Organisers believe as many as 600 people were present at various times throughout the day, to witness the opening by Nambucca Shire Council Mayor Rhonda Hoban, or to see some of the skating on display.

Skaters of all ages competed in beginners, intermediate and advanced competitions.

Three judges watched as each skaters, was given two minutes to demonstrate their best tricks for the crowd.

Those gathered around the edges of the new Coronation Park skatepark cheered as skaters swooped through the course, and roared at the most spectacular moves.

The crowd particularly got behind five and seven-year-old brothers Jack and Max Mansfield as they showed off their moves under the watchful eye of their dad.

The best skaters on the day were weeded out through a round of heats.

In the beginners’ section, Louie Tierney took out first place, Saxon Rivers second and Benson Keers third.

Benson was also named the best up-and-comer for the competition.

In the intermediate section, Blake Windmill was first, Emmitt Brown second and Max McGrath third.

Max was given special praise for having the best trick of the day.

The advanced section was won by Justin Carriage, with Jesse Ambrose in second and Darcy Visser in third.

Of course, a special mention has to go to the most spectacular stack of the day, which went to Bevan Newon.

One of the day’s organisers, Chris Hewgill, said it was a very successful opening of the park, and the response from onlookers was very encouraging.

He said he hoped this was the first of many regular competitions to occur at the park, and looked forward to the possibility of getting pro skaters to Nambucca to teach the skaters some more skills.

Skaters on the day came from as far as Queensland and Sydney, and many ‘old’ skaters returned to Nambucca Heads for the event, Hewgill said.

He thanked the efforts of the community in getting the event running, including Nambucca Valley Skaters, Nambucca Valley Youth Services Centre, Coastal Curves, the Giddyup anti-binge drinking project, IGA for supplying free water, North Pipe Construction for building a bubbler, and Rotary for running a barbecue on the day.