THERE were plenty of thrills and spills when the Australian Pro-Am Skateboarding Championship came to the capital on Saturday.
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The competition is the biggest in Australia and is usually held in custom-made indoor facilities, but this year it was dubbed Belcopalooza and riders battled it out at the Belconnen Skate Park. Reigning Australian champion Tommy Fynn, of Brisbane, took out first place and $5000 in prizemoney ahead of Tim Williams, from Melbourne.
Fynn said he was riding with an injured ankle, but had performed better than he expected.
The professional skateboarder said he enjoyed riding at Belconnen.
''It's one of the best skate parks in Australia for sure … it's got everything you need and kids who are learning how to skate can learn here,'' he said.
Local hero Matt Cheney, who grew up in Bungendore and now lives in Braddon, drew the biggest cheers from a crowd of about 300.
He said he did not care where he finished in the event and was competing simply for the fun of it, but he placed fifth overall and went home $1000 richer.
Belcopalooza spokesman Luke Brown said Belconnen Skate Park was the largest in the southern hemisphere
''Its size provides a huge range,'' he said.
''If you learn how to skate everything in this skate park you can pretty much skate anything, that's why it's so exciting.''