Kathmandu, Jan 16: Ram Krishna Pariyar of Tilottama-4 in Rupandehi district, who previously disliked his son’s passion for skateboarding, has now developed a growing interest in the action sport these days. His keen interest in the sport is attributed to the progress his son (Abhisekh) has recently got in it.
“Nowadays I have also started liking the sport. I don’t have skills in skateboarding as an old man but I am happy to see my son play. I and my spouse are frequenting here every day for three days to watch our son skateboarding,” he says. Ram Krishna was found watching the ‘Fifth South Asian Level Skateboard Competition and Skate Jatra’ organised at the Tilottama Skate Park in Ruppandehi.
Not only Ram Krishna, his wife Arjana follows suit as she likes the sport. “Initially, when our son came home with a skateboard, I was worried that he would take the wrong path. After learning about this game, we also enjoyed it. Now it is fun seeing our son play well,” she shares.
Amar BK of Tilottama-4 is also happy seeing his son progressing in the action sport. His son Sunil, 19, has already won various national and international awards in skateboarding in various countries including India and Thailand. “We think that our son can do well in this game,” BK says.
Yam Bahadur, the 15-year-old son of father Ram Bahadur Kamu and mother Prem Kumari Kamu of Tilottama-4, was among the participants in the competition. Father Ram Bahadur and mother Prem Kumari also seemed happy to see their son playing.
Another player Khusi’s father Madhu BK was also present for three consecutive days to watch his son skateboarding in the competition.
According to the organisers, 5,000 skateboarding fans, be them young, adult and old in age, reached to watch the game.
With the aim of promoting local products, the Skate Jatra was organised at the Skate Park in Tilottama, Rupandehi from December 21 to 23, 2023 targeting children and youth, they said. Nepal won three gold, two silver and three bronze medals in the competition.
In addition to Nepal, 300 players from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan and Maldives participated. Apart from the skating competition, various stalls were also installed in the festival. Next year, the sixth edition will be held in India. The first edition was organised in Kathmandu, the second in Palpa, and the third, fourth and fifth in Rupandehi.
“I had never seen this kind of game played before. It was very fun. Now the government should protect the game with high priority. Nepal can get success in international competitions too,” says Ramesh Ranabhat, one of members of the audience.
Nepal has witnessed progress in the infrastructural development for skateboarding, said Jagrit Pahadi, President of Skate-Aid Nepal, an organisation working for the development and promotion of skateboarding in Nepal, referring to its transition from playing on the streets to the skateboarding park. “In the past, the police did not allow athletes to play on the streets, the parents also took it negatively. But today everybody has been explained about the sport,” he says.
Lately, Nepali skaters have started getting their presence and winning in the skate competitions at different places in India. Some have also made it an income source. Little by little, a positive change has started coming in the way of looking at the skateboarding in Nepal.
Beyond Nepal, Nepali athletes have already taken part in skateboarding competitions in countries such as Japan, UAE, Thailand, India and Indonesia. Notably, Milan Shah Thakuri won the national competition held in Thailand in 2016.
“In the past, we had to play in even areas in Satdobato but now we have started playing in a skateboarding park. Previously, players came from as far as India and other countries to participate in the last competition,” shares Pahadi.
Various organisations have played a role in promoting the sport in Nepal. Notably, Skate-Aid Nepal has been conducting awareness programmes, including handing out materials related to the game, in various schools and campuses for the positivity of the game. Skateboarding is becoming the favorite sport of most of the students and youths studying in schools and campuses.
With the growing interest of Nepali people, skateboarding has now attracted increasing players. The sport, which had in the past experienced a tough time due to stigmatising it with drug addiction, has now been regarded as a game like volleyball and football.
The sport, which is most popular in the United States and European country, is becoming popular too in Nepal especially among the youths.
Historically, towards 1960 in a city of America, skateboarding was considered as a tool. After that, it gradually spread to other countries of the world through European countries.
In Nepal, foreigners introduced the game. In the beginning, the sport was limited to only well-off children before being widely adopted following its proper management in 2011 when a group of skaters was formed.
The group is thanked for having taken initiatives for its development. Later, in 2013, various organisations from the private sector, including ‘Youth For Change’, started working on the protection and promotion of the sport. Now there are around 1,000 active skaters all over Nepal.
With the aim of promoting the sport, the government also formed the Nepal Skating and Skateboarding Association in 2071 BS. The ‘Youth For Change’ has constructed an indoor skate park and resource center in Butwal in a bid to provide information about skateboarding and other sports.
The construction of the resource centre took place in Tilottama-4 in Rupandehi, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, with financial assistances of local and foreign sports lovers, industrialists, businesspersons, academics, politicians, media and artists. Local and foreign skateboarding supporters, including from Nepal, France, Germany, Canada, Spain, Japan, and India provided a helping hand.
The park houses a training centre, a hostel and a programme hall, and a library offering sport training session and other free services for sport lovers from all backgrounds, said the ‘Youth For Change’.
Saying that he had got the opportunity of learning about skateboarding during his foreign visit, Vice Chairperson of the Lumbini Development Trust Lharkyal Lama emphasised the development of the sport in Nepal.
“Due to the inclusion of the game in the Olympics, skateboarding should be promoted not only in Nepal but also in South Asia. It is being promoted well in Japan and European countries.”
Member secretary of the Lumbini Province Sports Development Committee, Gobinda Bhattarai stressed the need for the government at all three levels, federal, province and local to promote and develop the game with priority.
In the context that roller skating has been recognised as a sport in the 2020 Olympics in Japan, he also called for the government to develop and protect the sport with priority as other sports like football, and volleyball.
