Vancouver skateboarder helps spread sport in Cuba

Vancouver skateboarder helps spread sport in Cuba
Norma Ibarra is on her 2nd trip to Cuba to donate boards from Vancouver
CBC News Posted: Jun 20, 2017 7:55 AM PT Last Updated: Jun 20, 2017 7:55
AM PT

For a country with no skate shops, Cuba's skateboarding scene is
incredibly vibrant.

That's what Vancouver skateboarder and photographer Norma Ibarra says.
She is in Havana to photograph the people who are part of that scene and
to donate 10 skateboards.

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"Skateboarding is still considered something rebellious. The kids get in
trouble if they skate in certain areas, so it's sort of illegal," she
told On The Coast guest host Gloria Macarenko.

"The kids have to wait for people from all over the world to bring stuff
so they can skate. The kids who want to get into it have to wait until
someone decides to give them a skateboard. So it's tricky."

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She says Cubans also have no way of replacing lost or damaged gear,
which means even when skateboards are donated, they sometimes don't last
long.

Few skate parks as well

Ibarra's donated skateboards are from Vancouver's skate community and
she plans to donate them mainly to girls in Cuba.

Skateboarding helped her in her own life, and she wants to pass that on
to girls in Cuba.

"The challenges, and the rewards that you get when you know that you're
progressing, it's really good," she said.

Ibarra says she's not the only one working to spread the sport in Cuba.
Some work on building do-it-yourself skateparks which are tricky to
develop in the one-party state.

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"There's a couple of street spots, but they have to skate at certain
times when the police aren't around," she said. "You always find a way."

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

Source: Vancouver skateboarder helps spread sport in Cuba - British
Columbia - CBC News -
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-skateboarding-cuba-1.4168635