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Skateboarding in Ja will survive – Foster

Published:Saturday | April 4, 2020 | 12:18 AMDaniel Wheeler/Gleaner Writer
Foster
Foster

Although Jamaica’s venture into Skateboarding has been put on pause because of the coronavirus pandemic, Jamaica Skateboarding Federation (JSF) president Ryan Foster says that the body is still financially sound in its pursuit for an Olympic berth when the qualification events resume.

The sport will make its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games, which has since been postponed to July 23, 2021. The crisis also led to the postponement of all qualifying events. Despite the lack of options for additional support in the present climate, Foster says that the JSF is still in good stead for the qualification events.

“It’s a little bit difficult to even get funding now with all that is happening. However, we are very fortunate that we do have funding for these Olympic qualifications,” Foster said.

“We would have gotten funding via the Olympic solidarity programme to participate in these qualifiers, as well as training sessions.

Tafari Whitter, Andre Beverley, and Jafin Garvey are the three representatives US-based who are competing for those places. Foster says that they were contacted and confirmed that they are doing well. While he believes that the period will be beneficial for additional preparation, Foster says that the training will be limited because of the restrictions in place.

“Yes, they have more time but time is relative given the fact that they cannot train right now and there is no competition for them to sharpen their skill,” he said. “Unlike other sports, they have to be training in the skate parks that are made available within the respective states that they now reside in.”

Foster does see positives in the Olympic postponement as he believes that it will allow the JSF to explore new talent, as well as being able to expose more persons to the sport locally.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com