Another edition of the Asian Games unfurled this week in Hangzhou City, China where the best athletes from all over Asia converge to showcase their wares on the continent’s most prestigious sporting spectacle.
One of those athletes seeing action in this sports festival known also as the Asiad is our very own Margielyn Didal, who rose to international stardom when she won the gold in skateboarding in Indonesia in 2018.
Didal’s victory four years ago revolutionized skateboarding in the country, especially in Cebu where the sport gained a massive following. Skateboarding became a hot commodity in Philippine sports overnight as thousands were inspired by the Cebuana’s exploits in international competitions.
As skateboarding continues to thrive in the country, there were moves to put up several skate parks to cater to the growing sector of enthusiasts. In Cebu City, a groundbreaking was held at the Plaza Independencia for the establishment of a modern skate park in 2018 during the time of then mayor Tomas Osmeña.
However, six years since the inauguration, the skate park failed to materialize. We do not know what really happened. Osmeña’s loss in the mayoralty election in 2019 seemed to be the obvious factor why, until now, the project has never seen the light of day.
Had the succeeding Cebu City governments aggressively pursued the project, hundreds if not thousands of Cebuano skateboarding enthusiasts would have been using the Plaza Independencia skate park by now.
It’s quite ironic that while neighboring Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay City and Danao City have been establishing their own skate parks, Cebu City has yet to finish its own. And it’s sad because Didal, a resident of Barangay Lahug, had to train in other places for her international appearances because of the absence of a modern skate boarding facility in her own city.
The present crop of Cebu City officials includes personalities who are sports enthusiasts themselves. We do hope they can do something for the realization of the skate park.