Extreme sports came to Farnham’s Gostrey Meadow at the end of August, inspiring hundreds of young people to abandon their phones and gaming consoles for the afternoon in favour of bikes, skates, scooters and skateboards.

Team Extreme, a team of professional BMX riders and skaters, performed their mini ramp show throughout the afternoon. In between shows they ran free coaching workshops to teach youngsters the basics and some simple tricks in a safe, supervised environment. The event was organised by Farnham Town Council.

“Throughout the afternoon we had hundreds of children and young people watching the shows. We were also able to offer the coaching for free and free transport to and from the venue. All the coaching sessions were fully booked and the youngsters certainly looked like they were having a great time!” says Councillor Kika Mirylees, Lead Member for Tourism and Events at Farnham Town Council.

“Families can find it really tough to keep children and teens entertained over the summer and this year, especially, I know household budgets are tight so hopefully the show gave young people the chance to meet up and hang out together without it costing them a fortune.”

Among the stunts in the show was a backflip on skates with a 360 degree twist and a backflip on a BMX with no hands on the handlebars. “The stunts looked really astounding,” says Councillor Mirylees. “Along with the backflips there were tailwhips – which is where the bike does a full rotation around the front of the bike, leaving the rider only holding onto the handlebars – and flares, grinds, spins and flips which I can’t begin to explain! These were all done at a height, not just at ground level – so, very impressive.”

The show from Team Extreme was the second free event from Farnham Town Council for young people over the summer, following the Extreme Mountain Bike Show earlier in August.