Riding high

Skateboarder Richard Penko says his addiction to a video game made him want to take up the sport for himself.

The 20-year-old started skateboarding about seven years ago but before that he played a video game based on the sport his friends. He said he thought it would be fun to try out something like that for himself and started to learn how to ride.

"My buddies and I were playing the video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and it was so addictive we thought that we should just try the sport for ourselves," Penko said. "Skateboarding is great. There’s injuries but you get over them and you just keep going."

Penko has had his share of injuries from road rash to sprained ankles but he continued to practice and improve. He put his skills to the test at the first Wake the Giant skateboarding competition at Marina Park on Sunday. He skated in the trick competition but had to bow out when he hurt his heel.

Although he had to stop competing, he said it was great to see a skateboarding competition that uses the skate park.

"As soon as I heard about the competition I got excited," he said. "Skateboarding events are growing but I don’t think there’s nearly enough in the city but we do only get six months out of the year to skate. I think if it was more weather permitting we would have a lot more events."

Chris Cranton, organizer of the Wake the Giant, said the event had gone well with the first day’s wakeboarding competition having 25 participants from across Ontario as well as some from Winnipeg.

After a three-year hiatus, Wake the Giant has definitely made a comeback, he said.

"The event has become bigger and better," Cranton said. "I think the BMX and skateboarding portion of the event adds a little something else and lets us change the event up a little from previous years. We wanted to try it out this year and we got a better turn out than I expected. It’s really cool to see."

Cranton said he hoped to have the event again next year but wasn’t sure if he would be organizing it himself.