But some still have ideas on how to break the monotony, even in extreme sports, and make it more attractive for both rookie skaters and spectators.

“It is the first international contest that covers only one particular aspect of skateboarding – manual tricks. These are tricks when a skater is balancing on the board while riding on either the two front or rear wheels. The best thing about these tricks is that there are an infinite set of them and only the skater's imagination can limit the variety of manual combinations. That's why this event differs from others,” Vitaly Kotov, the tournament’s organizer, said.

The first contest took place in New York under the Brooklyn Bridge in 2007. Since then, this discipline in skateboarding has become very popular. And this year, 25 countries will choose their best non-professional riders to take part in the final that will kick off in the “city that never sleeps” in August.

Russia is among these countries, and Moscow is the first city where skaters are battling hard to book a place in the final.

There will be five qualifying rounds in five cities, and the final will be held in St. Petersburg, which will certainly make it the place to be for all fans.

“It would be extremely hard for our riders to compete in New York because skateboarding in Russia is only just on the rise, but I really hope that during these qualifying rounds we will find a rider who will be able to perform well in the final. And there are lots of young riders who can become stars in the future, if they work hard,” Kotov added.

“I'm eleven years old and I've been skating for six years. For me, skateboarding has already become my job, because I skate for a team and I have a sponsor, but I still love doing it, and meeting my friends,” skateboarder Anton Bazhinov said.

The organizers are sure there are a lot of good skaters up and down the country, and this is just one of the tournaments that will help to find them, such as winner Dmitry Gordinskiy.

“I'm very happy to win. Actually, I didn't even dream of getting to the final. I was happy just to take part in this contest, because it seemed most of my opponents skate better than me,” he said.

There weren't as many great manual combos and jaw-dropping tricks as everyone had expected, but the Moscow tournament is just the beginning. In June, technical skating will be seen at its very best in the final in St. Petersburg.