{"id":259128,"date":"2026-04-09T10:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/259128\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T10:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T10:22:13","slug":"a-new-wave-of-skateboarding-events-came-to-long-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/259128\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Wave of Skateboarding Events Came to Long Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONG BEACH, CALIF.\u2014It\u2019s\u00a0OK if you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know what ollie, kickflip, or\u00a0tic-tac means.\u00a0A\u00a0new kind of skateboarding event\u00a0is\u00a0aiming\u00a0to appeal to both dedicated skaters and first-time spectators. No\u00a0scorekeeping\u00a0required.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0KASSO\u00a0Fest\u00a0Skate &\u00a0Sound took over\u00a0Old Hall Plaza in\u00a0Long Beach, Calif., March 21\u201322. The two-day festival brought together top-tier skate talent,\u00a0including\u00a0Jamie Foy, Leo Romero, Kyle Walker, Greyson Fletcher, Aaron \u201cJaws\u201d Homoki, Gavin Bottger, Tom Schaar, and Jiro Platt.<\/p>\n

Musical acts were also featured including\u00a0LaRussell, EARTHGANG, Andy Mineo, and The Mainliners, along with\u00a0local\u00a0Long Beach\u00a0DJ\u00a0group\u00a0Secret Service LBC.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Raphae Ueda entertains the crowd. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for KASSO Fest<\/p>\n

Created by Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS), the team behind American Ninja Warrior, KASSO<\/a> began as a Japanese TV show and has grown into a\u00a0global movement\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0reimagining skate culture\u00a0as\u00a0a high-energy, spectator-driven live event. The Long Beach fest was the organization\u2019s U.S. debut\u2014and was the\u00a0first time the\u00a0concept expanded beyond Japan.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the very beginning, when we launched KASSO in 2024, hosting an event in the U.S. has\u00a0been\u00a0one of our biggest dreams,\u201d said KASSO producer Yohei Yasunaga. \u201cThe U.S. is the birthplace of skateboarding and street\u00a0culture and\u00a0has always been a place we admire. We wanted to challenge ourselves and see how much attention we could attract there.\u201d<\/p>\n

KASSO partnered with AIM Entertainment<\/a>, The Brand Agency<\/a>, Time & Space<\/a>, and VacancyLand<\/a> to bring its vision to California.<\/p>\n

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Based on the success of KASSO Fest Skate & Sound, the group is considering another U.S. event this year.\u00a0According to organizers, about 4,000 to 5,000 people\u00a0attended\u00a0the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the biggest differences between the KASSO events and other skateboarding events is that there is no\u00a0scoring. \u201cWe intentionally designed it to be simple and intuitive so that the audience can enjoy it without needing to understand complex judging systems,\u201d Yasunaga explained.<\/p>\n

As for the courses, the venue,\u00a0along the Los Angeles River,\u00a0had a unique, bowl-like shape, so the group took full advantage of that natural layout. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving Jamie Foy design a rail had been an idea\u00a0we\u2019d\u00a0been discussing for quite some time,\u00a0and we\u2019re really happy we were able to bring it to life for this event,\u201d Yasunaga said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Known for its signature courses, KASSO introduced the \u201cGrasshopper,\u201d a course\u00a0created specifically for the Long Beach\u00a0event.\u00a0It featured platforms suspended above water that skaters had to navigate.<\/p>\n

See more from KASSO\u00a0Fest\u00a0Skate &\u00a0Sound…<\/p>\n

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The Long Beach fest was the organization\u2019s U.S. debut. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for KASSO Fest<\/p>\n

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Aaron “Jaws” Homoki is caught mid-air. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for KASSO Fest<\/p>\n

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The event featured four dynamic courses designed to test speed, precision, and creativity. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for KASSO Fest<\/p>\n

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Torey Pudwill skates the RailCoaster. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for KASSO Fest<\/p>\n

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And falls into the water obstacle. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for KASSO Fest<\/p>\n

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Dashawn Jordan shows off during the event. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for KASSO Fest<\/p>\n

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Skaters needed to jump from one landing pad to the next like a grasshopper during this course. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for KASSO Fest<\/p>\n

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Andy Mineo performed during the two-day festival. Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer\/Getty Images for KASSO Fest<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONG BEACH, CALIF.\u2014It\u2019s\u00a0OK if you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know what ollie, kickflip, or\u00a0tic-tac means.\u00a0A\u00a0new kind of skateboarding event\u00a0is\u00a0aiming\u00a0to appeal to both dedicated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-259128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}