Do you think “new” sports like skateboarding should count towards PE exams?
Polls
4th January 2023
A YOUNG skateboarder wants schools to teach skateboarding to get young people to the Olympics.
Welsh schoolboy Osian George, 14, wants to compete in the skateboarding event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. But he’s been told that the sport, which was included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for the first time, can’t be part of his sport GCSE. The examination board WJEC said it’d be looking at broadening activities in the PE list that will be taught from 2025 – too late for Osian – but that skateboarding wasn’t identified as a sport to include when the last review was done in 2015.
Osian, from Carmarthenshire, has been skateboarding since he was five years old and hopes to be an Olympic champion one day. He’d be following the success of Sky Brown, who became Team GB’s youngest ever medallist when she won a skateboarding medal at the Tokyo Olympics, aged 13.
Now studying for his GCSEs, Osian told the BBC he was devastated when he was told his skating couldn’t count towards his PE qualification or be put on the syllabus. “I couldn’t believe it. Skateboarding is such a good sport and now it’s in the Olympics,” Osian said. “I’d like to see skateboarding count towards my work in school because I’ve been doing it my entire life. If it was part of the exam, it would help me get better grades. Not everyone wants to do football, rugby, or cricket. People want to try something new. If we aren’t giving people the chance to do it, I don’t see how we’re going to get people to the Olympics.”
James Jones, professional BMX rider and member of the Team GB freestyle BMX team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is backing Osian’s plea. He told the BBC: “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. We need more skate parks for these kids to fulfil their dreams. Skateboarding is a lot bigger than BMX and they [skateboarders] need more support,” he said.
19 Comments
bonniebill · 1 year ago
I think that any sport with competition rules and standards should count because then it can be judged fairly
izzy89 · 1 year ago
I voted no because some people are not as good as others in PE all around so an extra sport can reduce marks. Those who are good at skateboarding will have a chance to show their talent, yes, but adding a new sport to the curriculum can make it harder for children to get 'classified' as a 'good sportsperson'.
15645 · 1 year ago
Yes any sport as it's physical
aces10 · 1 year ago
If someone asks you to name sports, most people wouldn’t mention skateboarding. However, there is no reason why it shouldn’t be considered a sport. Surely, now that it has become an Olympic sport, skateboarding should be an internationally recognised sport. Therefore, why should it not be part of the school sport syllabus?
fatdogslim · 1 year ago
Yes! It's s still a sport and you should be able to take it if thats the sport you play.All sports should be included in PE exams as they are PE no mater what kind of sport it is.
annalls · 1 year ago
I definetly think no because some people can't skateboard and it would be really unfair to them
potterwolf · 1 year ago
Yes because it’s physical and also if kids don’t do skateboarding at home they can get better at it so if it’s in school it will allow them to try.
stingray1 · 1 year ago
No because people might not be able to skateboard and can't practice without spending wasteful money.
splashy10 · 1 year ago
I think it’s a really good idea and they should defiantly do it.
mrrickroll · 1 year ago
It depends what sport. If you just say 'any sport' then anything from running to chess could count! Some new sports, yes but some no.
dolphin26 · 1 year ago
I don't think it should be part of the GSCEs or PE Exams, because if you want to become a professional skateboarder, then you can just hire a coach to train you outside of school, and some children who aren't really good at sports, when the time comes to pass their PE exam, they might be fairly good at other "old" sports but failed their PE exam just because they are rubbish at skateboard. And by the way I agree with izzy89.
dolphin26 · 1 year ago
But maybe yes, so maybe it should separated from the GCSEs and PE exams, becoming their own exam, so only people who like skateboarding and want to take the skateboarding exam take it.
candyapple · 1 year ago
Honestly, I think I would just be embarrassing myself!
ilikebooks · 1 year ago
I think you should be able to choose if you want to do it in your exam because some people might not like skateboarding and some people might be scared of hurting themselves
eleran · 1 year ago
It should count as a sport because if people are good at skateboarding and want to do it as their GCSE. Adults need to support them otherwise it will put people off a P.E GCSE
shruti_b · 1 year ago
I think it should depend on the student's choice, and skateboarding can be a fun and educative part of PE because some children might be fearful or uninterested in the sport, and some parents might not be too keen on their children engaging in such a sport; skateboarding is known to have caused many injuries.
tiger.star · 1 year ago
Yes, any sport should count because if you're not into the sports that do count then you're not really going to want to do the exam very much.
uniquestar · 1 year ago
absolutely!
someone might be great at skateboarding and not football.
everyone should have a chance to do what they are good at
flojohello · 1 year ago
I love skateboarding 🛹 it is awesome 😎