Beginners on board and in the bowl

ARE you looking to become Australia’s next Olympic skateboarder, but need a little more practice at the park first?

A series of free, beginner friendly skateboarding lessons at Eaglehawk Skatepark could help you get there.

The All Aboard Skateboarding Sessions run by YMCA are scheduled for Saturday, 21 and 28 August from 10am – 12pm, and operations director of the YMCA’s action sports team Matthew Brett said they provide an inclusive learning environment for first-time skaters of all ages.

“It’s about getting down to the skate park, including anybody and everybody who wants to give it a shot and really promoting the positives of skateboarding,” he said.

“You don’t have to have any exposure to skateboarding in any way to be able to participate.

“We have very experienced coaches so as far as the skill level, we will incorporate people who are a bit more skilled on the board as well as the people who are literally stepping on the board for the first time.”

Mr Brett said the addition of skateboarding to this year’s Olympics had changed the landscape of the sport and its popularity was booming, particularly among children.

“Skateboarding has been on an upward trajectory for quite some time now and the Olympics definitely skyrocketed that,” he said.

“With the Olympics, people are going out and buying their kids boards and they don’t know what they’re doing, or they don’t know where to start so that’s where we really come in.

“We do start very slowly if we’ve got very inexperienced kids. We’re going to start on the grass, we’re going to teach them the fundamentals so that they can have an enjoyable experience.

“There’s some game-based learnings and they’re going to learn those initial skills, how to step onto the board, how to stand on it correctly, how to step off the board safely, how to fall down if you are going to fall down.

“It’s very inclusive as opposed to some more advanced lessons. It’s really about giving everybody the opportunity to jump on a board and see if they like it and have some fun.”

To register for a session, visit skatepark.ymca.org.au/all-aboard.