“People that Drink”: Judged Unfairly Despite Olympic Status, Skateboarding Enthusiasts Break Silence on Bias Towards the Sport

Skateboarding is a popular sport among youngsters and has the status of an Olympic sport in the last Tokyo Olympics. The sport is provisionally approved by the International Olympic Committee for next year’s Paris Olympics. Despite such a positive development the sport suffers from bias by the community.

Recently, in Auckland, the high court ordered allowing the building of a skate park in Tairua Coromandel after thirty years of long battle. The building of the skate park was challenged by the bach owners who gave potential noise, potential anti-social behavior, and sanitation fears. The skateboarding enthusiast spoke out after the court’s order and opened up about the bias the sport faces.

Baised community towards skateboarding

The youngsters in Auckland are adopting skateboarding sport in large numbers and many of them are pursuing it keeping in mind the Olympics. For instance, take the case of Jessica Ready a 13-year-old street-style skateboarder from Auckland who holds a national skateboarding title and has eyes on the 2028 Olympics. Her mentor is  Amber Clyde who runs a skateboarding school for girls and her goal is to introduce skateboarding to everyone and change the perception about the sport among the masses.

According to the Stuff speaking on the perception of society, Clyde said, “There are little girls that wear tutu dresses who absolutely shred, and not a bunch of tatted up people that drink and do drugs”. Skateboarding is considered by many a sport of the section of society who do not contribute positively to society and are a source of trouble in it. But, Skateboarding has come a long way and is one of the growing sports among kids with world-level championships being held everywhere.

It is an Olympic sport and not a sport to pass your time as was the case earlier. Kids who pursue it have a vision of appearing in the Olympics which requires funding that will be only possible if society changes its looks towards the sport and contributes to helping the young generation in achieving their dreams.

Funding barriers for young skateboarders

Skateboarding requires the bare minimum equipment to perform but participation in its competitions is a costly affair that many cannot afford. After the introduction of the sport in the last Olympics the government has provided funds to the New Zealand Skateboard Board to promote and finance the sport where required. But, here is a fix, they need results before they release money but actually the other way around is the feasible thought.

Read More: “Olympic Gold Medalist in the Making”: Despite Failing Multiple Times, 6-Year-Old’s Skateboarding Skills Leaves Fans Shell-Shocked

So, the option left with the Olympic aspirants is community funding or self-funding. Self funding or we can say parental funding is not available to the majority therefore they have to rely on the former option. Therefore a positive perception of the sport is required in order to achieve good contribution from the community.

Skateboarding has come a long way and is adopted, played, and popular among the young generation. The induction of the sport in the Olympics gives it a boost and vision to its aspirants and a reason to pursue the sport seriously. Hence, society’s positive perception shall ease the difficulty and promote a sense of community among the aspirants.

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