With Street Skateboarding making its debut at the Youth Olympic Games on the 4th-5th of November in Dakar, Senegal, we thought now would be a good time to bring you up to speed with all the news from this groundbreaking event not just for skateboarding but for Africa.
The competition will take place is located at the Tour De L’Oeuf complex which will also play host to basketball, baseball and breaking during the Games. Seamlessly integrated into its urban surroundings, the complex supports the development of community-based sport, promotes local talent, and strengthens Senegal’s long-term sporting legacy.
The skatepark built there for the Youth Olympic Games is a permanent addition to Africa’s skateboarding terrain, and in agreement with the Organising Committee the skatepark will be open for four sessions on the days of the 6th and 7th following the Games’ completion, so that local skaters can keep the hype going on their new space.
Located in the Point E district, a residential area of Dakar, this entire facility was refurbished as part of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games and is certain to become a regional skateboarding hub for many events and initiatives in the future.
Although not a World Skateboarding Tour event, the Street Skateboarding component of the Youth Olympic Games is World Skate-sanctioned, and will therefore run along our established format guidelines and judging criteria. Among the event team will be Harmonie Bataka and Francisco Vinho, both alumni of our Development Scholarship Programme.
The athletes will compete in groups of twelve from whom eight finalists will be drawn.
In spring 2026, the IOC allocated quota places to NOCs in accordance with the Dakar 2026 Participation Principles. The allocation sought to achieve broad representation across countries and continents while supporting universality, gender equality, African participation, host country representation to the greatest extent possible, and in terms of the overall balance of the Games as well.
These NOC’s were invited to select their preferred athlete who met the criteria of being under 18 at the start of the event, currently listed on the World Skateboarding Ranking and within the highest-ranked there for their nation.
As a result, official Youth Olympic Games ambassador Rayssa Leal will welcome skateboarders from Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Switzerland, Taipei, USA, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Czech Republic, Morocco, Mexico and Puerto Rico to Senegal in a little over a week’s time: Joaquin Rodriguez Pusterla, Juan Esteban Garces, Ibrahim Zaidhar, Alessandro Mudu, Mahathir Nor Azam, Tijmen Overbeek, Silas Aagaard-Hagen, Jacen Yactayo, Botho Losaba, Simon Gerber for Men, and Mariia Ozhigova, Esmeralda Butler, Maria Cabrera, Noura Amghar, Lucie Schoonheere, Laura Zackova, Yuanling Zhu, Julieta Araya Rojas, Evie Pritchard, Julia Plaggenborg and Duda Ribeiro representing the Women.
We will of course report all the action as it happens direct from Senegal this November!
