Go Skateboarding Day with Rowan Coultas

The 21st of June 2021 is Go Skateboarding Day, and to mark the occasion we spoke to GB Snowsport freestyle snowboard athlete and skateboard coach Rowan Coultas. Rowan’s been coaching Snowsport England’s Backing the Best sessions at Graystone Action Sports in Manchester which include trampoline and skateboarding sessions to teach children from the Greater Manchester Area foundational freestyle snowsport skills. Read on for all things skateboarding and snowboarding.

Happy Go Skateboarding Day! What’re you doing today to mark the occasion, we hear it might also be a big day for you for another reason?

Happy Go Skateboarding day to you guys too! I’m hoping the weather stays clear to try and skate all day but also to celebrate my 24th birthday!

Can you tell us a bit about your relationship with skateboarding? How did you get into it? How old were you and where did you learn?

I think my relationship with it and how I got into it started just a bit after I started snowboarding so I must’ve been about 10 or 11. I used to go to sessions at a little barn near my house that someone had converted into a skatepark.

And for you, what’s the relationship between skateboarding and snowboarding, as a snowboard Olympian?

It’s all the transferable skills you can take from each sport and cross them over, it’s also just really fun to do especially when you can’t snowboard like most haven’t been able to in the past year.

You’ve been coaching the Backing the Best sessions in partnership with Snowsport England, GB Snowsport and Graystone Action Sports, how have they been going?

They’ve been going really well, Graystone is the best place ever to have these sessions as they have everything from an amazing skate park that has everything for all abilities to the trampolines and airbag where we can practice more snowboard and ski based tricks.

With that in mind what are some of the transferable skills in skateboarding that could benefit potential future Snowsports athletes?

I’d say one of the main ones is learning how to ride transitions, so riding around a bowl or mini ramp. You can take that to snowboarding for things like riding a half pipe, quarter pipe, knowing when to push through a transition to get more speed and when to not.

What’re you hoping the participants in these sessions are going to gain from them?

I’m hoping they most of all have fun and learn at least one new thing whether that be skating or on the trampolines. And also I hope it gets them stoked to go snowboarding!

What would you say to anyone keen to get involved in either skateboarding or snowboarding but who might be a bit nervous?

I would say give it a go as everyone that is involved in skating and snowboarding is really nice and they will take the time to make sure you feel comfortable and relaxed so you can enjoy learning a new sport!