Skate girl power

Seeing a girl skateboarding used to be a rare sight.

However, since its opening in July 2009, Singapore’s state-of-the-art Xtreme Skate Park @ East Coast has encouraged more female youths to take up skateboarding.

While some might find skateboarding a dangerous sport, the girls are definitely not daunted. "If you are scared to fall, don’t skate," said 16-year-old Tracy Loh.

The reason these girls picked the sport is unanimous - the exhilaration and thrill of it.

Tracy said: "I started skating in July and I picked it up as an after-school hobby."

For a beginner, Tracy is already skating down tall ramps together with other male skaters who are more experienced in the sport.

She says she prefers the *SCAPE Skate Park as it is more suited for beginners.

The female skaters we spoke to said that they did not feel intimidated by men in this male-dominated sport. Instead, they found the male skaters to be very supportive and encouraging - they were always helping them out and teaching them new tricks.

"I feel special being one of the few girls among the skaters as the guys tend to be more considerate," said Margarita Seah, 14.

You wonder if vanity and looking good while doing the sport is an issue for these girls. But these girls do not mind getting down and dirty even if it means breaking a nail or two.

Another female skater, Fatin Afiqah, 14 said: "We're just keeping it real. We're passionate about the sport and we don't care how bad we look."

Text by Nicholas Wong and Stephen Vergara of Republic Polytechnic
Photos by Wan Nur Fadhillah
This is a final-year project by Republic Polytechnic students in conjunction with AsiaOne.

See also:
» Video: Daredevils defy gravity on skates