A maneuver well executed on one of the handrails of the Bom Retiro Extreme Sports Centerin São Paulo, gave the skater Cadu Silva, 19, the opportunity to go to college on a full scholarship. Access to higher education was the prize received by the youngster from São Paulo for winning the category at the end of October Best Trick vestibulenovelty of the 2nd stage of the University circuit of Skateboarda series of competitions that caught the eye of a US government scholarship program after more than a decade of connecting skateboarders and universities.

Cadu is a student at the Francisco de Paula Conceição Júnior Public School, located in Jardim Mitsutani, in the Campo Limpo district, in the southern zone of São Paulo, and was discouraged by the consequences that the pandemic had brought to education. public. For this reason, although he always intended to go to university, he was not motivated to take the entrance exams for the main institutions of the country.

“Given the pandemic scenario we are going through, there has been a significant drop in the quality of education in public schools in my area. As a result, I felt powerless to compete for vacancies that are usually filled by private education students,” said the student, who also works for a small skate accessory business, at the Stadium.

For the skater, having a higher education is something complementary to his dream of becoming a professional in the sport he loves, because he considers it important to have another option. When he saw he could get into college through the Circuito Universitário, he was excited about the possibility and signed up for the event, which is free.

The day of the argument arrived, and Cadu hit a varial flip on FS boardslide to become champion of the first edition of Best Trick Vestibulando. In addition to the trophy, he received a UniSantana scholarship voucher from the organization, partner of the event in this edition and others. He still has to pass the university entrance exam to validate the scholarship, but he is already thinking about the sector to choose.

“Higher education was not something easily accessible given my conditions and my reality, and it was very important for me to be able to win a scholarship by practicing what I love, namely skateboarding”, did he declare. “I couldn’t not take advantage of this opportunity given to me.”

PUNISHMENT

This year’s 2nd stage was the first to have a category dedicated to high school students, but the Circuito Universitário de Skate, endorsed by the Brazilian Skate Confederation (CBSk) and organized by the University Skate Association (ASU), is contested for 13 years. and has been distributing scholarships since 2010. The event is also organized by the Sports and Recreation Department of the City of São Paulo.

Until then, scholarships were only offered to university students to complete their studies or those who wished to pursue higher education. Over the years, the Circuit has helped train more than 50 people, with scholars such as Brazilian street skate team coach Roger Mancha and World Skate referee Marcos Hiroshi. Other partnerships have also been established. Last year, for example, the prize was R$6,000 in student loans distributed by Caixa Econômica Federal.

“These people are coming back to the skate scene more empowered,” explained Marco Ferragina, vice president of ASU. “We have photographers, journalists, administrators, skate park engineers, architects, audiovisual professionals, endless professionals who contribute to the development of skateboarding and who have reached this position through higher education favored by the Circuit”.

EDUCATION GENERATES EDUCATION

The promotion of education had an impact on Ferragina’s own education. Because of his work at ASU, he was one of 18 Brazilians selected to participate in this year’s edition of The Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), a U.S. government scholarship program aimed at train Latin American, Caribbean and Latin American entrepreneurs. Canadians working with social impact actions. “People thought it was great, innovative. I was able to get that message across to the United States,” he said.

Before the big steps and international recognition, the start of the business was difficult, as there was some resistance within the universities. “It was painstaking work, talking to athletics, with deans. We managed to feel that the skater deserved to be a scholarship holder, because he is also an athlete. Another thing that helped was to have always worked as a marketing case. more outreach in college than many traditional sports.”

Over time, the circuit adapted to the environment and placed skateboarding in the Brazilian University Games (JUB). In the current format, it organizes stages with men’s and women’s street and park contests, the two categories that are part of the Olympic program. There is also a masters division, for competitors over 35 years old.

In Bom Retiro, the street champions were Joabe Moises Nascimento Silva (male), from Unicsul, Carina de Almeida (female), from Unicep, and Fábio Martins de Carvalho (master), from Metodista. In the park, the winners were: João Victor Pinhas (male), from São Camilo; Maria Eduarda Nocera (female), FSA; and Marcelo de Pontes (master), from Uniítalo.

FUTURE

The Best Trick Vestibulando only entered this year, after some planning time to be made possible. Now ASU’s goal is to expand the idea and attract new universities. “It’s something we’ve been trying to work on for a long time and it’s become a reality. It’s very rewarding,” Ferragina commented. “The idea is that we encourage this more and more and more secondary school students want to participate.”

The combination of skateboarding and higher education fosters a powerful exchange, because the sport itself also has a lot to learn. The sense of community and the very particular street culture, which mixes sport and art, make skateboarding a school, to which champion Cadu is very grateful. “Skateboarding opened doors to a lot of knowledge for me, including English, video editing, photography, entrepreneurship, sociology and philosophy. When we talk about skateboarding, we have to talk about the resilience that it brings us open-mindedness to current events”.

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