Photos by Sebastian Adam @sebastianadamphoto
Words by ActionDirk
Video by Patrick Schüßler @wheelbite.media
Yeah, I know, nobody wants to get a history lesson reading a skateboard magazine, but in order to understand the importance of the 30th Little Sista Bowl Cup, I need you to get some background information.
Little Sista was the name of the first skateshop in Leipzig and east Germany in 1990, founded by Thorsten “Goofy” Schubert and it was placed in the legendary Conne Island. Conne Island was also the place of the first skatepark in east Germany. It started with a miniramp inside the concert hall and later, an outdoor skatepark. In 2013, the old wooden skatepark was replaced with a concrete bowl, built by the legendary Matt Grabowksi and the guys from Minus Ramps. Anyways, a finished bowl is no reason for the local scene stop building skateable stuff and so, new additions were built and the Conne Island Skatepark -or “SkateIsland” as we locals call it – got even bigger.
With its 30th anniversary, the Little Sista Bowl Cup in 2023 is the longest, annual skateboard contest in the world! That festival needed to be celebrated with a bang! But traditionally, it will always rain when the LSBC happens. This year, it was forcasted as well. But anyway, too much effort had already been expended.
Because we had contest going over two days, a separate DIY-Jam and bands playing, the forecast had an impact on the timescale but anyways, wherever is beer, there is a good vibe! Timescale shifted the contest get down on Saturday. It was a pleasure to see people, that have never been to Leipzig, tear the bowl apart with ease! Jeroen Bruggeman from Belgium came along to win first place and show his bag of tricks. Fabi Daucher, second place, even though he had a cold, gave me goosebumps with his airtime during his runs – when the only thing you heard was the clicking of the camera and the bearings roll. Nele Schmidt made first place in the “sponsored all gender” group showing what she learned on the road building skateparks of her own. Cassic surf style mixed with speed and slash grinds… who doesn’t like that?!
What impressed me the most though was, how many young guns participated at the contest! We can all agree, that skating transitions is a hard thing to do, so to see 9-year-old Miki from Berlin going at it and a lot of 11 to 13-year-old kids working on the coping, was crazy! There is a new generation of Bowl-Rats coming and I can’t wait to see what these will bring to the table!
After the shows of Deadslow and Däächt the party continued with a huge karaoke party inside the concert hall. From there, it all went blurry somehow… haha!
Sunday started with rain. But the DIY section was skateable, so we decided to get the “Satans-Finest-Goods”– DIY-Jam going. Cash for tricks only in the part of the park, that the locals built. A mighty-fine-dressed Henry calling for the action! Valle was in full effect, doing a Benihana to fakie first try, Fabi Daucher frontside Bluntside over the doggie channel and Jonny with a crailslide right after.
Sandro somewhere found a slide from a playground. That got transformed into a spot immediately and Valle again boardsliding the whole thing! Look at that shot! That is a hellride!
The weather forced us to let the Sunday shows into the concert hall. Modge, Martyrs, Hot Chicks and Dispo where the bands, that ended an amazing weekend. The weather couldn’t stop all people, now called friends, from having a good vibe.
Most likely, this was the last Little Sista Bowl Cup ever. 30 years was a good run. Most likely something else is in the works. But it was an opportunity to transport the message, of what skateboarding should be: To exceed yourself, make friends and have a great time. Over the 20 years that I was somehow involved in the Cup, was a wild ride and I hope people understandwhat an important role it played for a lot of people. Whenever you are on a trip or vacation, feel free to come to Leipzig and have a skate! The park is always open!
Whats left to say? Oh yeah! Enjoy these awesome shots, that Sebastian Adam made!
And be nice!
Much love!
Yours sincerely,
ActionDirk
