Something which you may notice in terms of the evolution of Street FOP design on the World Skateboarding Tour is how the scale of obstacle construction within streetcourses has changed since, by way of example, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The competing dynamics of creating something which allows elite-level skateboarders to express themselves to the frontiers of their ability, versus the desire to also retain elements which can act as developmental features for skateboarders of lesser ability, informs how these spaces are being shaped today.

As Sylvio Az from Rio Ramp Design who alongside California Skateparks have been responsible for re-designing the pre-existing modular park here in Paraguay’s Olympic campus, explains:

“We did a complete remodel. We basically kept the classic rectangular footprint and the quarter pipes on one side, but we expanded the decks to better accommodate the athletes while they wait and to help them generate more speed to hit the larger handrail. We also raised the height of the central platform, where the main handrail and the big hubbas are located to increase the level of difficulty, and we introduced a few new obstacles. Following current trends in skatepark design, we aimed to break away from symmetry and mirrored obstacles, making the course much more creative both aesthetically and in terms of trick possibilities. Basically, we utilised the existing underlying structure and built an entirely new course on top of it, complete with new concrete, new metalwork, and a brand-new design.”

The reason why these designs should ideally try and touch both shores of aspiration and accessibility was articulated by World Skate’s Skateboarding Director Luca Basilico when comparing the differences between Street FOP design between the Tokyo Olympic Games and Paris Olympic Games thus:

“For countries who are developing skateparks right now, and who first encountered skateboarding through competition and the Olympics, they are definitely taking what is being built for the Olympics as, let’s say, ‘the sacred word’. So we have to be careful, because at some point what happens with the Olympics impacts on what kids get to skate around the globe. That’s also the reason why the Street Course in Paris has been shrunk a little in terms of height.”

So what we see in terms of street terrain here in Paraguay is that although this brand-new FOP has the ubiquitous hubba ledges and (9-stair) handrail, there are also long (actually, super-long) flat bars, the lesser-seen kicker over stairs and some chunky A-frame rails, all of which invite trick innovation without being particularly dangerous in-and-of themselves.

This should offer everyone who entered our 2026 Street World Championship the opportunity to give of their best- and in early practice that looked to be the case: 242 skateboarders were registered to ride, of which 155 were male and 87 female, representing 66 different countries.

As you might imagine, that makes for a spread of abilities but the speed with which the calibre of tricks being thrown down increased seemed to suggest that most were finding this new park agreeable to their skating levels. That boded well for Open Qualifiers- and so it proved.

Among those who impressed early on among the Men were Japan’s Rio Yashima, who only joined the Tour in June this year, and India’s Yoshiro ‘Yoshi’ Sarkar who we first saw at the 2025 World Championship in São Paulo; he was unlucky to get wheelbite on his Back Lip last trick but otherwise was going all-in.

Commendable though both those comparative newcomers were, it was only Brazil’s absolute newcomer Sebastian Simonetto who seemed likely to progress from the early heats as a barely-there but nonetheless persistent drizzle gave a stop-start feel to the mid-week selection rounds.

Truth be told, Heat 5 was where the scoring began to open up, as Nyjah Huston demonstrated his clinical contest prowess by striking out from the pack with a 68.12 first run which guaranteed he would progress with ease and leave everyone else chasing that score.

Heat 6 could have served as a metaphor for this World Championship and its significance at this juncture on the World Skateboarding Tour’s Road To LA28: well-established names seemed to know they were on an inflection point in their personal campaigns, while persistent up-and-comers went in with an abandon shaped by capped expectations and opportunistic pluck.

That is why for every Matt Berger and Tommy Fynn- both looking ageless and unflustered by the patchy early weather, it should be said- the top of the leaderboard going into Heat 7 was also peppered with the names of hungry amateurs like Beau Brunclair, Rocco Muller and Yakov Terrell.

