NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Two skateboarding siblings from Nashville are heading to Italy for the World Skate Games.
“It is going to be one of our biggest events that we have ever been to,” U.S.A. Slalom Skateboarder Sarah Byrd-Compton said.
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Josh and Sarah Byrd take part in what’s known as slalom skateboarding. Slalom skateboarding has existed since the 1970s. It gained popularity in the early 2000s. They’ll represent the U.S.A. by traveling up to 50 miles per hour on a board with only the concrete to catch them.
“You can fall all day long; that’s a good thing,” Josh Byrd, U.S.A. Slalom Skateboarder, said. “It is going to you and make you better. You just want to fall enough times so that you don’t crash. So it teaches life lessons.”
The siblings have each skated their way into the world ranking’s top twenty.
“It is a boy dominated sport and so being a girl in that space, there wasn’t always the girls to look up to,” Sarah said. “So having at least my brother there to look up to and like push me and urge me, tell me I can do it, and give me tips and stuff like that has always been the most amazing part of it.”
Sarah earned the 10th ranking for women slalom skateboarders in the world, and Josh earned the 18th spot for men. In September, the two will compete against the best slalom skateboarders around the world in Italy at the World Skate Games.
Since both Byrd siblings ranked in the top twenty in the world, Sarah and Josh told News 2 that they are two of 25 slalom skateboarders given the ‘golden ticket’ to the tournament in Italy.
The sport revolves around speed and agility, requiring each skateboarder to quickly and carefully weave through each cone and not hit one or slow down.
“It is more of a sprint sport or sprint side of skateboarding rather than a long distance or endurance or best trick judged,” Josh said.
The cones are six to twenty feet apart, and skateboards reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. The skateboarder with the best time and score wins.
“We do a lot of balance workouts so a lot of standing on a board and holding weights and trying to get our core ready for all the vigorous competition,” Sarah explained.
Park and Street skateboarding will make its second appearance in this year’s Olympic events. However, slalom skateboarding has not yet been added to the specialty list.
“Park and street people, since they are in the Olympics, it is thought of as a qualifying event to make the Olympics,” Josh explained. “But us, slalom, isn’t quite yet in the Olympics. It has been talked about and could be in the Olympics for the LA 2028 Olympics.”
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In the meantime, the siblings are training together and planning for future skate tournaments. The Byrd siblings told News 2 they are also preparing for the national competition in Nashville in November.
“This the one thing that has been constant in both of our lives for so long, so I couldn’t imagine living without it [skateboarding],” Josh concluded.
Source link : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/nashville-siblings-prepare-to-represent-u-s-a-in-world-skate-games/amp/
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Publish date : 2024-07-24 18:39:09
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