A group of local Kingston guys who helped get the Billie Johnson Kingston Skate Park established are planning a competitive skateboard event July 5 to give kids something to be a part of the weekend after the Fourth of July.

The Kingston SK8 Rollick at the Kingston Skate Park, located at 26200 Lindvog Road, will feature an all-ages skateboard competition and live music.

Prizes will be awarded for technique and flair for beginner, intermediate and advanced skill levels in age brackets of 12 and younger, 13 to 15 years old, 16 to 18 years old and 19 and older. Helmets are required for all competitors and all rules of the skate park will be followed. The park is managed by Kitsap County Facilities, Parks and Recreation, who approved the event.

There will be a $5 entry fee to participate. The event is free to those who want to come down and watch the action as the wheels hit the cement and afterwards groove to local bands.

Registration gets underway at 11 a.m. with the competitions starting at noon and ending at 4 p.m. Bill Mickelson, entertainment writer for the Kitsap News Group and member of the band Triple Forte, is lining up bands to perform from 4-7 p.m.

Organizers of the event, who will also serve as judges, include the five guys, who as ninth-graders at Kingston Junior High, organized a skate club at the school and inspired an effort and raised funds to get the skate park built the following year in 2000. They include Dan McDougall and his brother Matt McDougall, Kes Anderson, Peter Wickstrom and John Perry. They have a team of volunteers to help with the event, including a clean-up crew who will sweep the park clean afterwards. A generator will be brought in to provide power for a sound system and they are working to obtain sponsors to provide giveaways, prizes – and sani-cans. Organizers also hope to have snowboard and skate shop representatives set up booths.

For more information, contact Dan McDougall at (360) 271-5530 or dansmcdougall@gmail.com.