BMX MAKES HISTORY AT THE GARDA ROOKIE FEST 2026

The Garda Rookie Fest 2026 is in the books, and this one made history.

From September 11th to 13th, Go Fast Skatepark hosted the first BMX Freestyle contest ever held on the World Rookie Tour, alongside the skateboard competition that has made Riva del Garda a fixture of the international rookie calendar.

Three days, two disciplines, one park and a new chapter for the World Rookie Tour.

BMX was the headline, and it delivered. Bigger airs, fast lines and fearless riding showed exactly why, after more than twenty years supporting young action sports athletes, the World Rookie Tour was ready to open its doors to two wheels.

“Seeing BMX on the start list of a World Rookie Tour contest is something we had been waiting for. Opening the tour to young riders on two wheels, alongside those on four, is a big step forward for the whole action sports scene.”

– Roberto Borgonovo, owner of FrontOcean BMX Distribution

Saturday afternoon turned Go Fast Skatepark into a full-on action sports show with the Best Trick Contest, open to both skateboard and BMX riders, followed by the BMX Big Air sessions.

Mattia Murroni dominated the skateboard Best Trick Contest, landing a frontside 50-50 flip out on the ramp and a kickflip down the stairs in the street area.

On the BMX side, Davide Bragagna landed a backflip to fakie to win the Grom Best Trick, while Manuel Torello claimed the Rookie Best Trick with a 180 double barspin.

Then it was time to go big: Simone Borgonovo won the BMX Grom Big Air, while Gianluca Righetto went highest in the Rookie category.

Sunday brought the main contests, with two 45-second runs for every rider and the best run counting, putting BMX and skateboard rookies to the test at Go Fast Skatepark.

In BMX Grom, Stefano Aonzo took the win with a run featuring a 360 barspin, manual, x-up, fastplant on the pegs and another 360 barspin. Davide Bragagna secured second place with a table, tuck x-up, crankflip and 540 into flip fakie, while Simone Borgonovo completed the podium with a can-can transfer, one-foot tables and a one-foot tailwhip.

The BMX Rookie contest belonged to Manuel Torello, who linked a 360 tuck, whip, bar-tuck, 360 whip, 180 barspin transfer and a seat grab flair. Morgan Ballabio took second with a barspin, table, x-up, one-foot, tyre tap and barspin transfer, while Filippo Parisi finished third with a toboggan, one-foot, tuck barspin, flair to flat, tailwhip and barspin.

On skateboard, Mattia Murroni set the benchmark with an 87-point winning run, throwing down a backside melon, backside indy transfer, 5-0, frontside disaster, alley-oop, nollie backside disaster and backside disaster revert. Mateo Hochmuth finished second with 70 points, while Francesco Barigazzi completed the Grom podium with 60 points.

In the Skateboard Girls category, Celeste Vassena took the win with 65 points, linking a 5-0, lipslide, backside disaster, smith, feeble, backside melon and blunt fakie.

The Fest wrapped up four days of Garda Rookie Camp, the first World Rookie camp in Italy to bring skateboarders and BMX riders together in the same park.

Coaching, shared sessions and progression led directly into the weekend contest, with several campers moving from training sessions straight onto the start list.

Friday also delivered one of the weekend’s most meaningful moments. Around a dozen participants from Anffas Trentino joined approximately fifteen young riders for an inclusive skateboard deck workshop led by tattoo artist Nino Pasquarella. Same table, same markers, same boards: riders and participants drew, painted and customised decks together, turning skateboard culture into a shared creative space beyond competition.

What made the Garda Rookie Fest special was the mix of riding, progression, community and pure action sports energy that took over Riva del Garda for the whole weekend.

None of it would have been possible without the crew behind it: Red Bull, Black Yeti SSD, Smallwheels ASD, FrontOcean BMX Distribution, TSG, Blue Tomato, Aneema, Front Yard, Moon srl, Go Fast Skatepark, ApT Garda Trentino, Trentino Marketing srl and event partner Modena Skateboard School.

Together, they helped turn the first WRT BMX weekend into one to remember and hopefully just the beginning.