In celebrating the passing within 48 hours of one another of both Go Skateboarding Day and Olympic Day while we were in Rome recently, I am minded to reflect that it would be very appropriate to highlight women who deserve recognition and dedicate some words to this convergence of circumstance. Skateboarding has always been an inclusive sport, and it is good to celebrate the achievements of women within that. The momentum which skateboarding and the Olympics have given us is something that we should all leverage to continue to create opportunities for skaters, especially for women.

Ph: Mark Dillon

I’m thinking now about skaters like Boipelo Awuah or Brigitte Morales, or so many others unknown to the media. Skaters who perhaps had to choose whether to have lunch or dinner, or who walked for hours to save the money for the bus. Then, after several months, they might be able to buy a board.

Ph: Piero Capannini

Thanks to the doors which the Olympics opened, they can not only continue their passion but also develop a career as athletes. Today, they have a recognised space, where their families also understand skateboarding as something more serious. I want to emphasise the immense amount of opportunities which are opening up for so many; even for those who were never excellent athletes.

The enormity of careers which are now possible- the opportunities which skateboarding is bringing to girls like Boipelo or Brigitte, or those who never had the opportunity to buy dinner, or stay in a hotel, or go on an airplane- now exist thanks to the nexus between skateboarding as an activity, and the Olympics as a movement. In that sense, June’s Go Skateboarding Day and Olympic Day just gone were closely linked by more than just the month in which they occur.

Ph: Jake Darwen

Illustrating this article are some shots from our work with the Gender Equality Commission which demonstrate this point; despite the distance, cultural and socio-economic similarities and differences, all the kids here have something in common.  They all, at some level, admire the skateboarders who came from the street to share the ramp with the best in the world.All these children, thanks to the doors that the Olympics have opened and the path we are starting along, have futures more full of opportunities thanks to skateboarding’s Olympic recognition.

Who would have imagined that today would be like this? I don't know if  what we are all seeing is the hidden value of the Olympics, but what I do know is that my skater family represents one of the greatest values of the Olympic movement: friendship.

That makes this moment a good opportunity to demonstrate to those who still do not understand the value of this opportunity for skateboarding in which some of us believe. Let's move forward with the momentum that both skateboarding and the Olympic movement have given us.

-Natalia Sanchez, World Skate Gender Equality Commission