74 ASEAN SKATEBOARDERS BATTLING IT OUT FOR GLORY IN INAUGURAL MALAYSIA OPEN
KEPALA BATAS, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- Seventy-four skateboarders from across Southeast Asia have gathered at the Pokok Sena Skatepark here for the inaugural Malaysia Open 2025, marking the official launch of the Skate Tour ASEAN (STA).
As the region’s first structured skateboarding tour, the STA was created to gather Southeast Asia’s top skateboarders under one competition framework.
Malaysia Skate Federation (MYSKATE) president Idroose Tambarin said the inaugural competition, which kicked off yesterday, has attracted 74 skaters - 32 from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia and 42 from Malaysia.
He said that with four main categories - the Men’s Street, Women’s Street, Men’s Park and Women’s Park - the tour aims to elevate the level of skateboarding in ASEAN while building cultural exchanges, community spirit and a stronger competitive ecosystem for the sport.
(Park competitions are held on a course that is a hollowed-out concrete bowl with several different elements, including ramps, quarter pipes and bumps. Street skaters, meanwhile, use the urban environment as a playground.)
"The STA is more than just a competition; it’s a platform for growth, culture and opportunity.
“We are proud to host the first-ever Malaysia Open and provide a stage where our skateboarders can test themselves against the best in ASEAN, while inspiring the next generation of skateboarders," he said after officiating the launch of the STA here today.
Also present was Penang Youth and Sports Department director Mozakir Buyong Mokhtar.
In a symbolic moment for Malaysian skateboarding, the Youth and Sports Ministry presented a sports matching grant worth RM160,000, underscoring the government’s commitment to developing skateboarding as a sport and cultural movement in Malaysia.
The night concluded with the Community Jam (Open), a session designed to bring together competing athletes and the local Pokok Sena skateboarding community.
The competition continues tomorrow with the semi-finals of the Women’s and Men’s Street events, and the qualifying rounds of the Women’s and Men’s Park events.
The finals of all four categories will be on Sunday (Aug 24).
-- BERNAMA
