The three-day mobile Germaican Skate Tour ended on Sunday on Water Lane in the Kingston Creative car park in downtown Kingston on a successful note, with children from all across the Corporate Area and neighbouring parishes, as well as adults getting a taste of the sport of skateboarding, while many others viewed demonstrations from the Eduskateme team of accomplished skaters.
Many of the children who showed up came from the communities of the nearby Southside, Waltham Park, Trench Town, Tivoli Gardens and other innercity communities.
The Germaican Skate Tour was organised by the Jamaica Skate Culture Foundation (JSCF) headed by Remy Walter, with financing from the German Embassy, while the French Embassy funded the manufacturer of the mobile skate park. The other main partner, the University of Technology(UTech) has been home to the mobile park since August. UTech is also home to the only skateboard club in the Corporate Area.
The German ambassador, Jan Hendrik van Thiel, attended Sunday’s final day as well as last Friday’s opening session, and was seen on the skateboard on both days. He was glowing in his support for the event.
“It’s a wonderful project in many respects. First of all, because it’s for the kids. It’s kids from areas that don’t have so much opportunity to express themselves, and skateboarding is something that is international. It’s French, it’s German, it’s whatever country you name; but it’s not yet enough Jamaican. You have Jamaican skateboarders, but you don’t have enough. It’s a universal thing like art is a universal thing. It’s now an Olympic sport, so this gives a chance to young Jamaicans from areas which are not advantaged, perhaps disadvantaged even, to be part of the big family of skateboarders worldwide.
“It’s just wonderful. I came on Friday because I wanted to not only have the official speeches and so on, I wanted to be in contact with the kids. I got a teacher who is 50 years younger than me, he showed me a few tricks and it was fantastic. I saw the kids, how they were drawing their stuff, how they were skating, it was great fun. I really loved it, and it really convinced me that we have done the right thing in supporting this project,” Ambassador van Thiel said.
Two of the Eduskateme team members gave insights into their love for the sport. Twelve-year old Jiaquan Dillon, who has been skateboarding for the past four years, said “skateboarding, from my perspective, is more than a sport; it’s like a hobby.”
He also described how it felt to be on the skateboard, “feeling the wind blowing on my skin, knowing that I can do the impossible” was great. He would definitely encourage others to take up the sport “because it’s a good sport for young children”.
FUTURE PLANS
Thirteen-year old Ramese Wright has been on the skate board for five years and sees it as a lifeline. He is looking to go all the way to the Olympics as a skate boarder.
“My skateboarding is about fun, being happy. I promise I will go to the Olympics,” Wright said.
He listed some of the tricks he practises and displayed during the Germaican Skate Tour, “some tricks like an Ollie, kick flip, heel flip, 50-50, 5-0, all of those tricks in the book.”
French Ambassador Marianne Ziss spoke about her country’s support for the Jamaica Skate Culture Foundation and the sport.
“The reason why we support Jamaica’s Skate Culture is that in 2024, Paris hosted the Olympic Games and we decided that skateboard should be an Olympic sport. So, we wanted to follow up on that and we wanted to maintain the Olympic spirit, so we funded Jamaica’s Skate Culture. We supported them with the creation of a mobile skate park, and also we funded the training of 15 coaches.”
The JSCF’s Walter indicated that the Germaican Skate Tour is scheduled for Portmore, Ocho Rios, Mandeville, Montego Bay and Negril in 2026.
“So the Germaican Skate Tour is gonna depend also on the budget that we could get from Germany. They’re still waiting for the motherland to say how much can be given but the German ambassador has been a real supporter since day one. He’s also a skateboarder, so we’re in good hands,” said Walter.
The Jamaica Skate Culture Foundation was founded in 2020. It is a registered charity. It seeks to use skateboarding and urban culture as tools for youth development, education, inclusion, and violence prevention.
