Street League Skateboarding is a celebration of the skateboarding origin story. Rather than limiting skaters’ creativity and expression through a list of hard-and-fast rules and strict scoring systems, SLS honours the sport’s freewheeling background. Courses are designed to replicate true street skating, and competitors are lauded for their inventiveness as well as for the execution of their tricks.
The 2022 SLS tour has already made 2 of its 4 stops for the year, with events in Jacksonville, Florida and Seattle, Washington getting the season underway. In Jacksonville, 14-year-old Rayssa Leal took home her first ever SLS trophy, winning the women’s event on her last trick. Leal placed first in the qualifying rounds and defeated her competitors, including 2021 Super Crown World Champion Pamela Rosa, in the final to claim her prize. In the men’s event, Olympic gold medallist Horigome Yuto earned his fifth SLS victory. Yuto managed to pull off a switch 360 kick flip and a nollie backside 180 switch front side smith, tricks that had never been seen before in an SLS competition – and he achieved scores of 9.5 on both.
After a thrilling start in Florida, the tour moved on to Seattle, where Yuto claimed yet another title. The Japanese skating superstar edged out his nearest competition, the French skater Vincent Milou, by just a tenth of a point in the final. It was a similar story in the women’s event, where the name on the trophy also looked very familiar. Teenage sensation Rayssa Leal finished with a full point more than her Brazilian compatriot Pamela Rosa, taking her second consecutive SLS prize.
Next up is SLS Las Vegas, taking place from 7-8 October at the UFC Apex Arena. Although this event is invite-only, fans can register online for a chance to win a ticket to the final US-based stop on the 2022 tour.
Leal and Rosa should feel right at home at the grand finale of the season, the Super Crown World Championship, scheduled for 5-6 November. This climactic battle will take place in their home country of Brazil, at the Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro. Based on their total points over the course of the first 3 events, the top 8 skaters in the men’s and women’s categories will face off for the right to call themselves World Champions. In 2021, Pamela Rosa and Jagger Eaton of the United States were the triumphant pair. Nothing is for certain yet this year with 2 events still to go, but Leal and Yuto certainly took tough to beat.
Tickets are on sale now for the Super Crown World Championship, with 3 categories of seating on offer in the Carioca Arena 1. Fans can purchase tickets for each day of the event, or splash out for a Pasaporte pass which covers both days. Single day tickets start at BRL R$110 (USD $22), or R$55 (USD $11) for concessions. Family tickets are also available.
Don’t miss out on a rad time in Rio!
