The world’s best skateboarders are performing their newest tricks this week at the massive Aljada Skatepark in Sharjah, UAE. Designed and built by California Skateparks, Aljada is hosting the World Skate 2022 World Championships for both Street and Park disciplines. After the new Champions are named next week, Aljada will remain as a permanent skatepark serving local youth.
“The facility is unique and has beginner, intermediate, and elite competition-level Street and Park courses and covers almost 90,000 square feet (8,360 square meters),” said California Skateparks VP Bill Minadeo. “This is an amazing opportunity for local youth to interact with the world’s best skaters and host incredible events, like the World Championships.”
The World Skate 2022 World Championships is a key qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympics. While the Street skaters have already competed in one qualifier in Rome last Summer, Sharjah will be the first chance for the Park skaters to earn important points to qualify for Paris.
This weekend the Street skaters have their chance to earn the World title, with the Finals in the Men’s and Women’s competition taking place. The Street course at Aljada features a mirrored core section, with identical elements such as stairs and rails providing equal opportunity for both goofy- and regular-stance skaters to perform. The outer perimeter of the course includes more free-form features, allowing skaters to explore opportunities for unique tricks and combinations.
Next week, the Park competitors have their turn and attention will shift to the massive bowl, which differs from recent competition bowl designs. The traditional single deep end is replaced by two nearly 10-foot (3-meter) deep ends on opposite sides of the bowl. To take full advantage of that, a long, sloping channel flows into the bowl from the deck, allowing skaters to begin their routines with maximum speed. The volcano flyover feature included in the Olympic Park course has been replaced by a hip/transfer section extending into the bowl from the side, instead of being the bowl’s centerpiece.
Both the street course and competition bowl are the result of the California Skateparks design team’s nearly two-decades experience creating elite competition courses. In consultation with many athletes competing in Sharjah, the designers modified traditional contest elements and complemented them with new features that match the skaters’ growing level of competitiveness and evolving style of tricks. From early practice footage seen from Sharjah, evidence suggests that the California Skateparks design team got it right, including social-media posts showing how much fun visiting pros are having at Aljada. Which is great news for Sharjah’s local skaters.
