Young skaters excel at national competition
Three young skaters from North Beach based skateboarding club, Skate Vision, made their coaches and fellow club members proud when they went to compete at a national skaetboarding competition in Johannesburg and performed excellently in each of their divisions.
YOUNG skaters from Durban-based skateboarding club Skate Vision, based in North Beach, recently took part in the South African Skateboarding Championships held in Johannesburg, at Sandton Morning Glen Mall, at Flow Indoor Skate Park, from Friday, March 15 to Sunday, March 17.
DeLeah Bourne, chairperson for Skate Vision, explained the types of skating and what skateboarding category the club’s young skaters entered. “In skateboarding, you have street skateboarding which is laid out similarly to Durban Skate Park, with stairs and little bumps, and then, there is park skateboarding, which is also called bowl skateboarding, which is more vertical and where the skateboarders get more air. The SA Champs competition was a mix of both – there is a park/bowl section and a street section. Our skaters entered the street section this year.”
Berea Mail caught up with three local skateboarders who competed in the local competition to find out what the major contest was like for them.
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Durban resident Luvo Hobo says he’s been skating for 7–8 years, “I just want to get as good as I possibly can at what I love to do, and I love seeing everybody come to Durban Skate Park over the weekend, skate and have fun the whole day. I skated in the O18 division, and I think I did relatively well considering I got injured just before the competition and I skated with my injury. I came out in fourth place. This was my very first competition, and I want to push as much as I can to improve my skill.”
Twelve-year-old David Palmer is the youngest skateboarder in the club and has been skateboarding for two years. He brought home a silver medal for his club. “This was my fifth competition, and I’m really happy with my performance because I came in at second place in my division – U13. I enjoy seeing my fellow skaters progress when we go to these competitions, and skating is what I love, so I love being a part of something like this. My biggest supporter is my mom, and she was really proud of me when I brought home the silver medal.”
North Beach resident Asiphe Tseek started skateboarding in 2020 during the pandemic and never looked back. “It was a tough competition, but I’m glad I managed to come third place in my division. I’m working and studying so I couldn’t train so much, but thanks to our coach, Bradley Bourne, and our club chairperson, DeLeah, I was able to perform because they encouraged me to do my best. I enjoy skateboarding and coming to Durban Skate Park because I get to be myself, and I get a lot of support from the other skaters. I really want to be a skateboarding coach in the future – I’m passionate about helping young skaters and, especially, young girls. I want to encourage them to keep going.”
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If you’re interested in joining Skate Vision, head over to the club’s Instagram or Facebook pages. “Head over to our social media pages and download our form. You can either be a supporting member, like myself, where you offer your skills, such as photography, filming or admin, or you can be a recreational member where you come and train for fun and fitness, and then we have the athletes who are our professional skaters. Once you have your forms, you need to provide your ID document, and there is a R100 yearly fee,” said DeLeah.
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