The World Championships of Skateboarding are going on

[S.]

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I am not proud of it, but I watched it. I enjoyed the skating in the park finals, but they should not have let Jagger “Jackoff“ Eaten win. He did difficult tricks, but the run felt like the local miniramp kid busting out his best moves, because two teenage girls just walked by…

It seemed actually really fucked up they held the contest there. Sand kept getting blown in the bowl from the desert next to it and skaters kept slipping out and getting injured, so they had to have clean up breaks.
In an interview Cory Juneau was asked about the contest experience and the interviewer got noticeably uncomfortable, when he hinted at strict laws and Islamic rules “the run a tight ship here“ and “it is hard to drink here“.

Is the bowl going to be permanent? If so: did they really have to build it in the desert?!

[close]

The whole emirates are in the desert, they build everything in the deserts- and it makes absolutely no sense- but they do billions of dollars of oil - and they have no better idea then to waste that money into useless development like waterparks and 5 star resorts inside the desert. This happens if you don’t need to work for your money and become shitloaded - you make stupid decisions and waste it…

[close]

Okay.
But we’re not this obtuse, are we? There’s not much subtlety required of our understanding here: their land is rich in a resource (let’s say… oil?), but also is not so appealing due to a lack of another resource (I’m gonna go with water for this example.)
Do we really think the wealthy people of this (certain) resource rich land are going to live deprived of comfort & luxury, even though they are among the $$$ nations, per capita, on earth?
Nah.
They may seek residence elsewhere but their wealth is still tied to a desert.
Speaking of deserts… in reply to @S. you seen this place? As @lurker_and_poster noted, absolutely any & EVERY thing they build WILL BE in the desert, because that’s where they at.
So they’re going to be the billionaires they are & build oasis after oasis in the sand in order to make it more appealing when they fly back in from Paris for a business meeting, or need to impress a potential head-of-state to buy petroleum from them.
It’s pretty gross & decedent of them on so many levels, but it’s an equally bad look for us to throw stones while we simultaneously throw our dollars at them, whilst sucking up their export as fast as we can.
Maybe “we” burn less & be more?
I dunno.
I feel like we are the start of the change though. In our behaviors & consumptions.
We can do this.
Right?!?

Me personally I throw zero dollars at them. I have no problem saying: fuck these Islamic fascists! Also, why don‘t you apply you rigorous moral standards to them? They have no problem making the majority of their money by selling oil to the west and investing money into the western economy, while also financing Islamic terrorism, which aims at destroying the western way of life.

I do get that the emirates are in the desert, but it makes a difference if you build a park in the inner city or right next to a ducking sand dune, don‘t you think?

[Lou Strux]

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I am not proud of it, but I watched it. I enjoyed the skating in the park finals, but they should not have let Jagger “Jackoff“ Eaten win. He did difficult tricks, but the run felt like the local miniramp kid busting out his best moves, because two teenage girls just walked by…

It seemed actually really fucked up they held the contest there. Sand kept getting blown in the bowl from the desert next to it and skaters kept slipping out and getting injured, so they had to have clean up breaks.
In an interview Cory Juneau was asked about the contest experience and the interviewer got noticeably uncomfortable, when he hinted at strict laws and Islamic rules “the run a tight ship here“ and “it is hard to drink here“.

Is the bowl going to be permanent? If so: did they really have to build it in the desert?!

[close]

The whole emirates are in the desert, they build everything in the deserts- and it makes absolutely no sense- but they do billions of dollars of oil - and they have no better idea then to waste that money into useless development like waterparks and 5 star resorts inside the desert. This happens if you don’t need to work for your money and become shitloaded - you make stupid decisions and waste it…

[close]

Okay.
But we’re not this obtuse, are we? There’s not much subtlety required of our understanding here: their land is rich in a resource (let’s say… oil?), but also is not so appealing due to a lack of another resource (I’m gonna go with water for this example.)
Do we really think the wealthy people of this (certain) resource rich land are going to live deprived of comfort & luxury, even though they are among the $$$ nations, per capita, on earth?
Nah.
They may seek residence elsewhere but their wealth is still tied to a desert.
Speaking of deserts… in reply to @S. you seen this place? As @lurker_and_poster noted, absolutely any & EVERY thing they build WILL BE in the desert, because that’s where they at.
So they’re going to be the billionaires they are & build oasis after oasis in the sand in order to make it more appealing when they fly back in from Paris for a business meeting, or need to impress a potential head-of-state to buy petroleum from them.
It’s pretty gross & decedent of them on so many levels, but it’s an equally bad look for us to throw stones while we simultaneously throw our dollars at them, whilst sucking up their export as fast as we can.
Maybe “we” burn less & be more?
I dunno.
I feel like we are the start of the change though. In our behaviors & consumptions.
We can do this.
Right?!?

[close]

Me personally I throw zero dollars at them. I have no problem saying: fuck these Islamic fascists! Also, why don‘t you apply you rigorous moral standards to them? They have no problem making the majority of their money by selling oil to the west and investing money into the western economy, while also financing Islamic terrorism, which aims at destroying the western way of life.

I do get that the emirates are in the desert, but it makes a difference if you build a park in the inner city or right next to a ducking sand dune, don‘t you think?

Oh, you will NOT be allowed to skate their inner cities without special exemption. The park is at the perimeter of society to keep its “negative western influence” as isolated as possible.
But when you ask why I don’t apply my moral standards to them I will reply that I am a godless hedonist with NO morals to flaunt. I will then ask you to ASK YOURSELF why you think these fucked, rich assholes would be any different than any other fucked, rich assholes anywhere else.
Take their money from them by not giving it to them in the first place & they can fund neither terrorisms, nor skateparks in the sand. And maybe you grsndbabies can have a livable world too?

[W.F.T.W]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

As a Brit living in the UAE who attended this event so thought I would weigh in with my (unsolicited) opinion on this event and to try and address some of the misconceptions that have emerged about the UAE in this thread.

I have been recovering from a serious illness which has left me unable to skate for the last few years (slowly but surely making a recovery!) When I saw that this event was taking place a short drive from where I'm living I was intrigued. Competition skating isn't my typical cup of tea but I decided to attend the Park Finals on Sunday.

Whatever you think about some of the characters and the general vibe of these competitions the standard and consistency of  is undeniable and it was really fun to see Sky Brown, Pedro Barros and Kieran Wooley rip in person! The event was what you would expect. Sanitised, well organised and typically for this part of the world defined by silly rules that everyone ignores. Agree with the poster who said that this format would really benefit from a 'best trick' aspect of the competition.

The following is in no way a defence of the UAE or an attempt to persuade anyone to visit (they don't need any help in that department!) but I do think there are a few things worth addressing in some of the posts in this thread. Apologies, as a newbie kook I don't know how to quote directly.

1. This event took place in Sharjah not in Dubai or indeed Saudi Arabia!

The United Arab Emirates like the United States of America is a federal country made up of seven Emirates that operate much like the States. Sharjah is one of these Emirates and is comparatively poor compared to its richer neighbours Abu Dhabi (which has 90% of the Emirates oil) and Dubai (economy based on trade and tourism). It is a conservative 'dry' Emirate but has an interesting affiliation with the arts (there was an art biennale taking place at the same time as this competition). There has been much discussion of this event being used as a form of 'soft power' for the UAE/Sharjah. Is this not why states/countries choose to have these events in the first place? Prestige, marketing and self-promotion?

2. There is a burgeoning skate scene in the United Arab Emirates

Yes it's hot in the UAE but the weather in the winter actually makes it a really good place to skate (warm days, cool evenings and dry weather guaranteed) particularly in Dubai which as an ultra modern city has a lot of street spots and some decent skateparks. There are also a number of local skaters doing some cool things to support the scene here.

https://www.instagram.com/casinohardware/

https://habibiskateshop.com/pages/habibis

And is also home to the first Arab skater sponsored by Nike (I believe, fact check please!)

https://www.instagram.com/nawstique/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=ec4ba587-c10a-4790-a2a0-99b2c422745d

3.Some of the content of these posts is Islamophobic


To say the skatepark was built on the outskirts of Sharjah to keep 'negative Western influences' is laughable. Yes a lot of the locals are religious and socially conservative but over 85% of the population are expatriates who have come to this area to work so people here are exposed to these Western influences daily. The Emiratis I have met are kind, outward looking and welcoming

Yes, the UAE produces and exports a great deal of oil, and this is the source of the majority of its wealth. And yes in Dubai they have spent some of this money on some (admittedly garish) tourist attractions in an attempt to diversify their economy, they know as much as we do that the source of their wealth is a finite resource! But, and this might shock you, the world's largest producer and consumer of oil remains the good ol'USA. Also the suggestion that the UAE uses their wealth to fund 'Islamic terrorism' is unfounded. Again when it comes to wealthy nations using their wealth and power to influence geopolitics I would suggest you maybe look a little closer to home!

Here ends the essay! Thanks for reading!

[SatanicPanic]

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I am not proud of it, but I watched it. I enjoyed the skating in the park finals, but they should not have let Jagger “Jackoff“ Eaten win. He did difficult tricks, but the run felt like the local miniramp kid busting out his best moves, because two teenage girls just walked by…

It seemed actually really fucked up they held the contest there. Sand kept getting blown in the bowl from the desert next to it and skaters kept slipping out and getting injured, so they had to have clean up breaks.
In an interview Cory Juneau was asked about the contest experience and the interviewer got noticeably uncomfortable, when he hinted at strict laws and Islamic rules “the run a tight ship here“ and “it is hard to drink here“.

Is the bowl going to be permanent? If so: did they really have to build it in the desert?!

[close]

I watched part of it.
In the current circuit line up Cory Juneau is the only one whose style and trick selection get me stoked. I noticed that he's had to throw in the 540 since the olympics to have a chance at finals.
Too bad because he stands out for not doing all the stock tricks and not grabbing airs. Though his 540 is very nice.

I liked that the bowl design was set up for a lot of gap to liptricks.
Jagger does deserve props for kf bs nb on vert!

I wish they and Vans included a best trick component as well.

Second this on Cory. I’d rather watch him do long front boards than throw up a 540 because he has to. That’s gymnastics judging right there and it’s fucking dumb.

I joked to my wife that in the womens comp because Kokona Hiraki did a super good run without a 540 Sky Brown was going to do two 540s to win it. Tbh I can’t remember if she did but her and some other kid did two barely above the coping front 540s and got way over scored. And then some kid in the mens did two 540s. Might as well just make it a 540 contest. Some annoying ten year old will do like seven.

[PatrickSkateman]

I’m guessing no lgbt skaters would ever get to skate a contest in Dubai or any neighboring countries.