World's top skateboarders compete in Vancouver Invitational

For athletes who make their living dropping into steep concrete bowls with nothing under them, but a piece of wood and four wheels, the Van Doren Invitational in Vancouver in west Canada has become a major stop on the world skateboarding circuit.

The top 40 bowl skateboarders gathered at Vancouver's Hastings Skate Park on Friday and Saturday competing over two days for a total prize purse of 75,000 Canadian dollars (59,250 U.S. dollars).

By Saturday, only 20 of them will remain, with the top 10 eventually competing for the top prize of 15,000 Canadian dollars (11,856 U.S. dollars).

Rob Boyce, the event spokesman, told Xinhua the competitors this year were all world class.

"The best skateboarders in the very world, from all countries. We've got Italy represented, we've got Brazil, we've got the U.S., we have Canada, Australia. We have people from all over the globe. Super impressive abilities and super diverse skill sets," the spokesman said.

Vancouver's skateboarding scene has not yet matched the fame of California's, but the sport is becoming more mainstream here year by year.

Vancouver's skateboard scene has grown leaps and bounds. Now skateboarding is so mainstream in Vancouver that if a kid, a boy or girl, plays hockey, football or soccer, they also skateboard, Boyce said.

Vancouver is famous for its laid-back culture and alternative lifestyle -- the perfect breeding ground for skateboard culture. Plus, the weather here is mild enough to skateboard all year round.

Adam Hopkins, a competitor, said the weather was important.

"We have more mild weather compared to the rest of Canada and we're very close to California as well, so we're in a good geographical area, and yeah, it's just the scene here," Hopkins said.

He believed that a good skate park was also a key to the competition.

The Van Doren Invitational returns to Vancouver for the second time this year. The event is free, family-friendly and open to the public. Endi