Skateboarders joyously pump the bump at BARC

Skateboarders and scooter riders young and old showed up in droves for the second annual Pump the Bump, a timed pump track event and best trick contest held under perfect blue skies last Saturday at the Burton Area Recreation Course (BARC).

More than 40 competitors signed up for the event, said BARC Steward Jeremy Uttech, who helped organize the event.

As hip-hop and metal music blasted and the smell of wood-fired pies wafted from the portable oven of Lunetta Pizza, contestants cheered each other as they each rounded the track and sometimes soared above it, showing off their gnarliest aerial tricks.

Mike Dillmann, an island photographer who visited the BARC for the first time on Saturday to capture shots of skateboarders in action, described how seeing so many youths of different ages in the competition had been a revelation to him.

“This wasn’t what I expected,” Dillmann said. “They’re all watching out for each other, and they all know the rules, and are so polite and respectful.”

Uttech, a lifelong skateboarder, nodded in agreement but said that behavior was part of skateboard culture.

“That’s one of the coolest things about skateboarding,” he said. “There are all levels of expertise, and there are so many different ways to skateboard, that everybody [is able] to wish each other well.”

At the end of the event, cash prizes and awards were doled out for the best tricks of the day and timed events in different age categories.

The Park District property, at 10500 SW 228th St, boasts a large “pump track,” or a looping, rolling concrete course in a circular shape; memorial benches and space to play chess and checkers; new picnic tables and a bouldering wall. Upgrades to the indoor park are coming soon.

The occasion marked an anniversary for the pump track — it officially opened one year ago, after a seven-year project led by Judith Neary, the director of the nonprofit RJ’s Kids, and her husband Ramon Ontiveros. Neary secured state grants and helped organize the donation drive, volunteer labor, contracting and permitting, said the park district’s director, Elaine Ott-Rocheford.

Neary, in an email, also spoke to the atmosphere of mutual support at the skatepark.

“I am profoundly humbled by the culture of caring at the BARC,” she said.

Now, Neary and RJ’s Kids are helming a new project for the park district and the BARC — the addition of two pickleball courts to the park, which will further expand recreational opportunities for all ages to enjoy the park. (See News Briefs, page 2.)

As the BARC expands and grows, along with the islanders it serves, the Park District’s recreation manager, Eric Wyatt, said that the park’s future looks bright.

“The work that RJ’s Kids, the stewards, and the Vashon Park District staff have done to transform this park is truly remarkable,” said Wyatt. “… I’m excited to see what BARC will look like in the next few years.”

PUMP THE BUMP WINNERS

8 and under:

1st: Henry Norman; 2nd: Andy Herridge; 3rd: Thiago Solis; 4th: Wolf Blohowiak

9-11 (Minis):

1st: Finn Tufano; 2nd: Abner Harris; 3rd (tied): Jack Antonelis and Ari Welborn; 4th: Hank Herridge

12-15 (Groms):

1st: Jax Jayroe; 2nd: Blake Bennett; 3rd: Oliver Bailey; 4th: Alden Metler

16-19 (Rippers):

1st: Brogan Shaw; 2nd: Jason Wu; 3rd: Leo Childress; 4th: Ava Dernherder

40+ (Old Man):

1st: Kevin Anderson; 2nd: Ben Fowler, 3rd: Jeremy Uttech, 4th: Dustin Landry

Best Trick:

1st: Jason Wu; 2nd: Leo Childress; 3rd: Brogan Shaw; 4th: Ari Welborn

Skateboarders defied gravity as onlookers admired their moves on Saturday. (Mike Dillmann photo)

Wolf Blohowiak, the winner of the two-year-old timed trial event, was awarded his first skateboard at BARC’s Pump the Bump. Wolf is shown here with his parents, Dan and Chelsea Blohowiak. (Courtesy photo)