This Gold Coast skateboarding academy is leading Australia to Olympic gold in Paris 2024
A teenager who has just mirrored the history-making feats of iconic sports figure Tony Hawk is at the start of a conveyor belt of skateboarding talent set to ensure Australia are Olympic gold medal contenders for years to come. Meet our top eight superstars
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
SHE has just become the first female to complete a 720 in front of iconic skateboarding figure Tony Hawk and teenager Arisa Trew is the start of a conveyor belt of talent set to ensure Australia are Olympic gold medal contenders for years to come.
And they could all be coming from one place.
A specialised academy in the city that produced Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Keegan Palmer, Gold Coast, combines elite coaching with homeschooling in order to mould the next generation of professional skateboarders.
“We have all these national sporting organisations doing what they do, but there is a huge disconnect between the industry and administration so athletes get left behind,” former professional skater and Level Up academy founder Trevor Ward said.
“I saw this total void.
“Now we’ve developed some of the best in Australia.”
Together with BMX, scooter and surfing academy students, totalling around 50, all attend three hours of schooling per day and rack up an average of four hours of training.
The academy has produced two young Olympic prodigies with many following the same path.
Trew is just 13-years-old, hitting tricks most elite skaters can only dream of.
She is currently ranked 14th in the world and seeded 14th for the Paris Olympics, thanks to a recent performance at the Japan XGames where she place 4th from a line-up of 16 of the world’s best female skaters.
Trew’s best show yet came at the Tony Hawk Vert Alert in Salt Lake City last weekend, where she became the first ever female to land a 720.
The skill was witnessed by Hawk, the first person to ever complete the trick, and Trew unsurprisingly won the event by seven points.
“I’m so excited to be the first girl to land a 720 in the world,” Trew said.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the crowd cheering me on and the pros like Tony Hawk giving me tips.”
Level Up coach Trevor Ward was equally impressed with his the young star’s result, citing how much work has been put into helping Trew reach this point.
“A lot of training, a lot of pain and she came through with the goods on the biggest stage in the world,” Ward said.
Standing by Trew’s side as one of the best, 16-year-old Ash Wilcomes is another of Level Up’s promising bidders for Paris 2024.
Originally from Pottsville in New South Wales, he moved to work with Level Up and has taken his skating to a new dimension under Ward’s guidance.
The teen sits 10th in Olympic seeding, meaning he is well within the list of 22 that are accepted.
While Wilcomes is currently on the sidelines with a knee injury, he will make a comeback in time for the park World Championships in Rome this October.
MEET THE EIGHT SKATEBOARDING PRODIGIES WHO COULD BECOME GOLD MEDAL-WINNING OLYMPIANS
ARISA TREW: Park & Vert Skater
Olympic Standing: 14th
World Vert Standing: 3rd
Arisa Trew is a 13-year-old local from Palm Beach on the Gold Coast.
Having skated and surfed since she was young with her dad she came to LVLUP AUS two-and-a-half years ago too start lessons.
After just over a year of lessons Arisa went to the USA to skate in Vert alert and made the Trew is known for her perfect Mctwist and is the only girl in the world who can consistently perform this trick.
Trew is currently ranked 14th in the world and is on track to make the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
ASH WILCOMES: Wilcomes: Park & Vert Skater
Olympic Standing: 12th.
Ash Wilcomes is a 16-year-old powerhouse from Pottsville in the Northern NSW Rivers.
Wilcomes has been skating for many years and won the under-16’s Bowlzilla as a 14-year-old. He moved to work with Level Up and since being under Trevor Ward has pushed his skating to another level.
Wilcomes finished 10th in his first International Olympic Qualifying event at the World Championships.
He then backed it up with a win at the Bowlzilla Open. Wilcomes is exciting and skates with flare and style.
JADA WARD: Park & Vert Skater
World Vert Standing: 10th
Jada Ward is the daughter of former Vert Pro & Level Up owner Trevor Ward.
Although being around skateboarding all her life she did every rolling sport except skateboarding.
In 2021 Ward broke her fingers she couldn’t surf but was encouraged by Aussie surfing prospect Sierra Kerr to attend Level Up.
A year after starting Ward finished 10th in her maiden professional content at the Tony Hawks Vert Alert. She is currently doing everything to get ready for Vert Alert and also try to make the Olympic team.
ZEN DICKSON:
Highlight: Seventh at Bowlzilla Open Mens
Zen Dickson is a late comer to skateboarding and in the past two years has been playing catch up.
Dickson has developed his skateboarding to the point where he is ready to take on the best in the world.
He is a technical skater who likes to flip his board multiple times in runs.
CAYDEN HAWKER:
Highlight: First at under-16s Bowlzilla.
A junior who is biting at the heels of the best skaters in Australia and the USA.
At nine-years-old Hawker recently came 1st at Bowlzilla in the under-U16’s.
Hawker has five different 540 variations, more than any other skater his age in Australia along with a swap of flip tricks.
Hawker made his international debut in 2022 but he may not be wearing the green and gold at the Olympics in the future. Hawker has been accepted to represent New Zealand at the World Championships of park skating in Rome in October.
ASHER WATT:
Highlight: Fifth at under-16s Bowlzilla
Asher Watt is 11-years-old and has developed in 18 months to become a competitive skateboarder who took on the world’s best skaters at Tony Hawks Vert Alert.
Watt arrived at Level Up at the start of last year and has worked hard to get to the level he is at now.
Watt has an uncanny ability to adapt & skate all ramps and bowls along with perfecting his five different 540’s and flip tricks. Watt is another who could represent New Zealand at the Olympics.
TAJ WOLFENDEN:
Highlight: Second at the Australian Bowlriding Championships
Taj “The Beast” Wolfenden is a skating prodigy ahead of his time. The 13-year-old came out of nowhere and committed full-time to skateboarding 18 months ago when he joined Level Up.
Wolfenden developed faster than any other skater in the program and went from U12’s to Open Mens in four competitions.
JAKE THATCHER:
Highlight: Second Bowlzilla Mens Open 2022
Jake Thatcher is one of the most talented skaters at Level Up. The 14-year-old has been super successful in his skate career so far taking out most of the skate comps in Australia from under-9’s as a 6-year-old to second at the Bowlzilla Open in 2022 as a 12-year-old.
Thatcher is super technical rider who can produce an array of flips and spins that even shocks professionals.
More Coverage
Live stream: Rollers warn U14 rivals ‘our kids are good’
Talented, fast and very fit ... Gold Coast Rollers boys are ready to leave a big impression on the U14 Club Championships. Catch all the action LIVE from the six-day tournament starting on Sunday.
Players to watch revealed on eve of Premier Invitational
Australia’s largest football tournament is just two sleeps away, with 500 teams and over 7500 players and coaches gearing up for the nine-day-long Premier Invitational. Meet the players you must see in action, the X-factors and born leaders: