Sevenoaks District Council says the sessions are open to all children aged seven to 16 years old with all equipment provided. The idea is to encourage a new way to keep young people staying active throughout the summer.
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00:00After making its debut at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, skateboarding will feature again in the 2024
00:12Games in Paris.
00:13It's a good thing, then, that a brand new skate park has opened here in Swanley.
00:17The Town Council facilitate free classes for young people, ranging from true beginners
00:22to sporting hopefuls.
00:23I caught up with Swanley's Cabinet Member for People and Places, both of the skate coaches
00:27here and a student, to find out why skateboarding is so important to this community.
00:32The old metal skate park was sort of end of life and we were faced with a tough choice
00:36of regenerating it or replacing it.
00:39We managed to get grant funding from numerous people and it cost a quarter of a million
00:42pounds in the end to develop.
00:44They've been mainly concentrating on the tennis courts because they're very beginner level.
00:47As they gain their skills week on week, they'll eventually work their way over to doing the
00:52ramps sooner, sooner rather than later.
00:54Skateboarding is a sport that's available to everyone.
00:57We've even had a young girl out here in a wheelchair last year on one of the sessions,
01:02which was absolutely fantastic.
01:03Accessibility isn't the only strength of these group classes, which are funded in equal
01:08measures by Swanley Town and Severn Oaks District Councils.
01:11The volunteer coaches here say that the sessions provide an encouraging environment in which
01:15new skaters can develop a variety of skills.
01:19With the girls-only groups that we work with, so many of the young people find that being
01:24part of an organised group gives them legitimacy to be in the skate parks and to feel safe
01:33and to be able to do what they enjoy doing.
01:35It gets them used to taking falls and not having everything down perfectly first time,
01:41so it helps them to build that personal resilience.
01:43My favourite thing is that there's room for everyone to express themselves in different
01:47ways.
01:48There's BMX bikes, there's scooters, there is a young...
01:51Inline skates as well.
01:52Inline skate.
01:53There's something for everyone in these sessions.
01:56The class I visited today was just one in a pilot series designed to introduce young
02:00people to the park and the sport, but given their success, I was keen to know what the
02:04future might hold for the skate park and other similar initiatives in Swanley beyond this
02:08exciting development.
02:09I'd like there to be regular access where kids could really progress and develop skills
02:15that they've started here.
02:16We're trying to expand on it as well.
02:18We do football sessions, so we've teamed up with local Sutton Athletic Football Club and
02:22we've often worked with Children's Athletic and Millwall for running free football sessions
02:25as well.
02:26And of course, during the summer, Sevenoaks District Council run their Family Fun Days,
02:30which are free for everyone.
02:32I think it's a real example that Swanley Council and others have set to make places like this
02:37more inclusive and more accessible to so many different people.
02:43Of course, I couldn't leave without getting a review from a skater himself.
02:46I would recommend it.
02:47It's quite good.
02:48If you're into sports stuff.
02:50Anyone who would like to participate in the programme as a teacher or a student should
02:54visit the Swanley Town Council website.
02:56This has been Charlotte Bourne for KMTV.