SKATEBOARDERS’ NEED: PARK, RESPECT

Enthusiasts of the sport want local government units to give skateboarding the attention it deserves

Asian Games gold medalist skateboarder Margielyn Didal inspires fellow Cebuano skateboarders.

Basta mag-skater, adik man dayon tan-aw nila (People think skateboarders are drug addicts).

MAX DAGDAGAN Skateboard enthusiast

Skateboarders in Cebu hope to have a skate park where they can train following the success of Cebuana skateboarder Margielyn Didal at the Asian Games.

Karl Garcia, who has been skateboarding for a year now, was one of those who aspires to be like Didal.

In an interview, Garcia said they do not have a place where they can practice their sport. Worse, police confiscate their skateboards.

Garcia hopes the government will give skateboarding the attention it deserves.

“We need a skate park so that many skateboarders can improve their skills,” Garcia said in Tagalog.

The Cebu City Government, with the help of a private donor, is planning to build a skate park at the South Road Properties.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said they will also improve the city’s skate park, which skaters from other areas are welcome to use.

This is also what Max Dagdagan, another skateboarder, wants from local government units so Cebu can produce more skilled skateboarders and follow the steps of Didal.

Dagdagan sees Didal as the pride of Cebu’s skateboarding community, not just because she brought skateboarding to Olympic level, but also because she has proven that skateboarders are not drug addicts.

“Basta mag-skater, adik man dayon tan-aw nila (People think skateboarders are drug addicts),” Dagdagan said.

Dagdagan said that a skate park will unite Cebu’s skateboarders.

“Daghan na ka’g makasabay ba (We will be gathered in one place),” said Dagdagan.

Garcia said that skateboarders are happy to see themselves growing in number.

“Unlike sa basketball nga pag nakita ka na magaling, hindi nagpapansinan (Unlike in basketball where there’s jealousy among players),” said Garcia.

Garcia and Dagdagan said skateboarding helps them forget their problems.

They hope to see the day when skateboarding will get the same amount of respect from the public, like what other sports are enjoying, especially now that there is already a gold medalist skateboarder from the country.