Get your jam on for Fife skate competition

The annual competition attracts hundreds of entrants and spectators. Pics by FPA

Young people from around Kirkcaldy are adding the finishing touches to this year's Bevy Jam, the annual skate competition they have organised for the past five years.

And this year’s event, on August 5 at the Beveridge Park skatepark, promises to have even more of a competitive edge to it, with a group of teenagers and young people from Ingolstadt in Germany set to take part.

They will take part in many of the different categories as well as DJ-ing at the event which promises to be a big attraction.

This will be the 15th anniversary of the competition which started up as part of the Beveridge Park Festival.

When it finished the youngsters decided they wanted to keep the competition going and began to organise it for themselves.

Tessa Sim (27), a youth worker with Kirkcaldy YMCA, has helped with the organisation.

“As well as putting together the programme, doing the publicity and organising it all the young people working together as The Crew at the YMCA have done a lot of fundraising to make the event possible,” she explained.

“They’ve joined up with the YM’s music group to put on a gig in the YM tonight (Thursday) to raise money for the event.”

In addition members of the Auld Kirk Collective, a group which organises gigs and fundraising for local events, hosted a fundraising event in the Wheatsheaf pub in Kirkcaldy recently featuring appearances from Big Cloud and The Ghost Train, which raised over £400 for the skate jam.

Another donation has come from the family of the late Shaun Lindberg, one of the original group which helped set up the event 15 years ago.

“He was a well-known figure at the skate park and when he died his friends and family clubbed together to buy a bench which was installed at the skatepark in his memory.

“The rest of the money has been donated to this year’s competition.”

The youngsters are hoping to get permission to re-spray the ramps in time for the event to make it look better.

Tessa added: “This year’s programme will be a bit different following feedback from those who took part last year who said there’s a lot of waiting about between the various categories.

“Local bands will perform and people will be able to have a free skate while they wait. There will also be DJ sessions.”

Anyone wanting to take part in the skating, skateboarding, BMX or scooter sessions can register from 11am on the day, with the event starting at noon. They can also register in advance through Kirkcaldy YM’s Facebook page.