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Florida's Bowl Riders Cup in Jacksonville, FL
Bowl parks are designed to emulate and improve upon the pool skating experience. Skaters in bowl parks can move around the park without taking their feet off the board to push. The curved walls of bowls allow skaters to ride around and across the bowl in addition to the back and forth skating you might see on a traditional half pipe. Bowls and bowl parks come in an endless variety of shapes and sizes but most bowls are between 3' and 12’ deep, and the rise of bowl parks has driven the evolution of bowl skating and Bowl Rider Events.
Kona has embraced this sea change in the sport and has hosted the Bowl Riders Cup for the past few years.
Florida Bowlriders Cup brings together one-hundred of the worlds top amateur and professional skateboarders. Established in 2007, it is the ultimate in grassroots competition. Pro's, Masters, Women and Amateurs compete and skate together over a multi-event weekend. Points are accumulated from two different venues, over a three-day span, to crown a champion. Participants may take advantage of the Kona Campgrounds and all the extra's and side events that happen throughout the weekend. Its an experience of a lifetime for both competitors, spectators and families.
This years event is NOT invite only, but past competitors get priority
There are 100 spots available - first come first serve
email martin@konaskatepark.com for entry info.
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Captain Zissou
June 01, 2012, 03:25:52 PMThis is going to be awesome.
TheCat
June 19, 2012, 02:33:20 PMSchedule of events and giveaways listed...
www.MetroJacksonville.com/kona
stephendare
June 21, 2012, 10:37:47 AMToday is the Day!!!
Debbie Thompson
June 21, 2012, 01:09:56 PMI saw a news story on FCN last night about the Kona school. Can't wait to see how it works.
http://arlington.firstcoastnews.com/news/news/80368-new-private-school-combine-love-skating-and-learning
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Kona Skatepark in Arlington has been around since 1977. Now, it will soon house a new private school designed to combine students' love of skating with learning.
Martin Raymos has been the owner of Kona Skatepark since 1995 when he took it over from his parents. He had the idea of adding a school, mentioned to a few friends and it took off. Now, plans are underway to construct a private school on half of the parking lot at Kona.
"I see a lot of kids coming in with this virtual school, and for whatever reason, they're not into the regular public school system or even a private school system," said Raymos. "It did not seem they were prepared for life after virtual school. So I thought I could bring them in here, do their virtual school here and add some cool curriculum and go on from there. This small idea grew into this big school idea and it has gotten a lot of energy and a lot of support."
James Smith, a longtime educator, was one of the ones Raymos talked to and will be the executive director of the school. His 16-year old son is an avid skater.
"Typically, students that are involved in action sports have interests that lie outside the classroom, let's put it that way" said Smith. "To be able to incorporate what most motivates these students, to be able to take that motivational factor and tie it into their learning is a great idea, because then suddenly you get kids who see how physics relates to skateboarding. You can't design a skateboard ramp without knowing angles, knowing your math."
When built, the school will feature a green design. It will be built using recycled shipping containers. UNF students in Construction Management now build out the containers as a learning project to be shipped to countries like Haiti to be used as homes. Smith says the UNF students will be part of the construction of this school as part of a much bigger learning project for the students.
The school will feature blended learning, using virtual school classes online provided by the Duval County School Board, but also have learning coaches to help motivate the students and show them how it relates to skating and other action sports like surfing and motocross racing. The school will also teach enterprise and entrepreneurial skills. It will also stress nutrition and leading an active life. Organizers call it an innovative academic program, an "out of the box" school.
If all goes as planned, the school will open in the fall of 2014 with 80 to 100 students. Tuition is expected to be between $8,000 and $10,000 dollars, comparable to other private schools in Jacksonville.
A huge Go Skate event is being held in Hemming Plaza on Thursday night from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to help promote the new school. As many as 2,000 skaters will be on hand and numerous vendors will be involved, said Raymos. For more information on the school you can visit konaschool.org.
stephendare
June 21, 2012, 01:12:44 PMweird that they repeatedly misspelled his name
JoeMerchant
June 21, 2012, 01:59:27 PMYeah, I was thinking the same thing when reading.
stephendare
June 21, 2012, 06:40:19 PMThousands of people descending on Hemming Park. This is probably one of our biggest co sponsored events yet!
RockStar
June 21, 2012, 06:49:17 PMAwesome event! Was there earlier...wish Hemming looked like this all the time...
stephendare
June 21, 2012, 07:27:58 PMthelakelander
June 21, 2012, 08:20:37 PMMe and Mel Mel were there a little earlier. Here are a few images:
Last but not least, a couple of regulars playing a game of chess and nobody cares!
tufsu1
June 21, 2012, 08:48:08 PMI stopped by earlier....got some dinner from Corner Taco...and sat down at a table next to some chess players....great event!
MelMel
June 21, 2012, 10:47:46 PMThis was an awesome event! It was exciting to see 2,000+ people downtown celebrating Jacksonville's skateboarding culture.
A city's downtown is often a popular spot for skaters, but this is the first time I've ever seen authority moderate the scene instead of breaking it up.
To see skaters enjoying the sport they love legally in the heart of downtown was truly a rewarding site. What an innovative move for Jacksonville!
BackinJax05
June 22, 2012, 12:46:31 AMKONA, the one light of hope in the blight of Sin City.
Coolyfett
June 22, 2012, 08:41:55 PMLooks pretty cool, will this be an annual thing?
Coolyfett
March 10, 2013, 12:51:04 AMIs the bowlriders cup downtown or in Arlington?
lucinda
March 10, 2013, 10:37:18 AMIt's at Kona.