That’s a wrap for BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2021

With a stripped-back team of behind-the-scenes organizers due to COVID, this year’s event was a true community effort and that spirit shone brightly throughout the whole week. Despite the wet weather forecasts, we had sunshine, skateboarding, and good times. Clearly, nothing was going to hold us back.

It all kicked off last Tuesday at our Yeah Girl Skate Session with Gold Coast Skateboard Coaching. Big thanks to everyone that came down to Tugun Skatepark for all the fun, learned a new trick, and hyped everyone up! BOWLZILLA Gold Coast 2020 champion, Indiana Barnard, even came along for some pre-contest fun.

Thursday night was jam-packed with more good times! Beach Burrito Co. hosted the official BOWLZILLA Pre Party where we had Sam Taylor (AKA Fat Dog Planet) serving up live art as she gave the Red Bull fridge a fresh coat of radness. Upstairs at Level Up Studio + Gallery, we held the Yeah Girl Skate Photography Workshop complete with a pop-up photo show.

This year’s photo recap of the contest includes photos from some of our Skate Photography Workshop participants. (Keep scrolling down to check out their snaps!)

Kiowa Sioux was on the deck getting the shots from the first drop-ins until the sun went down. It was her first-ever skate contest but with the photos she got, you’d think she’d been working those angles for years. Kiowa said she “felt super prepared but underestimated how crazy it would be to capture the incredibly talented athletes doing their tricks — learning where they’re going to be at the right moment was major key!”

Caitlin Norton took all the tips from the workshop and put them to work on the day. “Being able to capture the competitors and the crowd in a way that encapsulated the event was challenging yet rewarding. I learned so much on the day and left feeling more inspired than ever to shoot skate photography and attend more competitions like BOWLZILLA.”

Saturday was the main event and the Yeah Girl Womxn’s division was action-packed. Ruby Trew had jaws to the floor as she rolled away from a perfect 540, landing her in first place. Taniah Meyers made an impressive comeback from her recent ACL surgery, taking out 2nd place.  You’d never guess that she had just gotten back on her board a few weeks ago. Coming in third was Poppy Olsen who looked very much at home ripping up the deep end.

This year we had even more ladies representing on the deck and behind the scenes. Tora Waldren took to her role as MC like a true natural, talking us through the action all day and only stopping to catch her breath then tear up the bowl during the Womxn’s heats. BOWLZILLA’s Head Judge Shari Duffy became a new mum just a few months ago but that didn’t stop her from getting back in the chair and leading the judge’s panel through the whole competition.

The border closures meant that we were missing a lot of our friends from around the world at BOWLZILLA this year, but everyone involved went that little bit harder, higher and faster on their behalf. If you couldn’t be there in person — or if you just want to relive it all again — you can catch all the action via the BOWLZILLA live stream below.

Yeah Girl Womxn’s Division 2021 placings (equal cash prize purse with Open)

1 Ruby Trew – ASF Australian Park Skating Champion 2021
2 Taniah Meyers
3 Poppy Olsen
4 Indiana Barnard
5 Zahra Johns
6 Aaliyah Wilson
7 Aimee Massie
8 Tora Waldren
9 Heili Sirvio
10 Arisa Trew
11 Isla Lillie Bower
12 Mel NC
13 Sailor Allen
14 Mila Sirvio
15 Lily Britton