Getting on board

Now, with more commercial clubs and private promoters joining in, skateboarding's grassroots development is expected to engage a wider range of participants, according to Wei Naizhang, head coach of Guangdong's provincial roller skating and skateboarding team.

"I am quite positive that, after these National Games, skateboarding is going to attract more attention and support, and we will cultivate more young riders with the potential to make it to the next Olympics," Wei said.

Going to LA28, where skateboarding will make its third straight appearance on the Olympic program, women's street skater Cui Chenxi is likely to remain China's leading hope for a podium finish in southern California, where the sport is believed to have been invented by surfers in the 1950s.

A 14-year-old Cui sent an inspirational message to all her peers about the power of passion last summer by riding her beloved skateboard — a hobby she picked just five years ago — all the way to a fourth-place finish in women's street final at Paris 2024.

A few inches taller and a lot more stronger than she was a year ago, the now 15-year-old Cui pulled off a smooth series of dazzling tricks with more difficult flips and spins to win her maiden National Games title last week.

"I jumped higher, with more strength, and I was more mentally poised approaching each of my runs in the final," Cui, who represented her home province of Shandong, said after securing her win with a combined score of 247.15 points. "I've also improved the consistency of my tricks, as well as the way my moves connect during a run."

In the street competition, riders navigate through urban-inspired courses featuring stairs, rails and other obstacles to execute tricks. Each skater takes two 45-second runs on the course before each performing five additional tricks. The final score is aggregated from a rider's best run and the two best tricks, requiring a versatile repertoire imbued with quality, creativity and style to prevail.

Looking ahead, Cui minced no words about her ambition.

"For the short term, I want to win a medal at the next World Skateboarding Tour event in Japan, while my longer-term goal is to finish on the podium at the LA28," said Cui, who finished fourth in her last WST appearance in Rome in June.