Benalla scooter rider Mitch Young had a flipping good time at the World Scooter Championships in Sydney.
The 11th Annual World Scooter Championships ran at Wyatt Park from October 19 to 22.
Young arrived a few days earlier to get the best preparation possible.
But with the organisers rushing to build the skate park and bad weather, Young did not have a smooth run into the competition.
“I went to do mine, and I got rained out,” Young said.
“I got a little bit of practice in, but not much.
“I was getting used to the skate park, and I’m not going to lie, I was struggling at the start.
“There was a lot there that I couldn’t figure out like I usually would.
“On Saturday, it kind of came together on the day, which was really good.”
Young said it was hard to focus on practising when you have some of the best riders in the world around you.
“I was in awe quite a bit,” he said.
“There were a couple of practice sessions where I was just standing there, and I didn’t even realise I wasn’t riding.
“I was just watching them all practice because it was unreal.
“They’re all really funny because they’re all from all around the world. A lot of them were trying to do, like, the Australian accents and all that.
“It’s just an unreal experience, just all around amazing.”
As competition day rolled around on Saturday, October 21, the disjointed practice looked to take toll on Young.
“When it came to my actual competition run, I got two runs, and my first one, I messed it up, like, completely,” he said.
“But in my second run, I landed everything, I think, a pitch-perfect run.
“The feeling of just landing everything on that stage was just unreal.
“I know I didn’t win. I didn’t care. I was just over the moon with how I actually rode.
“It was like just so much stress just off my shoulders; I was really worried I was going to do badly, especially after that first run that I had.”
With his solid second run, Young finished tied 28th in the world.
This position did not seal him a place in the final day of competition on Sunday, October 22, but Young said watching the finalists compete was a highlight.
The Benalla rider said he would not have been able to attend the tournament in Sydney if it was not for the support of the Benalla Young Sports Person Trust and Greg and Jolene McNulty.
“The help I got from both of them was just unreal,” he said.
“I didn’t expect it from either of them and it realistically probably made the trip happen.
“I probably wouldn’t have been able to make it if it wasn’t for them.
“I’m just forever grateful to both of them.”
With the international tournament taking place a fair amount of time after the Australian titles, Young is straight back into competition season in November.
His first ride in his journey back to the international stage starts on November 11 with qualifiers for the state championships.