The World Skateboarding Tour (WST) forms a vital part of the ‘Road to Paris’ for park and street skateboarders looking to compete at the Olympic Games, and the WST Dubai Park 2024 stop will mark a critical stage on that journey.

The event will be the last chance for skaters to accrue points towards their Olympic World Skate Ranking (OWSR) before a cut is made – using those rankings – ahead of the second phase of qualification, the Olympic Qualifying Series (OQS).

The OQS is a two-part competition series in Shanghai (16-19 May) and Budapest (20-23 June) and will be the settings to determine the final fields for Paris 2024.

The 44 highest-placed eligible athletes per gender in the OWSR after Dubai will be invited to the OQS respecting the following principles:

• No more than six athletes per country per gender per event (respecting the order of the OWSR)
• At least one highest-placed athlete from each continent for the representation of all continents
• At least one highest-placed athlete who is a national of the Olympic Games 2024 host country, France
• At least one highest-placed eligible athlete who is a national of the OQS host country (People’s Republic of China and Hungary)
• At least one Universality places eligible athletes

Therefore, the stakes for entering Dubai are high, with spots in the next qualification stage.

Read on to learn more about the schedule, which skaters to watch, and how you can see all the action live.

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WST Dubai Park: Newly minted world champions Gavin Bottger and Hiraki Kokona lead the way; no Sky Brown

With OQS spots on the line and Paris 2024 in the wings, Dubai will be a crucial junction for all hungry park skateboarders looking to make a statement and gain valuable OWSR points.

Among those set to lead the charge at Dubai Harbour will be the newly crowned champions Hiraki Cocona and Gavin Bottger.

Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Cocona has been a sure but steady force in the women’s park event ever since the road to Paris began. The Japanese will be the favorite to top the podium again in the UAE, not least with Sky Brown opting out of the contest to pursue a quota spot for Great Britain at the ISA World Surfing Games 2024 in Puerto Rico.

The 15-year-old, though dominant, won’t be the only skater looking for the top prize. Fellow teen and world runner-up Hinano Kusaki will also be in the hunt with United States’ Minna Stess, Brazil’s Raicca Ventura, and Australian young gun Ruby Trew.

If the World Championships in Rome were anything to go by, the men’s competition in Dubai would deliver something equally as unique.

On an electric evening on the Roman coast, 16-year-old Bottger clinched gold ahead of Brazil’s Luigi Cini and fellow friend and countryman Tate Carew in the World Championship final. All three will indeed be looking for back-to-back successes in Dubai.

Among those specific to try and muscle in on the podium will be Tokyo 2020 Olympic medallists Keegan Palmer, Jagger Eaton, and Pedro Barros, who all missed out back in Rome.

It’ll be two contests not to miss.

How to watch Dubai Park 2024 live on Olympics.com

Livestream coverage of WST Dubai Park 2024 will be available to watch worldwide on the Olympic Channel via Olympics.com. It will begin with the semi-finals on Saturday, 2 March, and include the finals on Sunday, 3 October.

You can find all the latest on your favorite skateboarders, including news, interviews, and updates from Dubai on Olympics.com and the apps for mobile and connected TV devices.