Jones teaches, works on Olympic journey

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

A self-fulfilling prophecy might help Tamara Jones achieve her Olympic dreams.
Jones, a 28-year-old Strathmore transplant, is doing everything in her powers to represent Canada in skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
After a busy summer of training and competitions, Jones’ back flared up. With her health becoming normal again, Jones has opened up her busy time to help the next generation of local skaters.
Whenever she has free time, Jones is offering up her skills as a skateboarder to teach one-on-one lessons to youth.
“I’ve had people reach out online and in person, and I think this is a pretty good idea for me to help them and they would really be able to help me in return,” said Jones,
For Jones’ services, kids of any age can learn about the different parts of a skateboard, the basics of how to ride for beginners and skatepark etiquette.
For more advanced riders, Jones can expand the lessons to more difficult tricks, such as rails and bigger jumps.
“I did a few of these earlier in the summer before I got too busy and I think kids really enjoyed learning about the sport of skateboarding,” said the New Westminster product Jones.
Jones is comfortable working with small groups, too. She believes bringing a group of friends out might be a more welcoming environment for beginners.
The lessons come at a fee and vary depending on the length or number of sessions. All proceeds from her teaching clinics will be spent on getting her to the Am Getting Paid street park competition in Montreal, which runs Sept. 28 and 29.
The contest offers a $10,000 cheque for the winner, and for the first time in the event’s history, it will feature a women’s division.
“I competed back in this event in 2007. Back then, there was no girl’s division. I went and skated against 100 other guys,” said Jones. “This year, we finally have our own division and it pays the same as the men’s event.”
The three-minute qualification jam rides go Sept. 28, with the Top 10 riders advancing to the finals the following day. This event should be the latest and best litmus test for Jones in regard to her national ranking.
Before motherhood, Jones was one of the top-ranked skaters in Canada. Earlier this summer, she showed she can still stomp out the tricks when she was the only female to advance to the open final of the Best Foot Forward competition in Vancouver on July 2. She also won the women’s division back in June at an event presented by D.C. Shoes in Rimbey.
“Any time you can show well at an event, it certainly helps the confidence when I’m back training,” said Jones.
Knowing where she stands nationally will be a big help heading into the winter, as information about the Olympic team begins to leak out.
Jones has heard rumours that Olympic qualifying will be based on two nine-month periods with a ranking system. Competitors will have to make their way to specific contests from January 2019 to May of 2020. The list of events is not released yet, but Jones believes Team Canada will take three girls in the street and three more for the park-based competitions to the Olympics.
“There is still a lot of work to do, but it feels great to help others out along the way,” said Jones.
For more information about the lessons, contact Jones through her Facebook page, Tamara’s Road to the Olympics.