The last 10 years in particular have seen several new disciplines enter the Jamaican sporting radar, sports like rowing, lacrosse and even ice hockey that even pioneering Jamaicans (the first Olympic bobsledders) would have had no thought or inkling of serious participation.
Add to that list skateboarding. Yes, the land-based surfing variant conquered by the likes of Tony Hawk and Rod Mullen is about to feature a serious Jamaican contingent
Them an leading the charge is Steve Douglas (foreground, centre). A self-described marketing consultant, grew up in the US, but returned to his native Jamaica in 2016 to open a shop — Skateboard Palace — at 98 Molynes Road in Kingston.
It wasn't long beffore Douglas "had a dream" to paraphrase Martin Luther King, a dream that Jamaicans could excel in this sport like we have in many others. And like the visionary he is, Douglas is aiming even higher — to qualify the JSF Shreddaz to the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020.
The journey for Douglas took an unfamiliar path to that of many of the country's other successful entrepreneurs, as, to his surprise, things did not take long to get going.
He found out that Jamaicans will truly try anything, and even though it was nothing new to the country, the response to the sport was his most unexpected discovery since returning to Jamaica.
“I was in the entertainment business and one of my artistes that I was working with loved skateboard, so I called a few skateboard brands to see if I could get a few boards. One of the brands, Flip, which is top three in the world, reached out, so I started selling the boards out of my car and people kept asking when I was going to get my shop.
“I never knew lawyers, doctors, police officers and soldiers loved skateboarding so much, and I am not talking people in their early 20s or 30s. So, from there I decided to open the store and it has been great,” Douglas told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview at the Skateboard Palace.
Douglas believes reigniting interest in the sport could have a ripple effect locally and believes once the sport grows in popularity a skateboard park would be the next natural development.
He wants to see skateboarding become part of a school sports curriculum, something which he believes would give youngsters options.
"Skateboarding is a billion dollar industry internationally and Jamaica has the talent to be recognised," Douglas said.
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