BREAK N ENTER: CAIRNS from Skateboarding Australia on Vimeo.
Julia Gillard has an entourage of professionals who attend to a breadth of various missions she approves of. Using taxpayer money, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC) are obliged to fund things that are believed to positively contribute to Australia. Within the PMC the Indigenous Sport and Recreation Program is actively creating opportunities for physical involvement within our land, and thankfully they recognized SbA’s ability to bypass cultural differences through the communication of skateboarding. This is how the Cairns Break N Enter came to be.
The recent build of the new Belco super-park in the ACT usurped Cairns of its title as Australia’s Largest Skatepark. Needless to say, Cairns Esplanade Skatepark is still huge and most picturesque given its position next to the beach, and was the perfect host to SbA in its endeavors to share skateboarding with the community of Cairns. In the lead-up to the event, Adam Walker of Compound Skate Shop was instrumental to getting the community on the level; pooling together a group of dedicated skateboarders to attend our Skateboarding Coach Accreditation, thus uphold the scene to a new level once we were to depart.
Within that group the soul brother Timmy Burdett, who had recently moved up to Cairns with his missus and had a beautiful baby girl, Marley, was leading the charge. His ceremonious style of coaching and emphasis on respect was greatly appreciated by all who benefited from his gentle rolling wisdom. Young gun Matt ‘Turtle’ McManus and culinary artist Ryan Janda also contributed vitally to ensuring the young ones knew which foot to push with.
Added to the boys that make up the Cairns Hub, funny man and master skate dad Andreas Schwitter, The Bay Skate directorate and burgeoning photog Tim Black, lens master and patience-practitioner Matt Hooker, registrations and by-the-book enforcer Emma WK, opportunity creator and SbA overseer Glenn Walker, and myself, skateboarding obsessive Richard Flude, were in attendance. Unfortunately Aaron Nannup, style serpent and indigenous inspiration, was ill at the time and couldn’t make it. Added to that, the busload of kids coming from Mareeba/Atherton region pulled out last minute due to the driver having to attend to an emergency. They will have to wait til November 19 when the SbA Cairns Hub comes to Mareeba Skatepark.
However, the rain was the most of SbA’s worries and much like the Goldy Grail, the clouds cleared for a sunny day of skateboarding, a bbq thanks to Queensland Country Credit Union, local club talent Tarquin on the mic, and more rolling on the stuntwood.
Nike SB sent up a bunch of shoes for the event, which went to great use as some interested locals rocked up barefoot, amped to skate. It’s such an interesting phenomena when some kids can step on a skateboard and learn to push and pump on ramps within the first day.
The indigenous kids tended to pick up skateboarding quite easily in Cairns on October 22nd, like it made natural sense where to step on the board and transfer weight from the start. Perhaps it’s a skill not to over-think the risk of skateboarding, and stay relaxed in the mix of trying something new and exciting.
Upcoming SbA Cairns Hub Events
Mareeba StreetWise: November, Saturday 26th. 9am – 11am, 12pm – 2pm.
Atherton StreetWise: December, Saturday 17th. 9am – 11am, 12pm – 2pm.
WET SEASON
Mossman StreetWise: March, Saturday 17th. 9am – 11am, 12pm – 2pm.
Tully StreetWise: April, Saturday 21st. 9am – 11am, 12pm – 2pm.
Cairns StreetWise: June, Saturday 23rd. 9am – 11am, 12pm – 2pm.
