Around 2,500 people skateboarded en masse through the streets of Vancouver yesterday for International Go Skateboarding Day and to raise money for LeeSide skate park.
Participants of Emerica’s Wild in the Streets 2009 came from around the Lower Mainland to relish in the skate culture and ride with the legendary Emerica professional skateboarding team.
Ashley Souinton from Port Coquitlam and Caroline Samorodin from West Vancouver were two of only a handful of girls at the event, and said participating in the mass skate is a rush.
“The best part about skateboarding is that you get to take over the streets,” said Samorotin, 23.
“The rush you get when there’s thousands of people rolling along the street, it’s the most amazing thing. We take our skateboarding seriously and the main thing about it is to have fun, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Souinton said there are some guys who give girls a hard time for skateboarding, but for the most part they’re supportive and inclusive.
Brian Jones, a spokesperson for Emerica, said 25,000 skateboarders in more than 20 countries took part in last year’s events.
“Everywhere from Milan to Dubai to China to here, it’s a mass exodus of skateboarders all coming together to skate,” Jones said.
“It’s … a lifestyle. You live, breathe and die by it. It doesn’t matter what race, colour or creed you are. If you’re a skateboarder, you’re a skateboarder, and that’s all that matters.”
