The International Olympic Committee (IOC), with support from Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung, has announced its new Let’s Move Street Challenge, a unique online competition inviting BMX, breaking and skateboarding enthusiasts to showcase their best sporting moves and creative talent.
The victors will be crowned Let’s Move Street Challenge winners and receive a special, behind-the-scenes trip to an Olympic Games qualification event for these sports. Submissions are open from 23 September 00:00 CEST to 21 October 24:00 CEST on Olympics.com, where you can already find more details about the competition.
The Let’s Move Street Challenge, supported by Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung, is a new Olympic initiative from the IOC. It is a unique digital competition that challenges people* from all corners of the world to showcase their sporting and creative talent in BMX, breaking and skateboarding. With the vision of being open, accessible and inclusive, and providing inspiration to practise sport, competitors are invited to enter the challenge by submitting a 30-second video of themselves performing their best move.
The Let’s Move Street Challenge 2023 competition categories are:
BMX Awards (Female/Male)
Freestyle Park; Real Street; Dirt
Skateboarding Awards (Female/Male)
Park; Real Street; Street Park
Breaking Awards (Female/Male)
Best Round; Power Moves; Footwork
Creative Awards (Mixed Gender)
Best Produced; Street Culture; Most Surprising
The entries will be scored by a panel of expert judges and influential faces from across the three sports. In addition, sports fans will have the opportunity to vote for their “fan favourite” videos. The first-ever Let’s Move Street Challenge winners will be crowned in November, during a streamed show celebrating the sports, their communities and culture, their athletes and the Let’s Move Street Challenge competitors.
The winners of the judges’ awards will unlock an opportunity to witness up-close BMX, breaking and skateboarding athletes’ road to Paris 2024, at a qualifying event for the Olympic Games. The once-in-a-lifetime trip will be a joint experience for the winners, and will include special access to watch the awe-inspiring competition from some of the world’s best, plus the opportunity to go behind the scenes with the events and their athletes.
The Let’s Move Street Challenge aims to inspire and enable young people to embrace the joy of movement and a more active lifestyle by practising urban sports. It builds on the successes of the IOC’s Let’s Move initiative, launched on Olympic Day 2023 following the World Health Organization’s finding that one in four adults and over 80 per cent of young people do not meet the recommended minimum activity levels needed for optimum health.
Two of the barriers to physical activity most often cited by young people are ability and access. Sports including BMX, breaking and skateboarding are often accessible, inclusive and community driven. Through this competition, the IOC hopes to inspire and enable more young people to move using urban sport.
Speaking about the initiative, Olympic gold medallist in BMX freestyle Charlotte Worthington said: “Taking up BMX totally transformed my life. Mentally, it’s taken me to great places of achievement, community and general happiness in what I do in life. Physically, it made me stronger and proud of what my body can do.”
“I love the concept of the Let’s Move Street Challenge; the three sports – BMX freestyle, breaking and skateboarding – are really creative. Everyone is going to have their own expression on that, and that doesn’t necessarily mean the most difficult trick, or line. It will be fantastic to see a variety of age groups and levels embrace the challenge, getting creative and putting something of themselves out there. That’s going to inspire someone else, it’s going to inspire me, for sure!”
The Let’s Move Street Challenge also celebrates some of the urban sports that have recently been added to the Olympic Games programme, and the communities and culture that surround them. Following the success of Tokyo 2020, BMX freestyle, skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and, for the first time, breaking are set to feature next summer on the Olympic stage.
The Let’s Move Street Challenge, supported by Samsung, is open from 23 September to 21 October. For full details on how to be part of this unique event, visit Olympics.com/street-challenge.
* Please check the competition Rules for any age requirements. Entries from athletes currently competing professionally in BMX freestyle, skateboarding or breaking will not be considered for the awards.
