Scooter riders go head-to-head
Could you pull-off a finger-whip, a triple barspin or a nose pivot?
Those are some of the daring stunts that were on display on Saturday as Christchurch hosted the first qualifying round of the International Scooter Association (ISA) Australasian Championship 2020.
Hundreds of people turned out to see New Zealand’s best scooter riders go head-to-head at Washington Way Skatepark.
About 80 riders took to the ramps, bowls and quarter-pipes to show their skills. Taking first place in the men’s category was Aucklander Connor Ransley, while Napier’s Alexandra Madsen won the women’s heat.
As the overall winner, Ransley was given a ‘‘wild card’’ to the ISA World Championship Final, while the top 10 riders qualified for the ISA Australasian Regional Final.
Each rider was given 45 seconds to impress the judges, with the difficulty of the tricks being assessed as well as the diversity, consistency and style of their run.
And while entrants were encouraged to show originality and variety, points were deducted for crashes, foot slips and ‘‘sketchy’’ landings.
The event was the first of eight Australasian qualifying rounds and was organised by the ISA not-for-profit organisation established in 2011 to develop and govern the sport of scooter riding.
And ISA’s New Zealand representative Paul Hill said that despite the sport being relatively young compared with skateboarding and roller skating, it was gaining popularity around the world. ‘‘Lots of people think of scooters as a way of getting the kids to school but it is now recognised as a sport in its own right,’’ he said.
‘‘We had riders from across New Zealand and we had really good support, about 500 people.
‘‘The standard was really high. The way I describe the sport is like gymnastics on concrete.’’
The other heats will be held across Australia in February and March before the final in Melbourne in May.
The ISA Championship is split into three regions – Europe, North America and Australasia – with each staging qualifying events for the final which will be held later in the year.