Red Bull Bowl Rippers Is Taking Over Marseille Again

Marseille is about to get very loud.

From August 27–30, the legendary Bowl du Prado will once again become the center of the skateboarding universe as Red Bull Bowl Rippers brings some of the best bowl skaters on the planet to the south of France.

And yes, DOSE has been invited, so we'll be there to see what happens.

Which is probably a good thing, because this is not exactly an event you want to watch from your phone.

The Bowl Is Ready

If you've never seen Bowl du Prado properly attacked, it's worth understanding what makes this event different.

This isn't a flatground contest where everyone gets a few seconds to throw down tricks in front of some judges.

It's a bowl.

Speed matters.

Lines matter.

Style matters.

And eventually somebody is going to go much higher than seems necessary.

The competition format is built around 45-second individual runs before the riders move into jam sessions, with the jams making up the majority of the final score. Riders are judged on things including bowl use, technical difficulty, risk, amplitude and style.

In other words:

Don't just do tricks. Actually skate the thing.

And The Lineup Is Stupidly Good

The men's field includes some very serious names.

Double Olympic champion Keegan Palmer is coming back.

So is 2024 Olympic silver medallist Tom Schaar.

There's also Cory Juneau, Gavin Bottger, Luiz Francisco, Kieran Woolley, Alessandro Mazzara, Vincent Matheron, Danny León and a whole list of riders who have spent an unreasonable amount of their lives going very fast around bowls.

Danny León will also be defending his 2023 Bowl Rippers title.

And then there's the women's field.

Sakura Yosozumi.

Naia Laso.

Julia Benedetti.

Ruby Lilley.

Bryce Wettstein.

Yndiara Asp.

Plus a strong French presence with Madeleine Larcheron, Nana Taboulet and Émilie Alexandre.

Basically, if you enjoy watching people make skateboarding look considerably easier than it actually is, you're going to have a good weekend.

Three Days. One Bowl. A Lot Of Speed.

The event kicks off with an amateur contest on Friday, giving 30 Marseille-area skaters the chance to fight for six spots in the pro competition.

Saturday is for the men's professional qualifiers.

Sunday is where things get serious, with the women's and men's semifinals followed by the finals.

And because this is Marseille in late August, we're guessing nobody is going to be complaining about the weather.

The event is free and open to the public, so if you're anywhere near Marseille, there isn't really an excuse not to go watch it.

Why Bowl Rippers Is Actually Fun To Watch

Skate contests can sometimes be difficult to get excited about if you don't care about rankings.

Bowl Rippers is different.

A good bowl session is easy to understand.

Someone gets speed.

Someone goes higher.

Someone finds a ridiculous line.

Someone nearly flies out of the bowl.

Everyone loses their mind.

Then someone else tries to top it.

That's basically the entire sport.

And that's exactly why Bowl skating still feels so good to watch.

There's less waiting around for the perfect setup.

The bowl is right there.

The riders are moving.

And when someone commits to a huge line, you know immediately whether it's going to end beautifully or horribly.

Sometimes both.

DOSE Is Going To Marseille

We're especially looking forward to this one because we'll be there.

So expect photos, footage, interviews and whatever else happens when you put a bunch of skaters, cameras and one of the world's most famous bowls in the same place.

The event runs through the weekend, with the finals on Sunday, August 30.

And if you can't make it to Marseille, the finals will also be streamed through Red Bull's channels and other broadcast partners.

For everyone else:

See you at the bowl.

Bring sunscreen.

It's going to be a good one.

Not sure what you're getting yourself into? Watch our coverage from the last Bowl Rippers: