Newcastle lights up with Bob Burnquist, Kieran Woolley, Tommy Fynn and many more at the Jackalope Block Party.
What the hell is a Jackalope? I was asking myself the same thing. But Bob Burnquist was coming for two fun-filled days of skateboarding and “block parties” at Newcastle’s latest skatepark, located right on South Newcastle Beach. It’s a pretty wild setup where spectators can gaze down from the vert wall onto the gauntlet of skateboarders jousting for position, limited by lines in the slim layout.
Words and photos by Luke Brown.
Day one opened with a Welcome to Country and skaters warmed up for heats. Round the clock, top left to right: Kieran Woolley gets smudged in. Mitchell Tomlinson and Nick Boserio on the mics. Russell Grundy, Bevo Newton, and Renton Millar (not pictured) on the judging panel. Aimee Massie rolled through.
Stoke was high as the ladies mixed it up.
The Woolley brothers, Danno and Kieran, made the trip up and were in the first heat for some sibling rivalry!
Local ambassador George Richards was a solid part of making this event happen, and the whole crowd wished him a happy birthday!
Ben Saddleton is one of Australia’s most underrated skateboarders. Frontside bluntslide to bigspin out.
Eli Waterson points a back Smith.
Round the clock, top left to right: Ollie Ward from Vancouver floats his namesake. Jamie Goodwin nollie back 180 whilst Taj Wolfenden Leins to tail. Crew. Taj Wolfenden, kickflip indy over.
After the heats, there was the best trick, which was total mayhem, and as skaters threw themselves at one section at a time for cash. First up were the Hubbas and the Euro gap.
Danno Woolley – fakie flip.
Dylan Donnini – frontside noseblunt.
It was amazing to see Bob Burnquist hitting the Hubbas. This shot is of a noseslide. He took some slams while trying a krooked grind, and then made it with the crowd behind him. If you want to hear more about Bob, after the event, he did a Podcast interview with Shan @Terrible.Happy
The next trick section was the long tranny over the speedo-shaped protrusion. It looks like a pair of budgie smugglers!
Whaaaaaaaatttttttt!!!!??????
Marley Rae, local lines with a frontside grind to switch krooks.
Dylan Donnini, cooking up a backside bluntage into a back tailslide.
As the sun dipped, the last trick section was on the various vert walls. Paragliders came in for a better look at all the chaos.
Too much went down to show it all, but here are a few. George Richards, front blunt with a cherry on top.
Marley Rae completes Bob Burnquist’s special trick in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater – the Burntwist.
If I recall correctly, Ollie Ward took this slob plant down the hefty drop and into the quarter below.
And that’s a wrap for day one! Cashed up from tricks, it was time for the after-party! Having stayed at the park until dark, I missed the bands whilst getting a feed. But when I got there, Kieran was generous with his winnings, and we all had a great night.
The next day was Finals Day. It was forecast for storms, but we got away with just some showers. Pups and groms were first up, then the Girls. The Guys’ finals included: Kieran Woolley, Tommy Fynn, Jake Thatcher, Hudson Walker, Ben Saddleton, Raphael Detienne, Taj Wolfenden and George Richards. The setup was two-man finals of three minutes, with three advancing to the “Super Final”.
George styles a back lip over the quarter below. He also did a backside nosegrind over this!
Also from Newy, Taj Wolfenden busts a 540. It’s not easy to get above this thing.
Raphael Detienne and Ben Saddleton put on a solid display of technical tricks when they went head-to-head.
Ben had this one on lock – bigspin front board to fakie.
Raphael psyched up the crowd, popping out of this 50-50 on the fence railing.
Jake Thatcher from the Gold Coast landed several solid tricks, including this backside 360 kickflip tailgrab – earning himself a place in the Super Final.
Kieran Woolley and Tommy Fynn shared a friendly final, two different styles of skating that were a pleasure to watch. They looked like they were having fun out there.
Tech-gun Tommy with a 360 flip noseslide.
Tommy was consistent and inspiring to watch. Backside kickflip nosegrind revert!
Kieran went gnar at speed and boosted this huge frontside boneless, flying high over the hip below!
Kieran took home the Golden Ticket for the Virginia Beach event in 2026! Congrats, mate!
Men: 1st Kieran Woolley, 2nd Tommy Fynn, 3rd Jake Thatcher. Women: 1st Zahra Johns, 2nd Isla Lillie Bower, 3rd Ivy Raftery.
Next time, can we see a bowl category, or a vert ramp on the beach? That’s a wrap! Thanks, Newcastle!
