Bothithong Skateboarding Update

Posted on Sunday, October 23rd, 2011 at 6:58 pm

An update of sorts from Tony over at Bothithong Skateboarding in the Northern Cape.

“It’s been pretty busy lately with all sorts of good things. Bothithong Skateboarding received a generous donation of skate shoes from C1RCA in Septmeber. I was working with C1RCA USA team manager Mario Miller to put together a big box of used and new shoes for about 50 kids. I’m sure Sierra and the Nuge had some in there but we tried to focus on smaller shoe sizes so a lot of the pairs had to be new. I have a really efficient network of friends and family out in the Northern Cape who help the packages make it to Bothithong. Now that I’m back living in America things have actually been moving faster for the organization. It’s tough not being able to skate with the kids every day but they are improving on their own I’m sure. That’s just how skating works- It’s addictive. I call them frequently and send SMS’s and emails all the time so our communication is always flowing. During the year and a half I lived in Bothithong I was able to get about 50+ kids skating and I assume there is even more now.

We are about to ship a large box of donated skateboard decks, wheels, hardware, a digital camera, and a bunch of Finger boards and stickers. The kids are all sharing about 15 decks right now and I plan on getting them a lot more. Our goal is to get every child their own setup but in the meantime we need to be replacing what they have. As I’m sure you can imagine ten kids skating one deck makes for hellacious wear and tear. Revolution sent us the original setups and they are about to send another kind donation to help replace the old ones. The kids go through wheels and bearings faster than decks but mostly because they do a lot of rolling – and with sand nearby the bearings don’t last as long. This will change as more of them learn to Ollie and kickflip just as some are already doing. I was also working with MMC to get some of the Skate and Donate product out there. They are all really cool people and I spent two days with them in Atlanta before they went to South Africa.

We were able to organize for 5 of the kids to trip out to Kimberley and watch Friday and Saturday’s events at the Maloof Cup. They got to meet a few of the pros, learn some new tricks and tips, and even get some knowledge about building small ramps and obstacles in the village while they patiently await funding for their own place to skate.

I’ve been talking with the people at Skateistan and they have encouraged me to film a documentary that will help bring attention to the organization and possibly get funding. So I’m planning a trip to South Africa in the coming months with the intent of filming as much as possible. I’ll be working with Revolution on this as they have played a ‘major role’ in our current success. Constantly helping me connect with sponsors and just getting people hyped on what we’re doing out there in the village.

We’ve also partnered with the Ethiopian Skatepark Project in an effort called “Recycled Fun” where I will be managing the United States division. We’ll be collecting used skateboard equipment to help support Bothithong Skateboarding as well as the Indigo Skate Camp. Dallas was a pretty big inspiration for me so I am more than happy to help them out in any way I can. We got different skate backgrounds which is cool cause he’s a vert skater and I’m street. So we’re hoping to collaborate on something once the Bothithong program gets funding and can build a small street park in the village. The more attention we get allows us to achieve more, and the more we can achieve will bring us to the attention of those philanthropic corporations who are looking to fund non-profit projects. Peace, Tony!”

If anyone is willing or able to assist Bothithong skateboarding with product, money or their service please inbox me at andrew@africaskate.com or direct to Tony at skatebothithong@gmail.com with waht you can do.