She would only have been 14 when Avril Lavigne’ s hit song Sk8er Boi was released, but in Sharné Jacobs, South Africa has its very own skater girl who is keeping the code on a rapid roll forward.
Now 38, the Gqeberha-born Joburger started skating as a teenager, and since her teens has devoted her life to raising both the profile of the sport and the lives of the many youngsters flocking to it.
A talented sportswoman in her own right, she played first-team touch rugby and hockey at Bracken High School in Alberton and represented Eastern Gauteng in the former.
“ I was also racing BMX bikes and a lot of other action sports. I find doing action sports keeps me going,” she says.
By her own admission, she wears a lot of hats simultaneously, but all intrinsically linked to skateboarding.
“ I started skating as a teenager and was very shy on the board, being the only girl. Then I watched a PlayStation series called Tony Hawk“ Pro Skater” which was so very cool and really inspired me. Then I started skating with my neighbour, practising on my own in the garage.
“ When I was in my late 20s, I met another girl who skated, and she invited me to the Germiston Bowl skatepark and things really took off.”
As social media gained more traction, Jacobs started Girl Skate South Africa in 2015“ to create safe spaces for women in skateboarding and to not feel intimidated”.
Over the years, that has grown to such an extent that sessions attract between 30 and 40 female skaters.
She also founded( and runs) Johannesburg Skate Club, which has opened more pathways as it’ s affiliated to the national rollersports federation and in turn to sports umbrella body SASCOC, giving access to legitimate international participation.
“ An organisation from Germany also got hold of me and we did an exchange programme … We took a Soweto and Alexandra skateboarder to Germany where we did a programme based on gender equality and six or seven SA skaters went to Germany and vice versa.
“ After that Nike SA got hold of me … They were building a skatepark in Pimville, Soweto – Nike have always been very supportive of female coaches, so they have a Nike Shapa Soweto programme where I coach young skaters every week at Soweto( they’ re all female coaches) and I’ ve been there since 2022.
“ Although it was originally meant for girls only, it organically morphed into both genders.” Rising stars abound in Jacobs’ skating firmament.
“ Omphile Mashile is only 12 but has already been to Camp Woodward in the United States and has also been to Brazil, and another kid, Molemo Modise, is also hugely talented.” Modise was also in Brazil for world championships and earned points to be on the World Skateboarding Rankings to be eligible to compete in the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, later this year.
“ I work so hard for these kids and they more often than not place first, second and third at the local competitions.
“ Omphile is one of those rare athletes who has the talent, work ethic and passion to go a long way and I genuinely believe South Africa will be hearing his name for many years to come.”
But away from the hustle and bustle of the skateboarding environment, it’ s behind the scenes that Jacobs probably does her best work.
Jhb Skate Club team manager Natalia Alvarez and Sharné Jacobs- Photo by Rudi Jeggle
Apart from straight coaching, it’ s her role as something of a mother and mentor that marks her as a special human. And although it involves tokens, it’ s anything but token work.
She elaborates …“ We run a token programme where the skaters have to earn tokens for their board … like reading a book and then giving us a summary. They must also be kind, not litter, must learn new tricks, be on time for practice, exercise discipline, and for this they earn tokens.
“ Otherwise it’ s too easy – they must learn that nothing’ s for free. The programme has grown so big – one of the kids won a competition, and first thing he bought was school shoes … That was a very important thing. It’ s parents who are supposed to buy shoes, so he used his own winnings to buy shoes.”
FEATURE
Skateboarding may seem rudimentary, but it’ s not cheap.“ A quality complete skateboard can cost anywhere from R2 500 to over R4 500, while skate shoes typically range between R1 500 and R2 500. Add safety gear, replacing worn-out parts and travel to competitions, and it becomes expensive quite quickly. That’ s why sponsorship and community support make such a huge difference. Skateboarding needs to be accessible to those who can’ t afford it.”
Says young Mashile:“ I started skateboarding aged nine when a friend took me to Shapa. Under coach Sharné, I improved a lot and am now one of the best in Soweto. Skateboarding means so much to me as it took me to Camp Woodward in the US and also to Brazil.
“ The token programme has helped us a lot because now we have to work for ourselves and it teaches us a lot of things because the coach can’ t just give us everything – we have to earn it, work for it, stay strong and work for whatever we need.”
As for the humble coach, her only focus is on the‘ boarders.
“ There are definitely easier ways to make a living! But seeing young people grow in confidence, stay out of trouble and even represent South Africa makes every challenge worthwhile. That’ s what keeps me going.
“ My dream is to build a sustainable pathway where any child in South Africa, regardless of where they come from or what they can afford, has the opportunity to progress from their first day on a skateboard all the way to representing South Africa at the Olympic Games.”
Molemo Modise – Photo by Sharné Jacobs
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