HOW DID THE ECHOES OF THE SKATEHOLDERS FORUM UNFOLD?

On Saturday, October 26th, České Budějovice hosted another of this year's skateboarding events. This time, it was the echoes of the Skateholders Forum, a smaller and more locally-focused version of the international festival that took place at the turn of June and July. It was a friendly gathering aimed at enjoying a joint autumn skate session, evening premieres of skate videos and concerts, and sharing impressions, observations, and experiences from the larger summer event.

The first part of the program, a work table for invited guests, was dedicated to reflecting on and evaluating the first edition of the Skateholders Forum. This intimate debate brought together several key protagonists of the Skateholders Forum, namely Pavel Hiršl and Michal Majer from the Pessertive Crew from Pilsen, as well as Jiří Kotal, co-founder of U/U Studio. Also present was Tomáš Bártha, the initiator of the new skatepark project in České Budějovice, along with representatives of the new generation of local active skaters, Jan Hermann, Marek Prokeš, and Dominik Švejda.

In addition to evaluating the summer Skateholders Forum, the work table sparked a particularly thought-provoking discussion about the possibilities of DIY skateboard constructions in the city and how the local community can work towards ensuring that such interventions can gain legal status and avoid immediate demolition. Jiří Kotal from U/U Studio presented visualizations of the planned skatepark in Stromovka and the expansion of the existing skateboard area near the library, with the overall direction of the debate confirming that, for the development of skateboarding, it is essential to integrate quality skateable infrastructure into the city.

The later part of the afternoon was dedicated to an informal skateboarding session at the mentioned spot near the South Bohemian Research Library, with around twenty riders taking part. No competitions were held, just free riding to warm up muscles during the chilly autumn afternoon, interspersed with friendly conversations.

The evening program at Žižkárna attracted around a hundred visitors, as this was where the most audience-friendly part of the event took place. The evening showed that, despite the increasing amount and frequency of audiovisual content on social media, the interest in more complete skateboard films with longer runtimes is not diminishing; on the contrary, it is growing. A group of skaters from the Lipno area presented their new videos, filmed over the summer while skateboarding in the streets of Lyon. The young skaters from České Budějovice, presenting themselves as the collective 223bbdf, showcased an edit from the newly opened skatepark in Tábor. There was also a screening of a film from this year's Vozová hrotba competition, which was part of the Skateholders Forum and the Transforma festival. The highlight of the evening was the video by Harman, documenting the summer tour of the Spotstore and Darkslide teams, which included the local skater Tonda Záhorka from České Budějovice.

Since skateboarding and the independent music scene are closely intertwined, the evening concluded with a concert by the band Stepní běžec, whose members, in addition to being fans of westerns, are also skaters. The band Fotbal, one of the most prominent acts on the CZ/SK scene, also performed.

We would like to thank everyone involved, as it was thanks to you that the evening was filled with such a friendly atmosphere.