A giant fist bump and thank you to Heidi Lemon for organizing the Venice 21 Skateboard Contest and participating in the First Annual Venice Beach Sports Day event.
Venice Beach Sports Day was Venice Beach Recreation Center wide event that included 20+ different sports organizations hosting games and competitions. For the skate park competition part, Heidi Lemmon of Skate Park International threw an epic event!
About Skate Park Association International: The team consists of dedicated and qualified skatepark designers and builders working side by side with ASTM and Recreation and Parks. Now that over 3500 skateparks have been built in the USA, we also work with Recreation and Parks, as well as private parks to provide programming for camps, after school, and coaching. For more info: skateparkassociation.org
Here is a message from Skate Park Association International and Salt Rag’s Heidi Lemmon!
Aug 21 2021 Skate Park Association International along with: Venice Paparazzi, City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, Venice Beach Recreation Center, and L.A. City Council District 11- Mike Bonin. Produced by the OG Jam Squad: Lonny Hiramoto, Kimi Kallman, Heidi Lemmon, Jeff Greenwood. Bart Saric, Lance Lemond of Venice Rec. & Parks and DJ VRSA
This might be the best event we have ever done in that it was insane! Skateboarding shines the brightest when all the restraints are lifted and the skaters come together to create an organized mayhem experience.
We had to accommodate all genders and all ages in 1 day. Usually a ladies jam, a kids jam or an OG jam take all day by themselves, so we had to figure out how to make everything happen all at the same time. DJ VRSA, a downhill racer, showed up and turns out saved the day. As luck would have it we had no electricity and I didn’t bring my generator. DJ VRSA had a portable battery and we used it all day for announcing and speaking. I have to get one of those! Small but powerful.
There was so much going on at the same time that it was impossible to capture it all, but here’s what we were able to pull together.
View photos by Chris Hooten, Gale Webb, Ian Logan, and Heidi Lemmon!
King of the Park, no surprise goes to Isiah Hilt!
He killed it in every part of the park.. snake run, bowls, 3 block, clam shell & stairs. When Isiah is not doing his gymnastics routine on the boardwalk you can find him at the skatepark, skating hard and coaching kids to have fun. It’s the fun and the love of skateboarding that makes great skaters & a great event.
Turns out the Pup Cup had a few surprise entries.
The PUP CUP for beginners 8 and under had 14 entries and was a blast. These kids all showed their bravery to get in front of the crowds and skate for the 1st time in a contest.
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Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word’s Ladies Jam in the small bowl.
Big Bowl
Street
PEEPS & VIPS
No event can be a success without an amazing ground crew, skaters and of course spectators! Venice Sports Day was the brainchild of Venice Paparazzi, Venice Recreation and Parks and City of Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin’s district. This was quite a team effort and turned out to be a huge success with a promise of a yearly event if not 2x a year!
The skate event is produced by the OG Jam crew, a 501 c3 nonprofit, and the ladies jam is hosted by Cindy Whitehead founder of Girl Is Not a 4 Letter Word. Pro & Legend Lonny Hiram is OG Jam head judge and oversaw most of the events and was also the designated “Candy Man” passing out product and prizes all day long.
Bart Saric of Skater Made was our MC until 2pm and then Dan Levy from Juice took over. DJ VRSA, also a downhill racer known best for bombing parking garages, saved the day with this battery pack. Could not have done it without him! Kimi Kallman, OG Jam crew, in charge of the product and it’s a huge job requiring a lot more organizing skills than I have. She literally has a shop to organize into categories to give out and makes sure there is enough to go around. Security by Big Rob & Family! Keeps us safe and our product protected.
Many thanks to the amazing photographers who showed up and shared their photos; Chris Hooten, Legend Gale Webb, Ian Logan. I even managed to get a few shots off my phone “HKL” but between all of us we still missed a lot. It was crazy fun and can’t wait for next year.
100% of our product is given out at events. Thank you to our sponsors:
Powell Peralta, Bones Wheels, Bones Bearings, Mini-Logo, Grind King Trucks, Sugar Skateboards, Downhill Dogs Venice, Salt Rags, Girl Is Not A 4 letter Word, BADDASS Skatemom, Old Bones Therapy, Rip City, Jackhammer, Ghetto Child, Coping Block Skate Magazine, RIOT Energy, ARBOR, S-One Helmets, Skater Made, Grizzly Griptape, Dagger, Pink Motel Pool Party, City Limits, Santa Monica Airlines, Concrete Disciples, DJ VRSA, Venice Paparazzi, City of Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles Recreation & Parks, Venice Recreation & Parks, Councilmember Mike Bonin’s District & Skate Park Association International.
Photo by Ian Logan
Thank you to the Skate Park Association International, Heidi Lemmon, and to the rest of the skate family in hosting Venice 21. We look forward to partnering up in August 2022 at the 2nd Annual Venice Beach Sports Day! Go team!
Contact: [email protected].
The Venice Skate Park is part of Venice Beach Recreation Center. 1800 Ocean Front Walk. Venice, Ca. laparks.org/venice
