Ready to shred in quest for cash

SKATER GIRL: Surely Skate co-founder and organiser of the inaugural Surely Shred event, Sophee Hill, practises ahead of tomorrow's competition, which has $1000 cash up for grabs in the female and male open divisions, and plenty of other prizes for all involved. Picture by Georgia Richardson

Skateboarders from across the North Island are in Gisborne this weekend for the first annual Surely Shred competition at Alfred Cox Skate Park.

With a $1000 cash first prize up for grabs in the male and female open divisions and every skater who competes winning something, the level of talent is expected to be high.

Organiser Sophee Hill said there had been “heaps” of out-of town-interest, including entries from a large contingent from Girls Skate NZ — an Auckland-based female skate group, travelling to compete.

As of today, around 40 skaters had entered the competition that will run tomorrow from 10am.

Open finals are scheduled to start at 1.45pm, followed by the vert ramp finals at 2.30.

Due to the unforeseen levels of interest, however, the scheduling may be delayed.

Surely Shred also features male and female junior divisions (13 years and-under and 14 to 17yrs) while the vert competition on the big halfpipe is an open division.

Registrations will be taken up to 8am on the day.

Hill said the support the project had been given was overwhelming, with everything coming together in the last three or four months.

She is a founding member of local female skating group Surely Skate, who were largely inspired by the Girls Skate NZ model.

Both groups formed to help encourage girls of all abilities to get into skating and break down traditional barriers and stereotypes at the skate park that had made females feel intimidated going there by themselves.

Surely Skate received a $10,000 grant from Trust Tairawhiti to help run the event and to offer learn-to-skate sessions at schools. The group also raised over $1000 through a givealittle page.

Hill thanked all the people who had supported the idea and helped it get off the ground.

Sequence Surf Shop donated “thousands of dollars worth of prizes which are around 80 percent of all our prizes”, and a large selection of local businesses also put their support behind the competition.