Duke of Edinburgh Award sees South London spike in women skateboarding

The number of young women taking up skateboarding for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) has leapt by 800 per cent over the past five years, statistics from the charity have revealed.

The awards are taken up by people aged 14-24 who pick their own activities and choose a cause to volunteer for in order to achieve a Bronze, Silver or Gold DofE Award.

Burntwood School in Burntwood Lane, Wandsworth is one of the schools to see a new wave of interest in skateboarding.

One student, Tilly Osborne, 15, from Tooting, has achieved her Bronze Award and is now doing skateboarding for her Silver DofE.

Tilly got her first skateboard at primary school, but only started trying to take it seriously when she started her DofE.

Tilly said she thought it would be a fun way to explore her local community, and has also now inspired her nine-year-old brother to give it a go.

Tilly said: “Skating is so fun – like riding a bike, but with more risk. It is such a male-dominated sport. You don’t see many girls competing, but when we see more girls locally, that means we are making progress, which is exciting to be a part of.

“I want to be part of the change. I want to try and learn tricks and push boundaries because of the DofE.

“At the start my parents were sceptical that I would give it up, but now they have seen the progress that I am making and that I can do it as part of my DofE, that has convinced them.”

Another student, Josie Fairclough, 14, also from Tooting, has chosen skateboarding for her Bronze DofE.

Josie started skateboarding when she was six, taught by her dad. When she was younger, she wouldn’t see many girls skateboarding and that made it hard for her to feel motivated to keep doing it.

She said: “I feel like when I was younger, I didn’t ever see other girls or have female skateboarders to look up to. Now it is getting a lot better, and more girls are taking up the sport.

“I don’t like skateboard parks as they can feel very male dominated. I am excited to hear about more girls that are doing skateboarding thought their DofE, and I think we can all motivate each other to complete the physical section of our DofE.”

Amaris Baker-Ekundayo, 14, from Croydon, is giving skateboarding a go for the first time as part of her Bronze DofE.

Amaris said: “Skateboarding isn’t just for boys. It does not have a gender, but it can feel like that when we don’t see any other girls out there doing it. So, the only way we can get other girls involved is just to keep encouraging others.”

In 2017, just 39 young women in the UK registered skateboarding as their chosen activity for the physical section of their DofE – by 2022 this was up to 353.

Pictured top: From left, Amaris Baker- Ekundayo, Tilly Osborne and Josie Fairclough (Picture: Duke of Edinburgh Award)