Australian Street skateboarding stars Shane O’Neill and Hayley Wilson have had their first hit-outs on the Ariake Urban Sports Park course – and they like what they see.
Wednesday’s practice sessions, held in stifling heat, showcased a course that is big both in terms of its expanse and the size of its urban features, offering plenty of opportunities for all styles of skaters to impress.
“Once you see a course in person you’re able to identify the things you want to do, what you’ve been practising and you can see which obstacles they’re possible on,” O’Neill said.
“And this one has no lack of obstacles.
“It’s big, there’s lots of obstacles, lots to skate, so we can all choose how we really want to skate it.”
In the Street format, skaters complete two 45-second runs where they perform a sequence of tricks across replicas of real-life urban terrain, such as stairs, rails and ledges. They then perform a “best trick” section consisting of five separate attempts to perform tricks of their choosing.
It's that component in particular which challenges the skills and creativity of competitors as they determine what in their bag of tricks will work best on the course – and what new tricks they may unveil for the first time.
“I had heaps of fun working it out,” Wilson said of her first hit-out on the course.
“It went really well, considering the heat. I came away feeling good, which was nice.
“After one or two more sessions I think I will know where we want to go with it all.”
Both O’Neill and Wilson will be back on the course today as they continue to devise their runs and trick selections.
The men’s Street heats start at 8:30am (AEST) on Sunday, 25 July (Day 2) with the Final starting at 1.25pm (AEST), while the women’s Street heats start at 9:30am (AEST) on Monday, 26 July (Day 3) with the Final starting at 1.25pm (AEST).
