My Inspiration
My uncle’s love for the skateboard is what inspired me to love the board too. Several times, he narrated to me how he used to participate in skateboarding competitions and tournaments since he was a kid. On the contrary dad hated the board which had resulted to a severe injury on his leg when he was a kid practicing with my uncle. This is the reason why he never allows me to go skateboarding. That really sucks, doesn’t it?
Anyway, last summer I was to stay at my uncle’s place for 3 weeks and I looked forward for some skateboarding experience. Therefore once in a while, I would sneak out of home and head to a park in my area which has a vert. Once there, I would practice a little bit with other kids at the place so that I could have some skills once I met with my uncle.
The Holiday
The second day after arriving at my uncles place, he took me to a trail in the neighborhood where bmxers and skateboarders meet. As a matter of fact, Uncle Tom chose to live in the area because of this trail and his devoted enthusiasm to skateboarding. That day we spend a little bit practicing because there was an upcoming tournament that he wanted to participate. We had some great time as he refreshed his old tricks. He told me that the Ollie trick is one of his favorite and we spent a couple of hours as the trained me to do the Ollie.
He was amazed how I was quick to learn and he asked me if I would consider registering to participate in the tournament with other kids. He was quick to add that it would be just for fun even if I didn’t win. Of course this was an offer that I could not turn down. I gladly accepted.
The Tourney
The tournament was held a week later and I had practiced a lot. Although Uncle Tom didn’t expect me to win, I knew that I was going for victory. We arrived at the trail early enough to meet a crowd of other skateboarders and bmxers who had also arrived early and kept coming. They had boards of various colors and sizes and this made me feel nervous. The bmxers too spotted a wide range of different BMX models which had been pimped to make them look quite awesome.
The kids skateboarding race was the first. I was among the first lot and after some warm up, we started skateboarding. I must admit that my experience was amateurish because other kids were doing all sorts of tricks and riding so first that I felt much challenge. Anyhow, I tried all my best to keep up with them and I felt I was doing better. However, I felt that I needed to do better.
I tried the Ollie 360 and the trick came out so well that I had some people clap. This gave me some courage to race more hastily and to go for the flatground switch Ollie. With full force, I tried the trick but I never got to catch my board again because I came crushing down on the ground. I tried to support myself with my hands and got injured on the left. That way, I couldn’t participate again and I left the race.
