Durban girls are skaters too
In a four-part series, Berea Mail will explore how girls from Durban have used skateboarding to change their lives, create new opportunities for themselves and perform foot-plank and grind tricks with effortless elegance.
SKATEBOARDING is a sport that, since its inception, has been predominantly male and perceived as an exclusively male sport. But for girls and women, who have long been excluded from the sport, skateboarding has become popular among women in countries and cities across the world. Women have carved out their place in the skating world by forming organisations that encourage and teach girls how to fine-tune their skills, and creating spaces where girls and women can compete and create skating careers for themselves. In a four-part series, Berea Mail will explore how girls from Durban have used skateboarding to change their lives, create new opportunities for themselves and perform foot-plank and grind tricks with effortless elegance.
NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD South Beach resident Molly Tseeke started skateboarding in 2020 and took to it immediately. “I started skating during lockdown. For the most part, I taught myself how to skate. I live close to Durban Skate Park so I would come every day and just practise. I loved the feeling it gave me – it clears my mind, and it’s the best feeling to start skating and just get better and better.”
Tseeke says that the sport is a great outlet. “Skating keeps my brain healthy, and it’s a fun sport because you get the chance to meet new people and learn new styles and compete at competitions where you can win money and great prizes.”
Shortly after taking an interest in the sport, she joined Girls Skate Durban, to learn how to fine-tune her skills. Girls Skate South Africa is a community organisation operating throughout South Africa with headquarters in the thriving Johannesburg Metropolitan, which were founded in 2015 by Sharne Jacobs. The movement started to reduce the feeling of intimidation encountered by females in the male-dominated industry. Girls Skate hosts events nationwide, providing boards and safety gear at all sessions.
ALSO READ: 2023 karting kicks off on high note
With the help of the organisation, Tseeke started competing in national competitions. “I’ve competed in the Girls Skate South Africa Competition – the one I competed in was held here in Durban. I went to Kimberley for the Kimberly Diamond Cup Skate Competition. I’ve competed in multiple skating competitions at the Ballito Bowl Skate Park – the most recent one was on the January 28 this year, and I came third.”
Bowl skating is a style of skating where skaters use an empty pool-shaped surface to perform tricks. Tseeke says that bowl skating is her favourite style.
The 19-year-old says she hopes to go on to be a professional skater. “My future goals for my skating career are to go the Olympics one day for bowl skating, and I want to teach as many girls as I can to skate.”
ALSO READ: Aweh! Find out what’s popping in Durban this weekend
To people who say girls can’t skate, she says, “People should stop thinking that skating is not a girl’s sport because skating does open opportunities for girls. It is a great hobby and can keep you on the right path in your youth. And there are a lot of benefits that you can get from the sport like travelling and prizes. So I encourage every girl who wants to try skating to give it a go.”
For more from Berea Mail, follow us on Facebook or Twitter. You can also follow us on Instagram.
