Evie Pritchard, 13, will head to Japan for a World Skate Tour event starting on Nov. 23. The event is her latest step toward the goal of Olympic qualification. (submitted photo)

By Alex Rawnsley

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13-year-old Nanaimo skateboarder Japan-bound for World Skate Tour event

Nov 7, 2025 | 4:04 PM

NANAIMO — A local skateboarder is preparing for a trip across the Pacific, marking her first major steps towards a spot representing Canada at the Olympic Games.

Evie Pritchard, 13, won the Street Open Pro division at Exposure Skate in Encinitas, CA on Sunday, Nov. 2, taking out the competition in just her second visit to the event.

The former national silver medalist won bronze last year at Exposure, which is the world’s largest female-only skateboarding event.

“I think I stepped it up on my tricks a little bit, and that helped me get a better spot,” Evie told NanaimoNewsNOW. “This year, there were a lot of amazing girls who came, they were so good. I was a little more confident this year, I knew what to do a little better and that helped me too.”

Competition over the two days involved a three minute “jam”, where two skaters perform tricks in the skate area, looking to impress the judging panel enough to earn a spot in the final.

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Evie’s performance was more than enough to qualify, where she skated three, one-minute runs to secure gold.

Following the trip back to Nanaimo, attention immediately turned to an opportunity to compete at the World Skate Tour event in Kitakyushu, Japan beginning Nov. 23.

World Skate is the global governing body for sports performed on skating wheels, with disciplines ranging from roller skating and blading, to scooters, skateboards and more.

Points won in competitions help skaters rank, which directly influence Olympic qualification.

After debuting at Tokyo 2020 and continuing at Paris 2024, skateboarding will again be on offer at both Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane, Australia in 2032.

“It’s super exciting to do all these things, but I just try and stay in the moment, practice so I’m ready for it,” Evie said. “I don’t spend all my time thinking about it, just make sure I’m skating enough so that when I get there I’m actually good enough to compete.”

Evie’s goal is to finish in the top half of competitors in Japan.

Evie Pritchard skates regularly in Cedar, as well as other courses across the mid-Island. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Practice time can be difficult to find on Vancouver Island during the fall and winter, and is usually limited to breaks between rain storms when the pavement dries out.

Her mother, Vanessa, will fly with Evie to Japan later this month.

They’re treating the experience as a major learning curve, as well as a tester ahead of potentially more competitions in 2026.

“If Evie does what she does in Japan and she does well, and even just ultimately getting her name on the world ranking list, it does help. Going to this event will be a good experience because just to go to one where the qualifying points aren’t super intense, this is a good trial run in a way for next year.”

Evie will be one of just two females representing Canada in street competition at the event.

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