The prowess of Cochrane's skateboarding community will be on full display June 4, when the town plays host to Shredz Fest – an annual skating competition at the Zero Gravity Skate Park.
Organized by Cochrane's local skate shop Shredz Shop and The Inside – a Christian youth group that mentors young skaters – Shredz Fest has been a fixture in the community for the last 14 years, according to Shredz Shop owner Sam Stuart.
However, he noted this Saturday's iteration marks the first time Shredz Fest will take place since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought on the cancellation of the competition in 2020 and 2021.
“This is the first one we’ve done since COVID, so we don’t know really anything about what the turnout will be," Stuart said. "Usually, we’d have skaters come from all over Alberta and sometimes even Saskatchewan and B.C."
Stuart added Shredz Fest will feature skaters a wide demographic, including 10-year-olds who only recently took up the activity, to sponsored adult skaters from Calgary and other cities.
There's also a category called 'Prom Night,' featuring skaters from an all-girls skateboard club that formed in Cochrane in 2020.
For a town of Cochrane's size, Stuart said the skateboarding community is surprisingly vibrant – something he attributes to a few factors, including the popularity of the local skate park, the number of youth who skate in Cochrane, and the town's proximity to Calgary.
“I’d say our skateboard community is probably the best one, maybe in North America, for a skateboard community in a small town," he said. "We have a comparable skate team to a lot of cities, and we’re obviously a small town."
Having grown up in Sylvan Lake, Stuart said there is something about living in a small town that encourages youth to take up skateboarding – possibly as a means to fend off boredom.
“There’s not a lot going on for kids that age, so I think it’s something for kids to look forward to," he said. "It’s an event in a small town that is cool.”
Shredz Fest will get underway on Saturday morning, kicking off with the under-12 skaters at 10:30 a.m., followed by the intermediate category around noon and the open categories in the afternoon.
Stuart said a highlight of the day will be the best trick contest in the afternoon – though when exactly the contest gets underway is still up in the air.
“It goes on what I call skateboard time, so never 100 per cent on time," he said. "People roll in late, register late, and all that kind of stuff. We put specific times so people show up, but it always runs a little behind schedule.”
For Cochranites who have never checked out Shredz Fest before, Stuart said it's worth attending to witness the talent on display of the local skateboarding community.
Now that skateboarding is an Olympic sport, Stuart added Shredz is hoping to partner with Canada Skateboard and the Canada Olympic Committee to eventually convert Shredz Fest into a qualifying competition for Canada's Olympic skateboarding hopefuls.
