The world is currently busy with the FIFA World Cup. It is all about football in Nepal, too. But, for around a couple of hundred children, teenagers and youths in this mountainous country, which is very far from playing in its maiden football World Cup, the last two days have only been about juggling skateboards at the newly constructed Yama Buddha Skate Park in Kathmandu.

Yama Buddha Skate Park, where the park is completed but two administrative buildings are under construction, hosted the 9th National Skateboard Championship, which saw 250 skateboarders from different parts of the country competing across three categories—100 junior boys, 50 senior girls and 100 senior boys.

The organiser—Nepal Skating and Skateboarding Association (NSSA)—had planned the ninth edition for June 6 and 7 because they too did not want their biggest national event to fall in the shadow of the biggest global footballing event.

“There were some technical reasons that led us to postpone the tournament,” Achyut Khanal, president at the NSSA, told the Post, after the tournament concluded at 7pm and preparations began for the prize distribution ceremony. And Khanal sounded more than satisfied.

“The tournament concluded successfully thanks to all the seniors and juniors of this skateboarding community,” said Khanal, as he saw over a hundred people, mostly those aged less than 25, celebrate together even before the winners were announced. Showing a group of children who were not more than 12 years of age, Khanal added, “And these are our biggest treasure.”

Khanal was not alone in feeling that. There were many more, and most of them felt it more deeply.

“Our generation of skateboarders would have been at a higher level in terms of skills and experience if we also had this kind of park,” said 22-year-old Sharad Kumar Rai, who was competing in the senior boys category. Around half an hour later, Rai was announced as the champion of the ninth edition.

Bijay Limbu of Dharan and Bijay Gurung of Pokhara finished second and third in the senior category, respectively. Rai, who hails from Dhankuta, has been brought up in Lalitpur.

Gajendra Bardewa, 26, the defending champion and one of the seniors in the community of active skateboarders, looked happier even after failing to finish on the podium. But the way he was enjoying the skills shown by his juniors, losing did not seem to be a concern to the three-time national champion.

“Yeah, they are great,” Bardewa said when the Post asked him about the promise shown by the new generation during the opening day of the tournament on Saturday.

And Bardewa was one of the loudest to cheer for the winners of all three categories when they received their prizes.

Moreover, the ninth edition cemented another thing. There are better skateboarders outside the Kathmandu Valley.

For instance, the top three skateboarders in the junior boys’ category came all the way from Butwal, representing the Dhunga Skate-aid Skatepark.

Ankit BK, 10, was the champion, while Abishek Pariyar, 17, and Sandesh Nepali, 15, followed him. They all came from Butwal.

“Around a dozen of us came from Butwal to participate in this tournament,” Pariyar, who was competing in the junior category for the last time, told the Post while he was watching the finals of the senior boys. “I will be 18 next year and compete in the seniors.”

Pariyar, the defending champion, was showcasing his skills neatly. There were high doubts that he would win. But he was defeated by his hostel-mate, 11-year-old Ankit BK.

“He and I live in the hostel of Dhunga Skatepark,” Pariyar told the Post as he pointed to a boy almost half his size and age, introducing him as Ankit. Ankit gestured a hello and later received the first prize. The duo’s stay has been sponsored by the park, while their parents have to pay only for their education.

“I have been skateboarding for five years. It has been a year in the hostel,” added Pariyar, who had represented Nepal in a tournament in South Korea last year after winning in the junior national category. “There are more and more new skateboarders coming in. We all have a healthy competition, and we all like to help each other improve.”

In the team of skateboarders travelling from Butwal, there were three girls who were participating in their senior category. Among them was 15-year-old Khushi BK, who became the national champion for three consecutive editions. She was 13 when she won it for the first time in 2024.

In her last of five chances to show a skill, Khushi made a small jump and got over the railing that ran past the height of five stairs. She then rode the skateboard for a couple of metres and landed safely on a high jump.

Khushi lives near the skatepark in Butwal. She used to go there to watch others ride skateboards and show off their skills. She was once allowed to try by some seniors in the park. And it was how a national champion was born.

“It feels great to be skateboarding,” Khushi told the Post after the senior girls’ final event concluded.

She feels prouder to have been a role model already for a new generation of female skateboarders. “I feel honoured,” Khushi added.

After the senior girls’ event concluded, 12-year-old Pragyata Pradhan, who had reached the final, packed her belongings and left with her father as she was certain of not finishing as one of the top three.

However, Pragyata looked determined to come back stronger and better in the next edition. Before she left the premises of the Yama Buddha Skate Park, Pragyata went to Khushi and shook her hands. And her father walked by proudly.

“She said she wanted to skateboard, and I brought her one. It has been three years since then,” Prajwal Pradhan, father of Pragyata, told the Post. “She did great in the tournament. I am so proud of her.”

Pragyata also said that it was a great experience. “I learned a lot,” she said.

“I hope I will at least finish as one of the top three,” Rafik Mohammad, an 11-year-old from Butwal, told the Post as he was walking around the park, tired of waiting for the closing ceremony to begin, as the member secretary at the National Sports Council was a bit late to reach there from an event in Bhaktapur.

Mohammad looked sad for a while when his name was not announced as one of the top three in his category. But, in a while, he was over it.

As darkness fell over the Yama Buddha Skate Park and the champions posed for photographs, many of the youngest participants, including Mohammad, were already talking about next year. Some left with medals, most did not. But nearly all departed with bigger ambitions than when they arrived.

Similarly, there were many children from the neighbourhood who had come to the skate park to witness the tournament. Some children were accompanied by their parents. Passerbys stopped. For all of them, a sport still carving out its place in Nepal made a long-lasting impression.

“We found that those who came and watched the tournament and skateboarding for the first time had a positive impression of the sport and its athletes,” said Khanal. “And that is one of the most encouraging results of this championship.”