Women in Sport: The ‘senior citizen’ who’s pioneered skateboarding in SA

She won’t be at next year’s Olympic Games, and she’s unlikely to become a household name, but for the last two decades Melissa Williams has played a key role in changing the local image of one of the world’s most popular extreme sports.

An activity which has developed its own unique fashion, music and language across the world, skateboarding is a culture within itself.

And as good as Williams has become at it, for her it just started out as something to do.

“There was a ramp at the local park where everyone used to hang out on weekends and after school, so I started skating there when I was 13,” says Williams, who was born and raised in Cape Town.

At first, she admits, she wasn’t very good, but the more she practiced, the better she got.

“When you start skating you can just push around and have fun,” Williams says.

“The tricks can get very advanced but you don’t necessarily have to be advanced straight away to enjoy it, so I was
probably quite average for a long time, but I enjoyed it.”

Even if she wanted to take it more seriously, however, that wouldn’t have been an option in her youth.

It wasn’t until she was in her late 20s that she got a chance to participate in a women’s skating competition for the
first time, and last year she made her competitive debut in her home city when she won the African regional leg of the
Vans Park Series.

“When I started I wanted to skate in contests, but I was the only girl skater I knew, so there wasn’t really room for
that,” she recalls.

“The boys were skating at a higher level than me, so I couldn’t really compete against them.”

With the sport due to be contested at the Olympic Games for the first time in Tokyo next year, Williams hopes the
few opportunities women have received in recent years will be expanded by increasing mainstream interest.

However, while other sports allow athletes to qualify for the Games through African Championships, the skating competition in Tokyo will feature only 20 individuals in each of the men’s and women’s street and park divisions, and there are no continental qualifying opportunities.

And though she has established herself as the country’s top female skater, 34-year-old Williams admits South Africans have a long way to go if they hope to climb the world rankings and challenge for places at major international championships.

Earlier this year, Williams won the Vans Park Series regional contest for the second time with a top run of 72.16, outclassing the rest of the field with compatriot Marie Cavanna taking second place (43.03) and Kelly Murray finishing third (39.78).

Earning a ticket to the Vans Park Series World Championship in the United States last month, she reached the semifinals as the oldest entrant in a competition which was dominated by teenagers, with six girls under the age of 18 finishing among the top 10 in the global final.

“It’s an incredible experience to see skateboarding at such an exceptional level,” Williams says.

“We’re definitely light years away from that.”

While the industry remains relatively small in South Africa, and Williams believes more public skate parks with better facilities will go a long way in attracting people to the sport, she is making an effort of her own to direct young women
towards the fringe code.

On the first Friday of every month Williams hosts a girls’ skate night in Cape Town.

“In a year we’ve seen that community grow from 10 or 15 girls to 50 or 60 girls,” says Williams, who runs her own social media and marketing company.

“We have created a space where they can feel comfortable and we’ve managed to create a community of like-minded
girls who can skate together.

“So there’s definitely been growth and I imagine it can only get bigger.”

Despite being “over the hill” in competitive skateboarding terms, Williams hopes she can continue to make a difference as a pioneer, and she feels she still has a lot to offer.

The Olympics might not be a dream within her reach, but she’s glad to have been around long enough to see women’s
competitive skateboarding being contested at the highest level of international sport.

And all she has ever really wanted, since the days when she pushed a board around the park, is the chance to be able
to skate.

“As you get older it definitely doesn’t get easier on your body, so my goal is to be able to keep pushing myself,” she says.

“I just want to be able to keep skating, and to enjoy it for as long as I can.”

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