BMX Thrills and Spills at the Mandurah Action Sports Games

Mar 14, 2011

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 6529 times

The inaugural Mandurah Action Sports Games kicked off yesterday with record numbers lining the foreshore. The Games, part of the Channel Seven Mandurah Crab Fest, showcased some of the best talent in BMX, Wakeboarding, and Skateboarding. The large crowd was treated to some crazy ramp and jumping tricks as a number of the state’s best BMX riders hit the Mandurah Skate Park. Two contests were held across Sunday beginning with the park event before riders took to the mini vert ramp.

During the park competition local riders Warren Bowers, Dwayne Saul, Dylan Schmidt and Laurence Bakewell battled it out for the main share of the $1,000 prize money. Despite showing an unbelievable level of skill, Bowers was beaten by Saul in a very close final. “Today the competition was really difficult. It was a hard day’s work out there, although I really enjoyed the entire thing. I do lots of little competitions here and there but this was one of the best,” said 19 year old Bowers who has been performing BMX demonstrations in the Peel region throughout the past week.

In the mini vert ramp competition, a very tired Bowers was again closely beaten by Laurence Bakewell who performed eight back to back flares to take his share of the $1,000 cash prize, a manoeuvre known in BMX circles for its high degree of difficulty. “This is great. I’m stoked to have won, especially against the talent I was up against. At the start I thought Warren had it, but I pulled out some fluke moves at the end which worked in my favour,” said Bakewell.

The musical talent of some of WA’s best, including Abbe May, The Novocaines, Split Seconds, Emporors and Young Revelry were showcased across the weekend at the Eventscorp stage set up amidst the action.

Skateboard and BMX competition organiser Shaun Jarvis of Freestyle Now said that the competition had been a huge success. “It has been an awesome weekend. I have had so many of the competitors say to me how much they have enjoyed it and are looking forward to next year’s competition. There is not many BMX or skate competitions in WA that offer prize money, and it’s great to give these guys a reward for the show they put on for the audience,” said Jarvis.

Park Competition:
1st: Dwayne Saul $500
2nd: Warren Bowers $250
3rd: Dylan Schmidt $150
4th: Laurence Bakewell $50
5th: Chris Jones $50

Half-pipe Competition:
1st: Laurence Bakewell $500
2nd: Warren Bowers $250
3rd: Jacob Deabru $150
4th: Dylan Schmidt $50
5th: Brad Mass $50