Mamelodi skatepark project offers hope and opportunity

Founder of the Mamelodi skate club Poelo Mofolo, who grew up in a children’s home, says building a skatepark is not just about getting local skaters from the township to the Olympics, but about what the sport can do for the youth and community.

“I learnt to skate with an old skateboard and got really good. Then I got sponsored by local skateboarding brands, got free clothes and free shoes and became an ambassador for the shop.

“For me a kid who was living in a room with 20 others, and all of a sudden, I was being flown to Durban and got to choose my own clothes, it changed my outlook on life. It’s not just about the skateboarding skills, it’s about what skateboarding could do for me,” he said.

Skating lessons leaving positive impact

His passion for skateboarding quickly turned into skating lessons leaving a positive impact on the children of Mamelodi.

Mofolo said his dream was for local skaters to train and qualify for the next Olympics.

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“I love feeling free and skateboarding makes me feel like I can fly. I have fallen too many times and I will fall again tomorrow. Failure in skateboarding builds you up as a young person because life has challenges like skateboarding.

“Getting up and falling again and trying again and pushing yourself, that’s what I love about skateboarding,” he said.

Struggle to develop the skatepark

Yesterday, Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson and City of Tshwane’s MMC of human settlements Ofentse Madzebatela visited Mams Skate Club, under Tateni Community Care, which struggled in recent years to develop the skatepark on a property next to the Mamelodi East police station.

Macpherson said Mofolo contacted him on Instagram with a great idea and asked for help.

“We want to use public access for public good and then I found out they already had funding for all of this. It’s a simple process to hand this land over and just requires a few signatures.”

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Macpherson said this was an example how working together could turn problems into a promise of hope.

Dream to represent SA in Olympics

Mams Skate Club member Josh Beukes said his biggest dream was to represent South Africa as a skateboarder in the Olympics.

“It would be my third attempt, I tried for Tokyo and Paris. For Paris, I came really close, I was ranked third in Africa, but you have to be first to go to the Olympics. Only the top-ranked get to go,” he explained.

Beukes said he loved skateboarding because it gave him a feeling of freedom. He participated in two world championships, in 2022 and last year.

“I still get butterflies, I love that feeling,” he said.

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Beukes said he never thought skating in South Africa or even Mamelodi would unite so many people.

“That’s why I love skateboarding, it shows you that you can make the impossible possible. You might think a trick is impossible to do until you put in some time and persevere and practise.”

Residents complain about traffic lights

During the oversight visit, a group of angry residents gathered to complain about the traffic lights not working for four years.

One man who was washing cars a field said it was unfair that the city or the department wanted to remove them.

“This is our business now, we have been washing cars here for almost four years. If they take us away, they take away our income,” he said.

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Residents also complained about illegal dumping and expressed concern that a skatepark would replace the informal soccer field.

Members of Mams Skate Club hope to get the land transferred and complete the skatepark by the end of the year.