The Lars Simenson Skatepark in Montauk is a gathering place for skaters young and old(er), tall and small, as exemplified on Saturday, when people of all ages and genders from across Long Island, even up to Brooklyn, gathered there for the fourth annual Montauk Skate Contest.
Will Angiulo, an organizer of Saturday’s contest, has been skating in Montauk since he was a child and began putting together skate competitions in 2018 when he was still in college.
When he graduated, he joined in the 2020 fund-raising efforts to renovate the old skatepark, which was designed by the late New York City skating pioneer Andy Kessler. The revamped park, designed by Pivot Custom Skateparks, opened two years ago, and when it did, Mr. Angiulo began organizing skate contests there, in memory of Kessler. “Since then I’ve just been throwing the contests every year in honor of him and the community. . . . I’m just trying to bring everyone together and give back.”
On Saturday, people from young skaters to the contest organizers to parents talked about the skatepark’s positive impacts, especially how it helps to get kids away from their screens. Events like Saturday’s contest, where so many skaters gather to show off their skills and support each other, inspire the youngest among them to continue skateboarding.
“This whole summer I’ve been coming to the skatepark every day,” said Bennett Godley, 13, who has been skating for two and a half years. While he wasn’t sure what tricks he would try at the contest, he said he likes doing “backside airs.”
Marcella Pardo, 11, who was with another skating friend, Mackenzie Chaffee, 12, said airs were her favorite trick when skating in the bowl, but when she’s street skating she likes to do kickflips. “I started with skating lessons,” Marcella said, “and then moved on to skating on my own.”
In Saturday’s contest, there were newer skaters like Mackenzie, Marcella, and Bennett, but also more seasoned ones with more serious ambitions. “A lot of these skateboarders are trying to make it their career and there’s not that many avenues to do that,” Mr. Angiulo said. There were prizes, including cash, but they were ancillary to the day’s bigger goals: to lend a hand to those with professional prospects while also providing a fun day for the skating community. One way to get noticed is to “fly to these bigger contests where they’re given bigger prizes and there are sponsors for them to get noticed.”
“Will is amazing, he’s a great figure in the skate scene on Long Island,” said Chris Patti of Riverhead, who sponsors the Montauk competition every year through his business Nova World Order. This year’s competition also gave Mr. Patti a fund-raising space as he works to renovate the Wesley Dean Ackley Skatepark in Riverhead. Ackley, a childhood friend of Mr. Patti’s and an advocate for the Riverhead skatepark since he was a teenager, recently lost his battle with cancer. “We always wanted to do something to reinvigorate the skatepark,” Mr. Patti said. “Now we are working to build a new cement park just like this one.” He is starting a nonprofit in Ackley’s honor to achieve that dream while also working with the Riverhead Town Board. (The renovation of the Montauk skatepark was the result of a public-private partnership with the East Hampton Town Board.)
Events like Saturday’s contest help to bring together the Long Island skate community and foster a love of the sport in the next generation.
“It really is about just giving back and supporting the scene,” Mr. Angiulo said, “because it’s all love; skateboarding really is just about comradery, friendship, and community and I try to foster that and put that into my events as much as possible.”