A parking lot behind the Westside Community Center in West Chester filled with ramps, rails and a spray-painted old Pontiac on Oct. 17, as skaters ranging from age 5 to 55 rolled through the 26th year of the Philly Am skating competition. Among them was 12-year-old Bowie Neylon, who won first place in both the Grom and Women's divisions, and 53-year-old Ronnie Gordon, who judged, volunteered and competed in the over-30 division on the same day.
A Contest Spanning Generations
The event, organized by Jon Crans, is held biannually and drew competitors from as far away as Wisconsin, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Divisions included Grom under 13, Intermediate, Advanced, Women's, Sponsored and over 30, giving beginners and veterans alike a lane to compete in. Crans said he believes the skateboarding community brings people together across ages and backgrounds, and that the event aims to positively influence skateboarding across skill levels and age groups.
Neylon, who competed in both the Grom and Women's divisions, was one of only two girls competing that day. Her mother, Kiersten Rogenmuser, said Bowie began showing interest in skateboarding at age five. The results placed Neylon among a field of competitors that the Inquirer's reporting says has, over the past 25 years, propelled some local skaters into professional competitions and sponsorships.
Veterans Who Keep Coming Back
Ethan Todt won the Sponsored competition, taking home the $500 prize and a pair of New Balance shoes. Todt has attended the event for about 10 years, a run that mirrors the contest's own history — the Inquirer notes Gordon gives skateboarding lessons to local children in addition to competing and judging. Philly Am organizers and volunteers hope their work keeps skaters safe, out of trouble, and sustains skateboarding culture, per the same account.
Crans also said he supports local skate shops including Rad World, Kinetic, Nocturnal and Homebase Skateshop, tying the contest to a broader network of businesses serving the region's skaters. Philly-based photographer and amateur skater Lydia Willig was also present, according to the Inquirer's reporting.
Roots in a Changing Philly Skate Scene
Philadelphia was a skateboarding center in the 1980s and 1990s, with LOVE Park and Center City serving as hubs, the Inquirer reports. The city's skate scene has endured friction with regulators since then, but it has remained a bustling center for the sport, according to 34th Street Magazine. In response to restrictions, skaters launched grassroots efforts to build cultural hubs, including DIY skateparks and skate shops — among them FDR Skatepark, which began in 1994 and has become known as the largest DIY skatepark in the world, 34th Street notes.
That same do-it-yourself spirit shows up in smaller community-building efforts around the city. Together Skateboarding, for instance, sponsors nine local skaters and was founded in part to build community around its coffee shop and skate store, according to 34th Street. Philly Am, organized by ThreeSixteen Skateboarding since 2000, fits into that same lineage: the group says it runs at least two top-tier contests a year across the Northeast, using a jam-style format meant to give skaters of all levels a fun, competitive outing, according to three16.com.
What the Contest Looked Like on the Ground
A listing for the 2026 contest posted on Concrete Disciples set the Oct. 17 date and the 415 W. Washington St. address in West Chester, and advertised the $500 first-place cash prize along with New Balance Numeric skate shoes for the top three finishers in each division. Judges were instructed to weigh consistency of skating, style, use of the course and trick ability, the listing states. Those criteria played out across the ramps and rails packed into the Westside Community Center lot, where young Groms and over-30 veterans shared the same makeshift course — including that spray-painted Pontiac — on their way through another year of a contest now well into its third decade.
