Skateboarding turning into popular sport for Calgary girls
It's one of those activities that any guy with a little courage and talent could try out, but these days skateboard coach Becca Ballantyne is seeing a new trend: more girls taking up the sport.
"Gone are the days of this is a boys sport or this is a girls sport," said Ballantyne. "I remember growing up and I was one of the only girls out at the skate park with my brother and his friends and I was like this is kind of intimidating."
"Now," she added, "you look around and there's mostly girls here."
One of Ballantyne's star pupils is 10-year-old Isla Graven who took up the sport at five. She's a snowboarder as well and those skills fit perfectly for her on a skateboard.
"I like airing over skateboards," said Graven. "And I like dropping in on bigger things like the bowl here."
Her favourite place to ride in Calgary is the New Brighton Skate Park in the southeast but it took her a while to get used to the concrete surface.
"The first time I came here I fell quite a lot because of the bumps and how slippery it was to me," said Graven. "I guess I just got used to it."
Her skating partner is 12-year-old Calla Stauch who likes half pipes and mini ramps. Stauch likes making friends in the skateboarding community and admires Graven's talent.
"She's basically almost better than me and it's like crazy," said Stauch. "She's just really good in the bowl, she carves really well and can have great runs."
The girls are fans of 13-year-old British skateboarder Sky Brown who just took home a bronze medal in the women's park final in Tokyo.
"To see a 13-year-old girl come in second, that's crazy," said Christine Graven, Isla's mom. "And the girl doing back to back 540's there, who would have thought it?"
Isla's mom said she's not pushing her daughter to compete, but wants her to have fun skateboarding and progress at her own pace.
"We don't like to say hey Isla how would you like to be an Olympian?" she said. "We'll just see how it goes really, if she wants to pursue it then for sure we're 100 per cent behind her."
Isla said she wants to spend the next few years learning as much as she can in her sport and continue to train to get better. But at 10 years old, the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics are too far away to plan for.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
Katy Perry's mom was fooled by AI images of the singer at the Met Gala
Katy Perry did not attend the Met Gala on Monday, but some of the singer’s fans – and even her mom – thought she did.