The skateboarding club, N.C . Skate, will be holding a charity competition this Saturday to benefit autistic children.
Matt Brokaw , president of N.C . Skate and senior in construction engineering and management, said the club holds competitions like this at least once a semester.
“We’re a club sport here at N.C . State, we officially became a club sport a year and a half ago,” Brokaw said. “Since then we have been doing at least one or two events per semester, usually for charity where we bring a whole bunch of skateboarders from all over North Carolina.”
Brokaw said he encourages anyone interested to come to the event, which is free to spectators. The competition will be held at Mars Creek Skate Park in Raleigh, a new venue for the club.
”This is the first competition we’re doing off campus, usually we do them at the Wolf Plaza,” Brokaw said.
Patricia Carrow , secretary for N.C . Skate and junior in marine biology, said two different types of competitions will be held.
“We’ll be having at least two different types of competition, the first one is going to be a flat ground one where you just play a game of S.K.A.T.E ., which is similar to playing H.O.R.S.E . in basketball,” Carrow said. “The second one is going to be a best trick competition.”
Carrow explained the competition is a good cause not only for charity, but for young, local skateboarders who aspire to become great.
“It’s always fun to watch, there are always tons of local kids out there and it’s really fun to see what people in your community can do,” Carrow said.
Brakow said he hopes the $5 cover for competition will bring a great deal of skaters.
“It just gives kids in the area a chance to shine and gives them a chance to compete for a relatively cheap price,” Brakow said.
Keegan Guizard , vice president for the club and senior in business administration, said there will be a panel of judges from around the area.
“We’re setting up some celebrity judges, guys who are well known in the Raleigh community,” Guizard said.
Guizard explained the organization has been holding judged competitions for several years, including the first intercollegiate skate competition in North Carolina.
“We’ve been doing contests to the public going on three years,” Guizard said. “The last contest we did was an intercollegiate contest with App State, UNC Charlotte, and UNCW attending.”
The competition Saturday, much like previous charity efforts, hopes to make a difference to children with autism through A. Skate, a charity that helps autistic children learn to skateboard.
“The purpose of the charity is to get kids with autism to start skateboarding because it is something that has been proven to stimulate autistic children’s minds. It is something that can give [them] a goal to achieve,” Guizard said.
Aside from the main attraction, Brakow said there will be prizes from sponsors for the competition, including Endless Grind skate shop, Ergo clothing, Vans, DVS and several local skateboarding companies.
“We have music going on, we have free giveaways to anybody who comes out,” Brakow said. “We have a ton of sponsors donating clothes and shoes and skateboards and stuff.”
Brakow , along with other members of N.C . Skate, has been a member of the organization for several years, and is happy to have seen it become an official club sport with sponsored competitions.
“It’s a growing thing and we’re just trying to stay positive and keep it going,” Brokaw said.