KIMBERLEY. – A lot of us will be scared to travel around the world alone at the age of 15, but for the skateboarder Boipelo Awuah this is a chance to live her dream.
Awuah is currently a student at Northern Cape High School in Kimberley. It all started when her brother, who also loved to skate, took het to the local skateboard park in Kimberley. “We were close. What he did, I wanted to do.”
She tells that he was protective over his lttle sister and did not want her to skate. She was only five years old when she took his skateboard and skateboarded for the first time in her mother’s house. It was love at first sight for Awuah and skateboarding.
Young enthusiastic skateboarder
“I immediately fell in love with skateboarding,” the young enthusiastic skateboarder answered when she was asked how it all started.
Her mom was the one who allowed her to go to the local park to skateboard when she was seven years old. That’s when Awuah took skateboarding serious. She participated in every competition she could. She talks with passion and joy when she tells of all the things she has achieved.
“The Kumba Skate Plaza held a Kimberley Diamond Cup competition which I participated in. After that it was nationals and then internationals. Skateboarders form all over came to these competitions. When I was only nine years old I achieved second place in nationals and then 11th place during internationals.”
Off to Italy
After that Awuah was off to Italy. Last month she participated in the World Championships in Italy and qualified to go to the Olympics in Tokyo. She started out as a local Kimberley girl with a dream and is now travelling the world. Awuah started packing yesterday and will be off for Johannesburg tomorrow. From there she will be leaving for Tokyo on Saturday. She will be returning at the end of the month.
Although she achieved so much at an early age she is not done with her dreams. Her big dream is to be a profesional international skateboarder in five years.
“I want to be one of the best.”
