops, 8FIVE2SHOP & HKIT store, together with the support of brands like Vans, Converse, Lakai, NikeSB, adidas skateboarding, Casio G-Shock & Red Bull. We were able to host a series of mini-games for everyone & also organize a united cause for allowing skateboarding in the largest & best concrete skatepark in Hong Kong.

Two bus-loads of skaters, approximately 100 of us, went to the Po Kong Villiage road BMX park to hand in our petition to the authorities to allow skateboarding at this park. It is one of the best skateparks ever built in Hong Kong, built by Convic.com
Unfortunately, due to the government bureaucracy, ignorance & the need for some established sporting associations to have control, this park has been deemed "BMX ONLY"
Even for BMX riders, they need to undergo training, then tests by the Hong Kong Cycling Association before they are issued with a "permit" or "licence" to ride this park.
Totally ridiculous. As a result, this park is severely under-used & a waste of public resources & tax payers money. Imagine if skateboarding was allowed here.
This was the cause we as skateboarders thought we would work together for on this Go Skateboarding Day. Everyone who participated contributed to this cause! It was fantastic! Hope we can see some light at the end of the long tunnel that will ultimately open up this awesome park to skateboarders.

The skating at Mei Foo Skatepark was non-stop fun, this lasted way into the evening. From 8pm onwards, an 'after-party' with food & more skating was hosted at Vans Sk8Five2 indoor skatepark in Kwun Tong.

We tried to get everyone involved, & hosted Instagram & Viddy contests too!

Non-Stop skateboarding for over 12 hours on June 23rd 2012!!

Please have a look here for some more pics & info from the Hong Kong Go Skateboarding Day

http://www.kickerclub.com/?p=11616
http://www.kickerclub.com/?p=11596
http://www.kickerclub.com/?p=11500
http://www.alivenotdead.com/80
http://www.8five2.com/blogs/0002/