25 Jan 2023 | 05:27am IST
The new mini wheels of Goa
Skateboarding debuted at the 2020 Olympics as an Olympic sport. This individualistic sport engages the skateboarder in rigorous physical exercise resulting in a peaceful mental space. This sport has prominently been a part of multiple cities in India. Goan youth are ensuring that this skate culture is bought into the spotlight considering the increase in budding and aspiring skateboarders
Aalokshi Awade
Life on wheels has always been an emotional bonding between its
rider and the wheels. Be that a car or skates. From roller skates to ice
skating, and skiing, skateboarding has notably been the most challenging sport
on wheels. Skateboarding was one of the five sports to debut at the Tokyo 2020
Olympics. It featured two disciplines, street, and park while having separate
competitions for men and women. Narrowing down the types of skateboarding,-
Park skateboarding, Street skateboarding, Vert skating, and Freestyle skating,
skateboarding involves developing a healthy rhythm between mind and body.
Skateboarding was first invented in California in the 1950s. It was created by
the surfers, trying to figure out a way when the tidal waves were low.
Skateboarding has existed among Indian sports for quite some
time in the early 2000s, UK’s Pro Skater Nick Smith built India’s first
skatepark in Goa, which was eventually shut down. Goa has been now trying to
get back in the skateboarding forum creating platforms for aspiring and budding
skateboarders, putting them in the spotlight so that their talent can be
recognized.
Skateboarding is great for burning calories and staying in great
physical shape. It does wear the individual out but strengthens one’s physical
endurance. Skateboarding involves a lot of coordination between your eyes,
legs, feet, and arms. Small injuries, bruises, and scars eventually heal and
fade away but the first kickflips, first drop-ins, and first handrails are
never forgotten. Landing tricks also bring a sense of accomplishment and
confidence.
Skate culture in Goa has been flourishing, since a small skate
park emerged a few years ago, and has now been in the highlights, having
rookies, and pro skateboarders creating bonds with the skateboarding community
and indulging in multiple skateboarding-oriented activities. The community
which started with a small group is now becoming a family for the skateboarders
welcoming participation as well as addressing curiosity developed among the
locals as well as the foreigners visiting Goa. The Panjim-based skatepark is
located in Miramar, near the Youth hostel. The small park has been converted
into a small skatepark with obstacles and transitions, which have been built by
the skateboarders themselves.
Manish Sidhhu has been a skateboarder for approximately eight
years and has skated in different regions of India including Haryana,
Hyderabad, Pune, Bangalore, and Delhi. He recently released India’s first
skate, ‘Sauce’ magazine as a hardcover publication on January 13. The magazine
features everything a skateboarder needs to know along with one kg the most
loved skateboarder in India, Amit Subba, along with the basic warm-ups and the
easy steps involved in building a quarter pipe. The skateboarder, currently based
in Goa says, “Whenever you’re on the skate, there are no limitations. It’s just
you competing with yourself, maintaining the balance.” He also adds, “Skate
culture in India should be considered ambiguous, than stereotyping it to a
bohemian culture, considering the wonders it does to our physical and mental
health. “
Skateboarding at this skatepark has also been encouraged by
parents. Keity Garson, a mother to a nine-year-old Daniella states, “If you’re
going to fall, might as well learn to get back on your feet while you learn
skating.” Keity also describes the overall health benefits, and its effect on
her daughter considering Daniella has been roll-skating as well as learning
skateboarding for five months. Since the nine-year-old has always been an athlete
and constantly exploring different sports activities like horse riding and
skiing, the mother says, “It is important for the younger kids to have a
nutritionally balanced diet, and stay hydrated while skating than with other
sports as the sport makes you perspire more.”
The skatepark has people experimenting with skateboarding with
their ages ranging from a five-year-old kid to a person in their late 40s.
Vellister Rodriguez, an exceptionally good Goan skater, who has discovered
himself through skating describes his journey as ‘an introvert who discovered
confidence and social skills to approach and have a hearty conversation with
people’. The twenty-one-year-old also started taking classes to engage kids in
skateboarding and says, “I want to improve myself in the upcoming years, and
want to see people engaging in skate culture. I just want them to take the
skateboard, and want each one of them to personally try and experience it.”
Konstantin Naumenko, a seventeen-year-old Russian skateboarder
for almost four years has been practicing skateboarding in this skatepark, and
describes the skate culture of Goa as pretty decent, considering the roads are
crusty and rough, which also gives another aspect towards improvement.
The
skate culture in Goa, hence, is flourishing considering multiple aspects which
also address the benefits associated with an individual’s health as well. A
bigger skatepark with proper transitions and obstacles would give a greater
scope for these skaters to flow on their wheels.
