Leo Contreras of Fillmore

Scott Petuoglu of Fillmore

Miguel Yepes of Fillmore

unknown skater doing a nose grab.

Zach Casas of Newbury Park

Zander Gabriel of Ojai

Twenty high school skateboard teams descended on the Fillmore Skate Park this past weekend to compete in region #1 of the National High School Skateboard Association competition. This is Fillmore’s 2nd event and they skated very well and placed 6th as a team. Skating for Fillmore was Nick Avila, Leo Contreras, Joey Liu, Scott Petuoglu, and Miguel Yepez. In the individual top 20 scores, Leo Contreras placed 6th, and Joey Liu placed 16th out of 90 skaters. Jeff Stern, Founder of NHSSA built the first ever organization to hold a season of skateboard competitions where high school skateboarders come together as a team to compete against other high schools. Forty teams are competing, with each team made up of 5 of the best skaters from each high school. There are two regions with 20 schools in each region. After three competitions in each region, the top 10 teams from each region will advance to the finals, hoping to win “best skate team” for the season. After the finals, the top 20 individual skaters will have the opportunity to compete at the X Games in a “best trick” contest. Mr. Stern, President of NHSSA, felt a need to get the sport of skateboarding recognized as a legitimate sport. He states, “The talent these kids have is incredible, and I don’t believe the parents or the community understand what it takes to get to the level some of these skateboarders have reached.” Find more information and standings at www.sk8nhssa.com.