River rides to Rumble glory

TORQUAY skateboarding prodigy River Lawson continues to exceed his own expectations, with the 13-year-old crowned champion of a nationwide skate series.

Lawson won the 13 & Under Boys title at The Rumble Skate Series’ Rumble on the Reef in Mackay on September 23.

“It’s a really good feeling, especially because I came fourth in this event last year,” Lawson said.

“So to move up three places is a great feeling and I actually somewhat surprised myself because I wasn’t looking at the live scores, I just focused on completing the runs and it paid off.”

Lawson had a clear gameplan heading to Mackay, arriving a day early with his father so he could get a feel of the skatepark he had skated on a year earlier.

“I knew the layout of the park and what kind of tricks I was going to do ahead of the qualifying rounds after competing in this event last year.

“I just played it safe in the semis, got together some perfect runs and ranked first to get into the finals, where I pretty much nailed every trick except for maybe one, but it all worked out in the end.”

Following Lawson’s win last month in Mackay coupled with event wins at the 2022 Southern Rumble at Christie Downs, South Australia and a runner-up finish at the Eastern Rumble in Redbank, Queensland, he secured the Rumble Street Season title, finishing on 2,860 points.

“To be the overall champion for the season is super exciting,” he said.

“It’s been a year of practicing and refining my skillset, learning new tricks like late shoves, things like that played a big part in my success.”

Lawson has now secured a sponsor and is looking at applying to the High Performance Pathway Initiative from Skate Australia, which, if successful, would take him to Tokyo in December.