A balance of thought and action

The ‘Third Eye Tour: International Skateboarding Competition and Tour’ that kick-started in the City during the weekend, not only attracted children as young as five, but older folks as well, who walked in with their skate boards to participate in the day-long event.

The tour is a celebration of the concrete skate spots and culture in the country.It is the first international skateboarding competition and tour across India, which has drawn 25 international skateboarders from Europe and Asia. 

The eight-day tour will now continue in Hampi and Goa. The idea behind hostingsuch a tour is to enable the skateboarding culture to infiltrate the youth and inspire an enthusiasm for the movement.

It also provides a platform for young Indian skaters to showcase their talent and allows all skaters from India to gather in one place and exchange their views. 

Talking more about the event, Nick Smith, a trainer and someone who has been skating for the last 36 years said, “Skating, as a culture, is pretty slow to take off in India but I think a lot of people are getting drawn to the sport. 

We have seen six-year-olds and 50-year-olds enrolling for this event. It’s a good beginning.”
 Sharing his experience of skating, Nick reasoned, “You have to have a strong will and strike a balance between your mind and body. You may hurt yourself and injuries are common but it’s all a part of the sport.”    

The day-long event saw a series of events knit around skating such as skate jams, competitions and workshops.

 The winners at the jams will be decided, based on the tricks, rather than the standard winner and runner-up format. 

“At the event, we’re encouraging each skater by rewarding them for the tricks they perform as opposed to rewarding just the top three. This system ensures no participant leaves empty-handed,” explained Varun, the organiser of the event in the City. 

The participants were given a chance to showcase their own moves and tricks rather than stick to a certain format. This encouraged a lot more participation and indirectly inspired people to showcase their talent. 

Srujana, a professional, who has been sending her five and a half-year-old son for skate board training and practice, said she has noticed a significant difference in his behaviour and thinking, “I’ve noticed that he has better balance in thought and action. This sport also inculcates a sense of humility and humbleness,” she explained. 

Manasa, who is pursuing her Chartered Accountancy (CA) said, people ask her how she manages to excel in skateboarding.

 “I practise on weekends whenever I get the time, in between my CA and regular classes. My parents don’t really like me doing this but I am excited about the sport and don’t want to let the passion die,” she said. 

She added, “I couldn’t skate for the last two years because of an injury from skating but now I am back to it.” 

After the Bangalore event, the 45-odd participants will head to Hampi and congregate for the final round in Goa.