As it was in Paris, so it has transpired in Ostia.

There, it was Colombia’s Jazmin Alvarez who got hurt right before kick-off; here, New Zealand’s Zedyn Fellows got taken out by a nasty-looking collision during open practice and required a stretcher to extricate him from the bowl.

We send him all healing thoughts and wishes for a speedy recovery here.

All photos: Bryce Kanights

Among the contenders in the early practice groups there are a couple of surprising names which jump out. Foremost among those is Brazil’s Gui Khury, 2024 Vert World Champion who despite being the leading light in that related discipline has yet to bother even the quarterfinal stages in Park on the WST (41st place in Dubai, 36th in San Juan).

With a current Park WSR ranking of 95th he has left himself a mountain to climb just to get into the ring for a shot at the title here, but he is looking razor-sharp in practice and might finally get to skate the weekend this time out.

In the same practice heat as Gui is Argentinian ATV Omar Cocilova AKASandro Moral, who you may remember from frontside flipping the MACBA gap into the road a decade ago.

While he is looking poised during his warm-ups runs, he may struggle to keep pace with the specialists who can really blast here.

On an almost parallel track to Gui comes Japan’s Yurin Fujii, who despite being our 2022 Women’s Vert World Champion, has not hitherto entered a Park contest on the WST.

Can she battle through the stacked Japanese team to lock in a spot?

That is no less of a task than faces Gui with the Brazilians: two stories to watch unfold between now and Sunday, there.

France’s Nana Taboulet, who made her first-ever WST finals here last year is already better than she was then, going hardest in the paint out of all the girls in her practice group currently, while the ‘Who Dat?’ award goes to 11-year old Max Ku from Chinese Taipei, who skates like someone twice his age already.

I addition to all the 164 skateboarders who will have to fight their way into the quarterfinals, tonight also saw the practice debuts for the 16 pre-seeded rippers who begin their contest in the quarterfinals but began getting warmed up here tonight.

As MC David Luther noted, the arrival of these elite talents kicks the whole thing up another level because even though it is only practice, the overall power and energy begins to suggest what lies ahead come the weekend.

Be sure to pour yourself something cold and join us then.

Meantime, we will keep you posted on all the comings and goings here!