Those people who like to have a board, two tires or four wheels under them (or watch others performing all sorts of tricks with one board, two tires or four wheels) can be happy: After a two-year forced break because of the Corona pandemic, the action sports festival Mash returns to the Munich Olympic Park. From June 24th to 26th, international athletes will meet there for the seventh time, including some of the best in the scene, to show daring jumps, turns and somersaults on fast, winding routes.
As with the last edition in 2019, the program includes skateboarding, wakeboarding and BMX sports. The big difference: For the first time this year, women will also show their tricks in all three sports. At least the last time there were female athletes at the skateboard and wakeboard competitions.
“It was particularly painful to have to cancel Mash in the last two years because of the pandemic. After all, it’s our own event, which we have been building up together with strong partners since 2014 and making it a success,” says Olympiapark boss Marion Schöne: “To pick up where we left off in 2019 will certainly be a special challenge.”
On the other hand, this year’s action sports festival is only the prelude to something much bigger, which is supposed to captivate the masses in the Olympic Park in the summer: the European Championships, which combine European championships in nine sports. Almost 5,000 athletes are expected to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Olympic Games.
Of course, the Mash festival won’t be that big, skateboard, wakeboard and BMX aren’t necessarily aimed at the mainstream audience either. The organizers have come up with some innovations for thiseven if the sports presented have remained the same.
Skateboard and BMX will be presented on an artificial island in the Olympic Lake
The skateboarders no longer ride on an elaborately built wooden construction, the “Rollercoaster”, with all kinds of chicanes from the Olympic Stadium down to the Olympic Lake, but this time present their tricks on an artificial island in the lake. Eight men and six women compete there in a challenging mini-ramp landscape.
The BMX competition is also held on the floating construction, complete with ramps and railings. Here, too, eight men and six women are at the start, each showing as much creativity and tricks as possible in 45-second runs in order to convince the jury and make it into the final.
A dozen wakeboarders, eight men and four women, also ride over ski jumps and railings anchored in the Olympic Lake. A team competition will kick off on Friday, and there will also be women’s, men’s and a youngster’s competition. The special thing about this year: After the men were allowed to put together the obstacles and jumps according to their wishes in 2019, this year the women, Maryh Rougier (France), Anna Nikstad (USA), Anne Freyer (Germany) and Claudia Pagnini (Italy) it’s your turn.
In the past editions, almost 100,000 spectators flocked to the mash in the park – but not just to watch the sporting achievements. All around there is a cultural village, interactive offers where you can try out the sports yourself, live music, chill-out areas, food trucks and art. Sounds like a lot of Anglicisms, as is so common in this sporting subculture, but also like pretty relaxed summer evenings in the park – of which there haven’t been too many during the pandemic.