By: Carys Wee

Ever since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, about 200,000 Australian women have begun skateboarding and surfing. Many people support the idea that women should be playing sports.

A 17-year-old from Gippsland named Ella Smit said she fell in love with skateboarding after watching the 14-year-old British skateboarder, Sky Brown. Sky brown is an example to many girls showing that girls can do what guys can do and to never give up on your dream.

“I watched her during the Olympics and thought she was really cool,” Ella said. Her mom, Gabby Smit, is supportive of her daughter. She believes it is important to encourage girls to play male-dominated sports.

Bernard Griffiths is president of the Victorian Skateboarding Association and wants to boost youth participation in sports. “It’s great for young people and girls to have role models out there,” he said. The association ran programs during the pandemic that motivated girls to join.

Kieren Perkins is the chief executive of the Australian Sports Commission that wants to improve sports for many people. Perkins says that “Adults are participating in more activities than they did two years ago, and while men and boys are driving the return to clubs, women continue to be physically active more often.”

It is important to make sure that women can participate in sports, so they can follow their dream.

Source: Girls surfing new wave of sports _ KidsNews.pdf