Friends of Fernandina Skate Park organized the seventh annual Terry Kelly Skate Jam event, which included skateboarders of all ages. Photos by Stephanie Nichols
More than 70 skateboarders competed at the seventh annual Terry Kelly Skate Jam at Main Beach Skate Park on Aug. 27. The nonprofit organization, Friends of Fernandina Skate Park, spearheaded by Wally Borrero, organized the event, which included skateboarders of all ages.
The event takes place annually to honor Kelly, a father who suffered a life-ending heart attack while watching his son skate at the park. The father of Collin Helms, a local teen who lost his life, spoke at the event about the importance of wearing safety helmets. Competitors wore “Helms Helmets” stickers on their helmets in remembrance of Helms and as a reminder to wear a helmet.
Through the Boards for Boarders program, a B4B skateboard was presented to a young boy prior to the start of the competition. The B4B program invests in the local youth by providing skateboards to those who normally wouldn’t be able to obtain one in order to encourage a healthy, active and engaging lifestyle.
As the Fernandina Beach Pirates roamed the area and the band “Dakar” performed on the pirate ship, the contest started out with the 6-and under division, consisting of 11 competitors. This large number of young skateboarders is partly due to the coaching of local skateboarder, John Seifert (instapark_sk8_school), who assisted some of the young skaters during their 45-second runs.
Local pro skater Poe Pinson, who also assisted as a judge for the event, has been a big inspiration to many of the young female skateboarders. Pinson was an alternate for the 2020 Olympics. She will be competing at the Street League Series event in Las Vegas, which will be aired on ESPN and shown at First Love Brewery Oct. 7-8. She will then travel to Brazil to compete at the World Skate Olympic Qualifier Oct. 10-16.
Division winners included Malaki Simmons, 6-and-under; CoralMae Waldo, 7-9 year olds; Chloe Harrell, 10-12 year olds; Marcus St. John, 13-15 year olds; and Dylan Russo, 16-andup.
Friends of Fernandina Skate Park continues to work toward improving the local skate facility. To learn more, visit friendsoffernandinaskatepark. com or follow the group on Instagram at ffsp_friendsoffernandinask- 8prk or Facebook at Friends of Fernandina Skate Park. The next skateboarding contest is scheduled for Oct. 22.