'Mayhem' to the fore as skateboarders gather for fun event at Bradford park

A town’s first ever skateboarding event drew good crowds and brought together a community of skateboarders who had the chance to show off their skills.

On Sunday, Myrtle Park in Bingley hosted its first ever free street skateboarding event and contest: Myrtle Mayhem.

The first ever Myrtle Mayhem skateboarding event was held in Bingley on Sunday (Image: Marcus Rattray (Bingley Camera Club))

Organised by “NorthrnSB”, and supported by local councillors and Friends of Myrtle Park, the event saw around 50 skateboarders of all ages come together to show off their skills.

The event was also an opportunity for skateboarders to win prizes for the best tricks and the longest “ollie” (a jump performed by popping the tail of the board on the ground).

Skateboarding event Myrtle Mayhem was held in Bingley on Sunday (Image: Marcus Rattray (Bingley Camera Club))

Organiser James Moore said: “It was a really great event. This is something I’ve been working on for a while now and I’m really pleased we could get it off the ground this summer.

“We had skaters from all ages and from across different communities coming together to cheer each other on and show off our skills.

A skateboarding event was held in Myrtle Park in Bingley on Sunday (Image: Marcus Rattray (Bingley Camera Club))

“It’s all about community. Skateboarding and skateboard culture brings people together, gets them active and everyone feels supported.

“It was brilliant to see so many at today’s event. There were 30 to 40 skateboarders and 20 to 30 spectators, so 70 people overall."

Bingley district councillors, Joe Wheatley and Susan Fricker, who have been supporting the event, attended on Sunday and said: “We’re thrilled with the success and excitement surrounding Myrtle Mayhem and look forward to working with and supporting NorthrnSB to organise future events.”

Cllr Susan Fricker, organiser James Moore and Cllr Joe Wheatley at the Myrtle Mayhem event on Sunday (Image: UGC)

James, who is now 26, has been skateboarding at the skate park in Myrtle Park since it opened 14 years ago.

"Our skate park is quite unique," he said. "It's a street skate park so we can do things like grinding and tricks off four foot drops.

"We have a very big skateboarding community, we just lack the facilities.

"Our skate park is quite small and we lack an indoor facility. In the winter we have to go to an indoor centre in Leeds.

"There was an indoor skate park here but it closed eight years ago due to a lack of funding.

"I was speaking with a councillor on Sunday to see if we could get a bigger one.

"It would nice to get some funding because Skye Brown's bronze medal in the Olympics raised awareness about skateboarding as parents aren't as scared to let kids try it now.

"We'd also like to form a club offering skateboarding lessons and taster days."