Bart Buikman

 

Our Gladiator Bart Buikman (20), is one of the greatest skateboarding talents in the Netherlands and belongs to the top in Europe. Bart has already experienced a number of qualifying matches at a high level. The road to the top isn’t an easy one. Bart knows this like no other. Read on to find out about Bart's way to the top.

"When I was young, a skate park was built in the town where I live, Edam. I walked past the park and thought it was special to see the skaters skating. This enthusiasm didn’t go unnoticed, and soon I got a skateboard from my neighbour. I wanted to try it out immediately and thought it was really cool. It turned out that I had a talent for skating and it went well for me. I used to love challenges and love to seek out danger. So I can use this part of me very well in skating because when it comes to skating, you can push your boundaries continuously. I've always liked this and I still like this. I soon made friends with the other skaters. When I was eleven, my new friends asked me to go to a large skate park in Amsterdam, which I though was great. When I saw this skate park I was sold instantly. I liked it so much that from then on I started taking lessons at this skate park, and that's when it all started.

There were different levels of lessons and soon I was in the highest group in the skate park. This was when I started competing in competitions. In the beginning, these were mainly competitions for children. I often won these competitions easily. I soon wanted to join the big boys. After doing many national competitions, I started to join international competitions at the age of 14. My mother and stepfather always travelled with me and I am very grateful for that. These international tournaments were great for me. Each game was a new experience, which allowed me to grow enormously.

I trained more and more and went abroad for competitions more and more. I managed to get to the semi-finals several times and made it to the finals twice! Back then, all these matches were separated from each other. Since skateboarding became an Olympic sport, most of these competitions have been combined as “qualifiers” for the Olympics. To give you an idea of what such a match looks like, I will explain. There is one organization that organizes the competition. There are several qualifying matches where you can earn points. The intention is that you score as many points as possible and end up in the top 20 of Europe.

When everything was still normal and the world was not turned upside down by the corona virus, I went abroad every month for these kind of qualifying matches. I travelled to China, Brazil, Russia and America. I have seen many places in the world with the financial help of the ‘’Ringen om Volendam’’ organization and my parents.

For the qualifying matches, I train in The Hague. There’s a skate park there that was specifically built for Olympic Games. The matches nowadays look different than they did in the past. Before, we were allowed to skate for three minutes and then you would receive points for that. Now, you have to skate two rounds of one minute each, plus five separate tricks. You will receive the points immediately after your performance. I like the new way, because now, you immediately know whether or not you’ve qualified yourself.

The road to the top isn’t an easy one of course. Skating is a jury sport. That’s why it remains very difficult, because each jury member has its own opinion. You just have to be lucky with the jury and whether they like you or not. I also broke my wrist twice and my collarbone once. This doesn’t help with my development either.

During the corona crisis I train three days a week. On Mondays I train in Den Bosch. There is a skate park which is open to Olympic team members. On Tuesdays I train in The Hague. There is also a skate park especially for Olympic team members. On Wednesdays I train in a skate park in Amsterdam. This park is actually closed, but because my sponsor "Ben-G" co-owns the skate park, I can skate here. I am very happy with this.

My dream is to build a skating career in America. Road trips across America are organized by different brands. You have to look for beautiful spots on the street to film cool clips. Eventually a video will be made of this. One day you will see me feature in such a video. That would be really cool. But the corona virus has disturbed many of my plans.

I know there are more young people who want to pursue their dreams. I want to say to them: never give up on your goal, keep enjoying what you do and above all, believe in yourself. "

 

Bart Buikman
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