AROUND 150 skateboarders packed out a free skate tour event in Poole to showcase their latest skills.

The tour, run in partnership between skate retailers Route One and Etnies, had its final day at the Prevail Skatehouse, Ringwood Road, last week.

The tour, which also took in venues at Hull, Manchester, Nottingham and Stroud, was launched to promote skating and encourage youngsters who might otherwise struggle to get to their local skate parks.

Colette Earley, of Route One Ltd, explained: “In the past we’ve split our teams of UK skateboarders up to visit different parks on the same day.

“This year, because we decided to do a free tour, it enabled all of our skaters to attend every single park together.”

Skaters now have the chance to watch a film of each of the five venues, then vote for their favourite.

“The winning park will receive a £1,000 prize to upgrade their facilities,” said Colette. “All you need to do to vote is visit our facebook page.”

The films were launched online last Friday – with the closing date for votes to be cast set as this Friday, March 7.

Colette said: “We’ve been running free skate events as a company for a few years, but this is the first time we’ve done a tour like this.

“We take along a lot of skate products from our suppliers for competitions and giveaways, and we pay all entrance fees so the kids can skate for free.

“This is a real community project, it is about putting something back into local skate parks.”

Members of the Route One Skate Team and the Etnies Skate Team attended the Poole event, which included demonstrations and best trick jams.

Visit routeone.co.uk to find out more about placing your vote.