Coronavirus: Lockdown sees skateboarders in S'pore, Asia get creative at home
SINGAPORE – Skateboarder John Panugalinog has not been to his usual skate spot at Plaza Independencia in Cebu City, the Philippines, for the past two months because of social distancing measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Determined not to let that stop him from skating, the 19-year-old has converted his home, which he shares with his 10 siblings and parents, into a mini-skate park, fashioning makeshift obstacles out of a motorcycle and other household objects.
He performs ollies by vaulting over the bike – a much bulkier hurdle than the boxes at his usual haunt – and uses chairs as ramps and an outdoor sink as a ledge.
Video clips of his home adventures have been submitted to an online skateboarding competition, Asian Skateboarding Championship 2020 Lockdown 5, which is organised by urban sports events company Millennial Events.
With many countries in various lockdown stages, Millennial Events, which operates in Singapore and Shanghai, organised the virtual competition to encourage home-bound skateboarders to think out of the box and come up with ways to continue skateboarding.
With sports competitions on hiatus, the online contest also allows athletes around the world to connect with one another.
Panugalinog said: “I definitely miss going out to skate and seeing my friends but we don’t really have a choice. When I’m at home, I’m still as hyped and excited as ever especially when an idea for another video comes into my mind.”
Other skateboarders around Asia have also come up with creative entries for the competition, which has attracted 160 entries from 38 countries.
Local skateboarder Amrien Karia, 26, was among the participants and submitted a video of himself using pillars as obstacles and doing tricks on sidewalks.
His compatriot Syahmi Noor filmed himself using a box as an obstacle to do tricks. The 24-year-old said: “It was a fun experience… It gave everyone something to do, to watch and take an inside look at how participants from other countries were coping with their lockdowns.”
With all sports facilities closed in Oman, including its only skatepark Omanskate, Hussam Al Hinai, who used to train there three to four times a week, found his routine disrupted.
The 18-year-old had wanted to master a kickflip – a move in which one flips the skateboard 360 degrees – down the 11-stair drop at the skatepark.
He said: “The fact that I can’t go (to the skatepark) and try to get it is a bit frustrating, but it’s fine, we manage what we can.”
The pandemic also scuppered plans for Hussam to fly to Singapore for the Asian Skateboarding Championships, a Tokyo Olympic Games qualifier, that was originally scheduled for February. The competition was postponed to March and eventually cancelled due to the Covid-19 situation.
Most of Hussam’s skateboarding over the last two months has been limited to his garden, where he uses objects like crates as obstacles. He also skates at an underground carpark near his home and constructed a small flat bar that he occasionally uses to do tricks in his house.
For Indonesian Aliqqa Kayyisa Noverry, whose family relocated to Tokyo in February, sessions at the city’s skateparks stopped when they closed after the Japanese government declared a State of Emergency in the country on March 25.
Since the skateparks are closed, Aliqqa hit the street around her neighborhood. . To be honest, she misses all her skateboarding family, the @cdd_skateboards team, Oom @deni_tx, oom @makoto_katsuzaki-san and all the team, the @greenskatelesson team, oom @tonysruntul78 and all… She misses everybody back home. But the feeling doesn’t stop her to keep skating and enjoying herself even with mask on and the distance she had to make with others. . Thank you oom @tonysruntul78 and oom @deni_tx for the insight and the song. ??? . . . @dcshoes_indonesia @cdd_skateboards @crossingsocks @hybskateboards . . #skaterina #skatergirl #skateboarding #skateboard #skateboarder
A post shared by Aliqqa Kayyisa Noverry (@aliqqakayyisa) on
Although the situation has not been ideal for the 11-year-old, who competed at the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia, she was determined not to let it stop her from skateboarding.
Aliqqa took to practising her tricks at a park, which proved challenging at first as the pavements were rough and the ledges available were made of small pebbles, which made it hard for her to slide.
While she had some experience skateboarding in Indonesia’s streets, she was always accompanied by other skateboarders who could advise her on how to overcome obstacles, so filming the entry for the competition took longer than usual.
Skateparks have since reopened in Tokyo, but the time on the streets has been a good experience for Aliqqa.
Her mother Nin Hardi said: “It’s a very good way to motivate Aliqqa to skate again in these hard times. She’s really determined to (keeping trying the) tricks until she gets them right.”
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