Surf fest skate park

Chiggy and partner Alex. Supplied.

Next month’s Noosa Festival of Surfing will have a new and exciting addition – a skating arena in the Noosa Woods.

The arena will feature lessons for beginners to intermediate, free-skate sessions where skaters can book one-hour time slots, demonstrations with local and interstate pros, and contests for Under 12s, Under 16s and Open divisions, which will include cash and prizes.

The centrepiece will be a 8m x 6m x 1.6m halfpipe constructed by Ashley Wild Ramps, with a pop-up Sunset Bar overlooking the arena (open 2-6pm daily), the Red Bull DJ truck and a range of sponsor stands including Vans, Volcom, Yeti and Friends.

Surf festival manager Josh Allen says: “This idea is something that I’ve wanted to implement for the last two years but lack of time to plan an additional festival within a festival made it too difficult. But by postponing the festival this year due to Covid, and meeting Chiggy helped solve that dilemma.

“Chiggy (Mat Chigwidden) has been a massive help. I don’t think either of us really had a clue how to go about this, but the idea, vision and passion were there to make it happen. In just over two weeks, the community will witness the first ever Chiggy’s Skate Festival running simultaneously with the Noosa Festival of Surfing. I am excited at the thought of attracting a new audience, but also keeping our existing audience engaged with what we have created in the Woods. There are some amazing events planned so I encourage the Sunshine Coast community to check it out.”

The 2021 Noosa Festival of Surfing and Skate Fest will run from Saturday 15 to Sunday 23 May (7am-6pm daily). See the full program in next week’s Noosa Today. If your groms can’t wait until then, come to a special preview and the launch of the Surf Code video at the Noosa Civic Food Court from 4.30pm on Friday May 7, with celebrity surf guests and teenage rock sensations The Myths.