SALT LAKE CITY – Excitement is ramping up for a major skateboarding competition back in Salt Lake City. The 2025 Vert Alert, put on by sports icon Tony Hawk, began Friday at the Huntsman Center at the University of Utah.
Through Saturday, roughly 100 of the world's top skateboarding athletes are competing on Hawk's personal HuckJam ramp, all performing high-flying tricks, some as young as 12 years old.
Last year's winners, including Paris 2024 Olympic gold medalist Arisa Trew and 2024 Vert world champion Gui Khury, are both expected to return to defend their titles.
What's even more exciting for Utah is that the Utah Sports Commission helped create this event with Hawk and believes it's something the world will notice.
"The international traction having this event here – the imaging and the messaging it sends globally – continues to reinforce that this is not only a place for action sports, but this is the location for sports entertainment events," said Jeff Robbins, president and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission.
Where this event goes from here, the sky is the limit. The Utah Sports Commission said Hawk is trying to get this vertical event into the Olympics.
If you want to see it, doors opened Friday, and the event runs through Saturday.The competition is free, but you can buy VIP tickets if you want to meet Tony Hawk himself. Here's more information about the 2025 Vert Alert.
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Brian Carlson
