Skateboard event rolls out for Pirates Week
A youngster rides his scooter in front of Jamaican national skateboarding team and Cayman pirates
(CNS Local Life): Inspire Cayman and the Pirates Week Festival teamed up to host the Youth Skate Jam at the Black Pearl Skate Park, Saturday, 2 September. The event was aimed at promoting the local youth skate culture in Cayman, and encouraging children to get out and get active. “There were wee scallywags everywhere showing off their skills in scootering, skateboarding, bmx riding, and basketball,” said Shayma Hamdi-Romanica, marketing coordinator at the Tourism Attraction Board. “It was so refreshing to see, and showed real diversity and creativity within our community.”
Melanie McField, executive director of the Pirates Week Festival, added, “As the national festival of the Cayman Islands, we believe that by actively partnering and supporting community organisations such as Inspire Cayman, we can help build a positive environment for our youth, festival patrons and other stakeholders. The more we host events outside of the festival period, the more awareness we bring to the festival itself.”
As for the skate jam, she said, “It was a phenomenal event, and a real treat to see so much of our youth demonstrate their skills and talent in such a fun and safe environment.”
A portion of admissions was donated to the Pirates Week Festival. Michael Myles, event organiser and owner of Inspire Cayman said, “I grew up on, and spent 30 years going to, the Pirates Week Festival, and this (event) provides an opportunity for Inspire Cayman to bring youth together, and raise funds to ensure that this festival is something that we continue to have every year. It is our national festival, and I wanted to be part of that, I wanted Inspire to be part of that.”
He described the focus of his company. “Inspire Cayman is all about creating an environment where youth can do special things, with each other and for their community, and so [this event] was all about joining this community,” he said. “It’s about keeping young kids inspired, where they can come into an environment and show each other different tricks, whether that’s basketball, skateboarding, bmxing, or just running around kicking a football, that’s what Inspire is about. It’s about simple things we all take for granted, that we have to now get back to focus. And it’s all about making sure that we can it in a space that is all about children.”
The Jamaican national skateboarding team was also flown in to perform at the event and give demonstrations to the children.
Kenrick Webster, owner of Webster’s Tours, who sponsored the transportation for the team, said, “I wanted to ensure that I take part in this event because it is important to build the morale, and to build the self- confidence of the youth of our country. As business partners, we need to make sure that we do our part in ensuring that we support this skate park, so that our youth can be able to have an outlet to be able to enjoy themselves, but also to develop their life skills.”
Category: Youth
