Coping Bash 3 – SBC Restaurant – Vancouver, Canada

Crowd overlooking the Coping Bash 3 skate jam at SBC Restaurant

Presented by Skull Skates in celebration of their 40th anniversary year, Coping Bash 3 is the third incarnation of an event that has quickly exploded into Western Canada’s largest indoor ramp contest.

SBC Restaurant is a 65-foot wide indoor mini ramp, music venue and bar. An oasis amidst a pressure cooker of gentrification and out of control land values that have taken hold of the once idyllic port city of Vancouver, Canada. Located in a neighborhood notoriously stigmatized for its levels of addiction, poverty, mental illness and homelessness.

There is no way to accurately pin down what made the event as wildly epic as it was. Was it the ripping Women’s division? Maybe it was the raging Skull Skates 4Oth Anniversary legends invitational—a division with a host of aging rippers coming out of the woodwork to show some things only get better with age… and Tiger Balm. Lots of Tiger Balm

It very well could have been the consistently hilarious emceeing of Renee Renee, or the assortment of Canada’s skate community that traveled from far and wide on this particular day to gather, skate and party. Powell Brewery‘s supply of delicious beer didn’t hurt, nor did the 4O year retrospective of Skull Skates’ poster art that covered the walls, and this all without taking into account the level of skateboarding churned out by some of the Canadian’s best ramp riders. An argument could be made it was all these things at once, and since the simplest answer is usually the correct one, let’s go with that.

Coping bash 3 was a rager for sure, and being the 40th anniversary for Skull Skates, added to the hype. What made it even more interesting compared to the last two was the obstacle that was temporarily added to spice things up.

Even though there were so many eyes watching, it felt no different from sessions all of us continue to share with each other year after year. Thanks Coping Bash for making these events possible!”

Article by Jeff Cole
Photos by Olga Aguilar

Winner of Coping Bash 3 – Most Advanced and Best trick: Adam Gee

Coping Bash 3 at SBC Restaurant. Vancouver, British Columbia. Canada

Merrick Orr. Tucked frontside air.

Stepan Soroka. Crailslide.

Tristan Henry. Judo heelblock.

Unnamed hurricane

Merrick Orr. Crail slide

Adam Gee. Stalefish

Stepan Soroka. Stand up frontside grind

Backside tailslide

Riley Callen. Backside boneless.

Tristan Henry. Backside smith

James Clarke got those frontside ollies down

Merrick Orr. Frontside grind

Coping Bash 3. Judges

Coping Bash 3 / SBC / Skull Skates awards

Chris McCallum. Feeble to fakie

Trevor Moncaster. Frontside tailslide

Eve Feaver. Nose edger pick.

Steve Denham. Nose blunt

Howard Redekopp. Back smith

Chris McCallum. Blunt to fakie

Eve Feaver. Japan

Coping Bash 3. Girls Awards.

Melanie Mercier. Frontside grind

Kristen Landry. Sweeper

Melanie Mercier. Front Feeble Fragle rock


40 years of rad posters. P.D. / Skull Skates Family

40 YEARS OF SKULL SKATES POSTERS. A retrospective look at the posters of Canada’s Oldest Skate Brand.

MC RENEE and family


COPING BASH 3: Advanced

This is the Advanced Category of Coping Bash 3! Some of the best local rippers tearing apart SBC Ramp! Stay tuned for Coping Bash 4!
Filmed / edited by Sara Siraj and Chris Johnson at Out Of Step Productions

COPING BASH 3: Invitational

COPING BASH 3: Ladies