Olympics: Plea to get skateboarding on the GCSE syllabus

Schools are being urged to teach skateboarding to get young people to the Olympics.

Osian George, 14, from Carmarthenshire, hopes to compete at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

However, he was told skateboarding could not be part of his sport GCSE and worries he, and others, will miss out on vital sporting support.

The examination board WJEC said the current list of activities will be reviewed in 2025.

Osian from the Gwendraeth Valley, has been skating since he was five.

Skateboarding has always been his passion, and every chance he gets he's out learning new tricks and skills. One day he wants to be an Olympic champion.

He said: "It is something that is really fun to do. It keeps me busy and I like to learn new things and get better and better.

"It makes me feel happy and makes me feel so much better."

Now studying for his GCSEs, he was "absolutely devastated" when he was told his skating could not count towards his physical education qualification or be put on the syllabus.

"I couldn't believe it. Skateboarding is such a good sport and now that it is in the Olympics as well... it has come so far since it was created," he said.

"I'd like to see skateboarding count towards my work in school because I have been doing it my entire life.

"If it was part of the exam it would help me get better grades and I could also do more work on my skills.

"This is something I have done my entire life and is something I know a lot about. It is a very important thing to me."

He said schools often only teach traditional sports which exclude young people who want to do something different.

"Not everyone wants to do football, rugby, cricket, people want to try something new. It is something that is fun, that you can't constantly improve on," Osian said.

"If we are not giving people the chance to do it I don't see how we are going to get people to the Olympics.

"It's something that needs to happen."

Osian remains optimistic he will achieve his dreams.

"I am going to try and get to the Olympics in 2024 and I'm literally just constantly trying, trying, trying now."

Skateboarding made its Olympic debut in 2022 in Tokyo with two different disciplines: street and park.

With this international recognition, it is not just Osian wanting to get skateboarding on the curriculum.

James Jones, professional BMX rider and member of the Freestyle BMX Team GB for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said it is vital children are given the tools to progress in different sports.

The athlete from Swansea said: "You are drilled football, rugby and swimming and here you have a kid who is tremendous on a skateboard and possibly teachers don't know how good he is or see him ride.

"They need to come and see how good these kids are.

"The may not necessarily want to do the football or the rugby but skateboarding means a lot for these kids and they now need to have a platform to get on with their sport and do it."

He said although BMXing and skateboarding are different supports, they are both relatively new.

"We need more skate parks for these kids to fulfil their dreams. Skateboarding is a lot bigger than BMX and they need more support," he said.

Carmarthenshire county councillor Dai Thomas is disappointed Osian cannot do skateboarding as part of his GCSE course.

"Osian is a highly talented skateboarder... and Osian in years to come could perhaps compete at that level, and bring medals home to Wales.

"Getting boarding on the curriculum would be a huge boost to his hopes."

A spokesperson for WJEC said: "Our current GCSE in physical education includes a broad range of activities based on a consultation in 2015.

"Unfortunately skateboarding was not identified as an activity to be included."

They added as part of the new curriculum which will be taught from 2025, they will be "seeking feedback on broadening the range of activities in the physical education activities list and that they are committed to including a wider range of opportunities and experiences than are currently on offer".

Mr Thomas said: "I hope it will be added, but that will be too late for Osian and that is a pity."