Kazakhstani skateboarding will receive a new impetus for development
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On April 15, 2022, the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan-Elbasy hosted a conference dedicated to the reforms of domestic skateboarding. The Kazakhstan Federation of Skateboarding held the re-election of the President of the organization and announced their intention to take a new course in the development of this sport and send their athletes to participate in the Olympic Games.
At the moment, the Federation employs: 6 coaches, a full-time national team, which consists of 4 athletes. Branches of the Federation are open in 9 cities of the republic: Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent, Kostanay, Karaganda, Atyrau, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Aktau and Pavlodar.
Local federations – 3 (Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Kostanay)
Accredited bases – 2 (Almaty, Ust-Kamenogorsk)
The ideological inspirer and current President of the Federation Anton Povekvechnov spoke to the guests. He reported on the work done for 5 years.
“I am an athlete, I am a coach. I can tell and show how to perform this or that trick. But leading such an organization and being someone else at the same time is difficult. Creating the Federation, I had to delve into various aspects, study many documents. I guess everyone should mind their own business. The legal part, the accounting part, and much more… I just didn’t have enough for everything, ”said Anton Povekvechnov.
Presidential candidate Rahmet Zhandos also made a presentation on the stage. He spoke about himself and about what problems he intends to solve first of all.
“In the process, I saw a lot of problems that hinder the development of skateboarding in Kazakhstan. As it turned out, the development itself is only at the expense of enthusiasts. The main difficulties that exist at the moment:
1. Lack of professional skateparks where athletes could develop and train;
2. Lack of indoor areas for skaters;
3. From this follows the absence of professional athletes who reach the world rankings. Although the Kazakh riders have potential. And if there are no professional athletes, then there are no vouchers for the Olympic Games in this sport.
Therefore, it is necessary to build skateparks taking into account the requirements for Olympic skateboarding,” Zhandos Kanatuly emphasized in his speech.
“We propose the creation of an ecosystem for cultivating champions and are ready to recommend its placement in all cities of Kazakhstan in accordance with the State Program for the Development of Regions for 2020-2025, in terms of eliminating the imbalance in the development of centers and outskirts of large cities. We also intend to involve in this sport the so-called “difficult” teenagers, children from large families, those youth who loiter around. Our goal is to save them from the slippery slope and attract them, if not to participate in the Olympics, then to lead a healthy lifestyle for sure. Although it seems to me that these children have every chance of becoming champions! They just need to be given this opportunity,” Zhandos added.
After the speeches, a voting procedure was held. Zhandos Rahmet’s candidacy was unanimously approved by all members of the Federation.
The Director of the Directorate of Sports of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanagatov Elsiyar Baimukhamedovich came out to congratulate on the appointment of the new President.
“Skateboarding is a young sport that has recently been included in the Olympic Games. This is a spectacular sport and we hope that in the coming years we will have athletes – skaters worthy of representing Kazakhstan at the Olympics. We wish success to the new leadership, knowing the potential of Zhandos, I think that positive changes will not keep you waiting,” said Elsiyar Baimukhamedovich
As noted in the Federation, the potential of domestic skaters is not bad, however, it is not worth counting on the participation of Kazakhstani riders in the next Olympic Games. Now the most important thing is to solve the problem with places for training.
Rakhmet Zhandos Kanatuly, the newly elected President of the Kazakhstan Skateboarding Federation, will present his vision of solving this problem.
“At the moment, global skateboarding is not particularly geographically diverse. The leaders in this discipline are Americans, Brazilians and Japanese. And we should start taking skateboarding seriously as soon as possible. Now we can still catch up with world leaders relatively quickly. To begin with, professional indoor skateparks and real government support are needed. Otherwise, later this gap will become too large and it will be extremely difficult to overcome it,” Zhandos Kanatuly said.
As noted in the Federation, skateboarding is strengthening its position on the agenda of the Olympic Games. The session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved this sport in the programs of the 2024 and 2028 Olympics. And now is the time for the state and the public to pay attention to this sport.
For reference: The Kazakhstan Skateboarding Federation has existed since March 2017. In 2019, the Federation received recognition from the NOC of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the international federation World Skate.