Vert Jam skate contest returns to Kerikeri

Former pro skater Andrew Morrison performs a trick called a stale fish during the 2019 Vert Jam skateboarding contest. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Some of New Zealand's top skateboarders are heading to Kerikeri this weekend for the town's annual Vert Jam contest.

It's the first major event at the new skate park at Kerikeri Domain — built with a $680k Provincial Growth Fund grant — and the first Vert Jam since 2020 due to Covid disruptions.

Organiser Dave Crabb, a former pro skater, said about 30 competitors were expected from as far away as Otago.

They included some of the country's best vert skaters, such as Zedyn Fellows (Wānaka) and Bowman Hansen (Taupō), along with veteran Cale Tolley and top women's skater Billy Morrison.

The action starts at noon on Saturday, March 19.

Prizes will be awarded in open women's, open men's, under-16s and masters (40-plus) divisions. It is the first competition of the 2022 New Zealand Vert series.

Vert skating is a great spectator sport with riders performing tricks, often high in the air, using a 3.4m-high ramp.

The new park also caters to scooters and other skating styles with a series of bowls and obstacles such as rails and ledges for street-style skateboarding.