Why skateboarding has not picked up in Bengaluru

Skateboarding may be recognised as a sport at the Olympics. But in Bengaluru, the city where it first took root in India, the small community of skaters is grappling with issues like lack of basic infrastructure and support from the government.

Currently, there are at least 1,000 people in Bengaluru who own skateboards, but only 50-60 of them skate on a daily basis, says Gautham Kamath. Kamath was a part of Holy Stoked, the collective that
introduced the sport to Bengaluru over 10 years ago.

The lack of publicly accessible skateparks is a major reason for the community’s slow growth, believes Deepak Nath, an IT professional who has been skating for over six years.

At one point, the city boasted a thriving scene of older skaters, who viewed skateboarding as more of a subculture than a competitive sport, explains Smita Kommini, who began skating in 2014. “It went hand in hand with other things like graffiti, street art and street fashion,” she says.

These days, the crowd is a lot younger — mainly children and teenagers. The scene has evolved to become more technical and less creative.

Government support

The sport is currently governed by the Karnataka Roller Skating Association in the state, and the Roller Skating Federation of India at the national level.
“Unless there is a push from the government, we will not see more people taking it up,” says Kamath. There is no awareness around it either.

Sometimes they are forced to skate in public spaces like malls and plazas, and are often viewed as a nuisance by the security staff. “I was once beaten up by a cop while skating in Cubbon Park on a Sunday morning,” recalls Kamath.

More skateparks needed

Bengaluru currently has four skateparks — Play Arena, Sarjapur Road, The Cave Skatepark, R K Hegde Nagar, a park in The School of Raya, Dasanayakanahalli, and Power Track, Kaggadasapura. Of
these only the first two are publicly available but come at a small fee.

“On weekends and holidays, everyone ends up at The Cave. We do not have enough room when many people show up and find ourselves crashing into each other,” shares Nath.

Kamath, who runs classes for skateboarders, shares that he teaches 20-40 students a month. “Of these, 5-10 have been skating for over a year,” he tells Metrolife.