KING OF COOPS 2021: RECAP, PHOTOS & RESULTS

BRISBANE: On Saturday 10 October 2021 SEQ’s skate community gathered at Coorparoo skatepark in Brisbane to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the OG King of Coops. After a packed day of skating, mayhem style give-aways, and crowd-pleasing runs Joel McIlroy showed his full gallery of crooks in a five minute final made even tougher by the boiling Queensland heat. Once again after 9 years, Joel earned the title and was crowned King Of Coops 2021. “WE’RE BACK, BABY”, Joel stated with royal authority before he left the skatepark with a well deserved beer in hand and $1000 prize money in his pocket.

Sponsors, supporters & partners

The event was organised by Project Distribution who partnered with Cr. Fiona Cunningham, Cr. Ryan Murphy, Cr. Lisa Atwood, Brisbane City Council and Pavement Skateboard Coaching to throw this day of skating!

Supported by Extreme Skates, Dropouts, Fast Times, Parliament Skateshop, Skate Connection and Slam Skateboarding Magazine.

RECAP

The essence of skateboarding showed it’s pretty face on this hot Sunday in Coorparoo, Brisbane. Skaters came from all over South-East Queensland, some even from NSW, to participate in the notorious King of Coops. An annual skate contest since 2011 - you know, back in the day before the 10 & Under skaters were even born - which, after a mere 6-7 years on hiatus, is back with a vengeance.

A freshly painted skatepark and a completely new mini ramp set the scene and Project Distribution made sure Coorparoo skatepark was vibing all day long. Did anyone say, free stuff? It sure was a day to remember for the diverse skateboard community and let’s hope it’s not going to be another 6-7 years until the next one. King of Coops 2022 sounds like a pretty good idea to us.

The kids of Coops

The morning focused on the grommies and their families who showed up for the free beginner skate workshops with Pavement Skateboard Coaching.

As the skatepark heated up the juniors in the 10 & Unders and 16 & Unders looked pretty sweaty as they got ready for their 2-minute jam with 2 fellow skaters.

We saw more girls than ever joining the 10 & Under competition with solid ollies, kickflips and 180s. However, nobody stood a chance against Mike Liu, Jacob Hanson and Eli Waterson who ripped up the park with strong fliptricks, crooks and solid rail skills.

“I was just so super excited and surprised. I wasn’t ready for it. I haven’t got big kickflips to be honest, so I was pretty stoked to nail them up banks and ledges today!”

— Danny Fish, 16 & Under winner

In the 16 & Under Danny Fish, Tristan Moffat and Koltyn Lawson made it to the podium in 1st, 2nd and 3rd spots.

When we spoke to Danny after his win he was one stoked skater: “I was just so super excited and surprised. I wasn’t ready for it. I haven’t got big kickflips to be honest, so I was pretty stoked to nail them up banks and ledges today.“

Womxns

The Womxn’s division was big and diverse this time around - from 6-year-old skate comp newbies, over national champ Chloe Covell to almost-50-year-old ripper Indigo Willing. We got it all. 11-year-old Chloe Covell was convincingly strong and took out first, ahead of Tora Waldren and Evie Ryder who had brought the best support crew from the We Skate Queensland community.

Opens

As the weather started to cool down, the atmosphere only got hotter. The Open’s was full of crowd pleasing runs and showed what Brissy’s street skaters have got. Always stylish Sam Larkins took out third while Corey Nixon skated with great focus and high technical standard that woved both crowd and judges and landed him a solid second. The cheering after his nose manual nollie flip out could be heard miles away. Yet, Joel McIlroy came with a purpose. He delivered a full bag of tricks and showed everyone why he’s the true king of Brisbane street skateboarding and the King of Coops 2021.

“I was most hyped on the back over crook down the rail”, Joel told Slabzoo’s reporter after the finals.

Great to see so many keen skaters have fun across generations. Congratulations to all winners and participants - and a huge thank you to Project Distribution and all partners and supports of King of Coops 2021.

Results and photos below.