"Seylynn has endless flow. It's generally off the beaten path for most of society and makes for a special type of environment that has nurtured an amazing sense of community."
—Alex Chalmers

[continued from In The Park: Seylynn Part 1 - A Historical Glance]

This year, on the 141st birthday of our country, the Bowl Series kicked off on Canada Day at North Vancouver's Seylynn as it has for the last 13 years. The free grassroots event happens bi-weekly throughout July and August at select bowls in Metro Vancouver, and the final event takes place in Whistler, BC. The premiere event at Seylynn has the largest turnout of the series, and as Seb Templer explains of the annual circuit, "There's no money exchanging hands, we don't charge anyone to go in it, and you don't win any money. It's just to promote the fun of skateboarding in these older bowls at an event that's close enough to PG-13."

Birth Of The Bowl Series
Kevin Harris and Colin Ruloff first opened the Boarding House skateshop in Richmond, BC back in 1987. John Raimondo had acquired the shop in 1990, and that's when the brainstorming took place that eventually spawned the Bowl Series.

"Back in the day, working in the shop, we were always talking about skating and we would often talk about what park to hit after work—Seylynn was definitely our favourite, partially because of the uniqueness of the snake run and the history behind it," Raimondo explains. "I remember suggesting how cool it would be to have a bowl riding series. Having started skating in the ‘70s myself, I was stoked on how retro something like that sounded. I think it was just the lure of transition and coasting up and down banked walls that got us into skating in the first place—I think the Bowl Series may have been a bit self indulgent at first."

By 1995, the Boarding House crew, and their idea, gained a lot of support from the local skate community. The first contest was held at Seylynn on Canada Day with the mentality that it was a big holiday, and Seylynn serves as the most historic of the parks on the summer circuit. Sometimes the fuzz can be a concern when a bunch of people post up in a public park with a high decibel sound system, but according to Raimondo, "The cops showed up a few times but never shut us down."

"One thing we tried our best to do was make sure everybody got something, plus we made sure the contest was free," Raimondo adds. "Ultimate Skateboard Distribution and PD's Hot Shop were the first to provide us with prizes, and the shop [the Boarding House] came up with the rest. After the first year, the series had a bit of momentum so we were able to get even more prizes going."

Tradition
In 2000, Raimondo moved the shop to Main Street in Vancouver. By 2001, the Boarding House closed its doors and the skate community gladly carried on the tradition that Raimondo initially inspired.

"It was such a highlight for all of us every summer, that we couldn't let that end," explains Seb Templer, ramp builder extraordinaire and a fixture in the Vancouver skate scene. "Myself and other people in the skate community kept it going, and it was seamless. Because I know the people in the industry in Vancouver, it was easy to make some phone calls and get some product for the kids. Mike Strato and Chris Parry help out a lot with organizing and running the events."

The Seylynn Canada Day Bowl Series starter has its host of side events that have developed over the years.

"The timed speed line works best at Seylynn, as well as the world-famous Beer Relay," says Templer. "This year, we did an event in the bowl where we wanted people to skate it like a half pipe, much like they did in the ‘80s—inverts, airs, liptricks and stuff like they did at the Expo '86 contest."

Crowning The King
"I would have to say Chalmers got first at every stop the first or second year. After that, we decided to crown the overall ‘best skater' as the King of the Bowls. I believe Gary Harris was the first to actually be crowned King of the Bowls in ‘97 or ‘98...he may even have the painted deck trophy that my friends Greg Baller and Sarah Blythe made," Raimondo recalls.

Over the years, various handmade prizes were donated for the cause. Much like the NHL has Lord Stanley's Cup, the Bowl Series now has a crown for the King.

"I got a crown made a few years ago and that's the prize you get to keep until the following year," says Templer. "I'm going to put some jewels on it and get all the King of the Bowl names engraved on it.

The current annual Bowl Riding Series circuit includes Seylynn and Griffin in North Van, followed by White Rock, Squamish and the ender in Whistler (where the King is announced). Legendary bowl shredder, Don "Bushman" Wilson has been crowned the 2008 King of the Bowls—raise thy frosty tall can in his name!

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Other In The Park columns:
The Tuff City Park, Tofino, BC
Vic West, Esquimalt, BC
The Schoolyard Park, Mapleridge, BC
Seylynn, Part 1

Other Bowl Series videos:
White Rock
Whistler