The Vancouver crowd was loud and proud for hometown skaters James Clarke and Adam Hopkins during the second-annual Van Doren Invitational skateboard competition at Hastings Skatepark July 10 and 11.
Clarke, an indie skater sans sponsors, whipped up the energy on fast high-flying tours around the bowls and Hopkins, who is part of the Vans team and grew up in Thunder Bay, Ont., wore a fluorescent orange hat throughout the finals on Saturday.
Hopkins, the oldest skater in the competition at 25, finished fifth overall and pocketed $5,000 for his efforts. Clarke didn’t crack the top six out of 21 skaters. The purse for the skate jam was $75,000. Entrance was free.
The contest is determined by overall impression, and the panel of judges included pro skaters Brian Howard and Matt Milligan as well as the former editor for SBC and The Boardpress Mike Prangnell.
Held over two days, the mops and blow torches came out before Saturday’s finals to dry the rain off Mother Hastings, as the 14-year-old park is affectionately called. Graffiti artists, under the direction of designers Virus and Ben Tour, transformed the bowls with a black, oil-slick bottom and pool-blue walls. The hip was painted black with a hammer and sickle in memory of Josh Evin, a pro skater and owner of the Black Russian Skate Shop in Castlegar who died in 2010.
Dalton Dern, a 22-year-old from Orlando, Fla. Pocketed $1,500 when he conquered the notorious Hastings transfer, a trick that has never been landed before at the Hastings Skatepark.
Alex Sorgente, 17 and also from Florida, won the invite-only session and took home $15,000.
Twitter and Instagram: @MHStewart
