For the third consecutive year, the Gravity Games H20 brought together thousands of predominantly young West Aussies to enjoy what is billed as the world’s premier action sports, lifestyle and music festival on the banks of the Swan River. Held between December 7th and 10th at McCallum Park, in Vic Park, spectators enjoyed the all in one, free, action-packed calendar of events which featured over eighty of the world’s highest-ranking extreme sports athletes.
Athletes came from all corners of the globe to compete for one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in prize money, competing in the three medal water-based events: Thundercats , Wakeboarding, and Jet Skiing.
Thundercats transformed the Swan River into a trans-Tasman battlefield as five Aussie and Kiwi Thundercats racing teams went head-to-head. Reaching speeds of up to 90 kilometres per hour, and landing jumps beyond five meters into the air, Thundercats, an explosive, high-adrenalin, wave jumping sport that takes place in an inflatable catamaran-style boat saw Kiwi’s blast the Aussies and easily score all first three placing’s.
Seventeen-year-old Phillip Soven scooped the pool in the men’s finals of the Wakeboarding event and took away twenty five thousand dollars for his performance as an acrobatic surface water sportsman. Resembling skateboarding, Wakeboarding tows the rider behind the boat as tricks are carried out as the riders launch off a ramp. Fellow American Emily Copeland-Durham snatched victory from Australian Amber Wing to take out the women’s finals.
Hitting speeds over 100 kilometres per hour in just three seconds, jet skiing, a new event at this year’s Gravity Games H2O electrified the crowd as twenty riders negotiated the buoy course on the Swan. Known as motocross on the water, the jet skiing challenged riders with tight, technical, speed sections designed to set them and the crowd on edge. Australia’s Number #1 Jet skiier Tony Grey, of Queensland, took first-class honours while South Australia’s Jake Barker came a close second’an all out Australian victory!
Out of the water on the picturesque banks of the Swan, in the new world-class Skatebowl facility, land-based sports’ Skate, BMX, In-line, and FMX demonstrations gave young amateur West Aussies at the Gravity Games, the opportunity to showcase their skills in a safe, fun and welcoming setting. These events added depth and diversity to the water based sports while Gravity Village entertained the crowd with activities such as autograph sessions, bungy trampolining, paintball fun, and mechanical rides.
In the first outdoor concert of the holiday season, the Gravity G-Fest included international, national and local acts such as Aiden, Kisschasy, Gyroscope, Parkway Drive, the Getaway Plan and Goodnight Nurse who rocked the Swan and set the atmosphere to take the crowd and competitors well into the night.
The energy of thousands of young West Aussies led, inspired and transformed the Gravity Games H20 into a vital and memorable event.
