Nine-year-old 'Nacho' being noticed

IT SEEMS like yesterday, but it was five years ago that the DFA carried the story of a little girl whose passion for skating started when she was just five years old.

- DANIE VAN DER LITH

By the time that we spoke to her, she was 13 and had by this time demonstrated what passion and dedication could accomplish when she participated in the first Maloof Skateboarding Championship.

The Grade 8 Northern Cape High School pupil - yes, we’re referring to Kimberley’s own Boipelo Awuah - said she started off “stealing” her older brother's skateboard.

“I used to fall so much that my mother prevented me from skating out of fear that I get hurt,” Awuah told the DFA. She went on to say that she did, however, fulfil her dream of becoming a skateboarder with her father's support.

“My mother had good intentions because she did not want me to get hurt . . . and still gets nervous when she sees me with a scratch,” Boipelo said.

The story of this young girl, in a male-dominated sport, going from “borrowing” a board to Olympic competitor is truly inspirational. How inspiring, you ask?

A NEW STAR RISING

Well, in Kimberley, a city that seems to turn out champions at will, a fearless nine-year-old skateboarder is capturing attention at the local skate park, not just for her vibrant personality but for the promise she shows on her board.