It's official! The Am Getting Paid is now part of the events that will count in the race for Olympic ranking! Officially sanctioned by Canada Skateboard as our country's first National street skateboarding Championship, AGP represents a real opportunity for Canadian skateboarders who dream of competing against the best athletes in the world at the Tokyo 2020 Games!
If we had been told about this twenty years ago, we would never have believed it!
It is with great excitement that Canada Skateboard (the official federation for Canadian Skateboarding) sanctioned Empire's own Am Getting Paid as the first Canadian event that will count in the National ranking system and will ultimately influence the athlete selection process for the 2020 Olympic Games. As incredible as it may seem, this year's top Canadien amateurs will officially become the new National Champions.
A big step for the skate industry, a massive step for the Canadian scene!
This year's Am Getting Paid is definitely the most important we've ever seen. In addition to offering a $ 20,000 cash purse for men AND an equal cash purse for women, Canada's biggest amateur contest has now become an official step in the ranking process for the actual Olympic Games. It's huge!!!
Do you think you have what it takes to perform at Am Getting Paid? You may also have what it takes to perform at the Olympics!
REGISTER NOW!
We spoke to Benny Stoddard, President of the Canada Skateboard Federation to understand what it's all about and for more details about the National Street Skate Championship, the Canadian skate team at the 2020 Olympic Games and everything related to the ranking system.
READ ON!
BENNY STODDARD
Canada Skateboard Federation's President
What do you have to do to unlock a spot on the Canadian Olympic skate team. How does the selection works? We've been working very close with the international federation for skateboarding (World Skate) in preparation for Tokyo 2020 and other multi-sport games. This includes working through a qualification system, creating field of play spec requirements and developing a judging system that is fair and works for skateboarding. For qualification purposes, skaters will be ranked for competing in World Skate sanctioned events in the Olympic qualifying period between January 1st, 2019 and June 30th, 2020. From there, the highest ranked Canadians the two disciplines (Park and Street) will have the opportunity to represent Canada at the games. Canada has a quota of 3 skaters per discipline and gender for a total of 12 spots to be filled for Tokyo. How does AGP play into Olympic ranking? How many “points” do you get if you win? How about 3rd and 2nd? For 2018, the national ranking for Canadian amateur skaters for Street will be decided at Am Getting Paid. The top male and female Canadian skaters at AGP will be crowned the 2018 National Champions. Is it the same for the women's category? Yes, it's the same for the women's side of things. We're very stoked that AGP and their sponsors stepped up this year to include Women's Street. They even matched the prize money. Does that mean amateurs and pros will be competing together at the Olympics. Yes, amateurs and pros will be competing together in 2020. There will be pathways for both pros and ams to earn their spots on the National team. Do you have any expectations regarding the Canadian skate team competing at the 2020 Olympics? There will be an estimated 5 billion screens playing skateboarding live for the first time ever at Tokyo 2020. I'd like to see Canada represented to the fullest there. We have such an amazing community of skaters across the country that creates what Canadian skateboarding is; I want to share that on the global stage.
With skateboarders on board; everyone's on board
Skateboarders around the world have always been proud to practice a unique sport that basically has no rules to it. Reason why it feels precious to skaters, making them very protective of the beautiful nature of their art. Many wondered if skateboarding really had a place in the Olympics, if it was possible bring it to the Games without misrepresenting it... Most importantly, people were wondering if the best skaters in the world would actually have an interest in taking part in this kind of event. After years of discussion and preparation from the various world associations involved, the answer to this is YES!
Thanks to the associations like Canada Skateboard for keeping it real. From the official outfits to regulations and general vibe of the contest, everything has been put in place for skateboarding to be respected and presented in its true nature at the 2020 Olympic Games.
It wasn't easy, but it seems that today, less than 2 years before the Olympics, skateboarders have accepted the fact that if the opportunity was presented to them, they would certainly represent for their country at the next Olympic Games.
You think you have what it takes to compete against the best amateur skateboarders in the world, we strongly encourage you to try your luck and register to Am Getting Paid 2020! You could leave with a piece of our $ 40,000 cash purse ($ 20,000 men / $ 20,000 women), but most importantly with the title of Street Skateboarding Canadian Champion.