Heat 7’s big statement was Jagger Eaton’s opening run, the first to break the 70-point barrier with a faultless masterclass that combined two switch handrail hammers with a Blunt to Frontside Kickflip out on a quarter pipe which not only speaks to his transition ability, but marks him out as the potential man-to-beat here in Paraguay. Even by his own demanding standards, he looked impossibly sharp even with the ankle troubles which have nagged him lately.

All of those top-flight who have found themselves dropping down the running order are understandably keen to get themselves back into the comfort zone of pre-seeding, or at least skating the final heat of pre-qualification, and in that sense you have the story of this crossroads contest playing out days before the podiums are produced.

Men’s final heat saw England’s Joe Hinson coast it with his first run before Yuto Horigome- who had a painful looking bump with Brazil’s Ivan Monteiro right before he skated- decided to make it easy on himself for once, and did everything he needed with his first run just as the sun came out in Paraguay and suddenly we were all sweatymaxxing.

As MC Lucy Adams observed, the percentage of complete runs by this point was much higher as contest veterans boxed clever to get themselves into Quarterfinals without risking too much. Classic examples of handling business in that regard were France’s Max Berguin, who advanced where his usually reliable compatriot Joseph Garbaccio for once could not, and the aforementioned Ivan Monteiro who has such a depth and range of contest experience that he almost always makes it out of this phase. Japan’s Daiki Ikeda was left needing a big second run after he missed the flick on his trademark hard flip on his first, but when he heard his tail crack as he landed his opening Nosebluntslide on the handrail, he knew his Paraguayan adventure was over.

So let’s leave men’s Open Qualifier behind with a tale of two incomplete runs: Gabryel Aguilar had an almost perfect supertech opener which was only broken up by missing the Tailslide Shove-It right at the end and missed the cut by three points, while Gustavo Ribeiro missed the lock on the gap to rail for his ender and squeaked into the cut by less than half a point.

He felt like he was lucky to do so- but in the first instance, it demonstrates that it is still (just about) possible to make it out of Open Qualifications with an incomplete run and so you should never quit- and secondly, it doesn’t matter how you progress because tomorrow is a new day and everything resets. Expect some Eye Of The Tiger action from Gustavo now.

Since we did so for the Men, let’s take a paragraph or two here to acknowledge some of the merging talent in the Women’s field who may not advance here in Paraguay but are still worthy of note and certainly prospects for the coming years.

In Irene Panzavolta, Italy may have someone who can compete at the highest levels: 5-0’s on Hubba ledges and Smithgrinds on legit 9-stair handrails speak for themselves, while Argentina’s Morena Dominguez wins the early heats’ ‘Who Dat?’ Award for putting down everything she landed with the kind of aplomb you can hear.

Younger Terol sister Ivet continues to make waves of her own, while Abbie Burns from the Canary Islands had a super second run including a Kickflip Frontside Boardslide on the A-frame rail which is such a high-risk manoeuvre that few would attempt it.

As with Nyjah in the men’s division, Korea’s Soobeen Park (younger sister of Jibeen) was leading the women’s pack by a mile before things turned up a gear in Heat 4. The Australians demonstrated their skateboarding pedigree in the form of Flic Turner who combined handrail 50-50’s with Crooked Grinds and Lipslides to progress with what seemed like comparative ease for her, and Liv Lovelace who didn’t have just as straightforward a pathway to Quarterfinals- but nonetheless looks like she has been skating forever.

Both of them were a prelude young Cora Wilton, who came in like a wrecking ball with a Frontside Feeble on the handrail and ended up qualifying in first. As she grows in stature and power she will be a formidable force in the world of skateboarding, best believe.

So the weather held for Open Qualification (hurrah!), everything is back on track and we go into Quarterfinals from tomorrow, where the top 32 in each division as listed below link up with the 8 pre-seeded skaters (last WST stop’s podium and the top five highest-ranked on the World Skateboarding Ranking not including those podium people) to really get into it: let the games begin!

*all photos: Raisa Abal