Calgary’s skateboarding sisters dreaming of Olympics

Two young Calgary sisters with prodigious skateboarding skills have their eyes set on competing in the Olympics one day.

Eight-year-old Amaya and her 5-year-old little sister Safiya love snowboarding, but when it comes to skateboarding, they are champions in the making.

Not only have the sisters participated in Calgary tournaments, but they’ve also travelled to Edmonton and Toronto to compete and win prizes with their shredding ability.

Amaya and Safiya are born and raised in Canada but their mother, Madiha Mohammed, is originally from Pakistan.

She says children should be able to enjoy skateboarding regardless of what they wear.

“I really think that you don’t need to have any specific attire to participate. So if the kids want to go outside in Pakistani traditional wear, Shalwar Kameez or Lehnga, or anything else, it’s perfectly fine,” Madiha said. “On Eid festival day — it’s an Islamic event — my girls went out in the traditional dress of Lehnga and skateboarded. So what I mean is that clothes don’t hold you back.”

Madiha says it’s taken a lot of research, investment, and hard work to make it possible for her girls to follow their dreams. She says her daughters enjoy sports that many in her South Asian community don’t usually think of, and the girls agree.

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“I am lucky to do whatever sports I want and I wish more girls can do it,” Amaya said.

“I can skateboard in any clothes I want and girls can do anything,” Safiya said.

The girls have an equal passion for snowboarding, regularly visiting Banff and Canada Olympic Park to train with an instructor.

“I like snowboarding because I get to go up in the mountains, shred the hills, and maybe go to the Olympics one day. I find snowboarding easy but also a tiny bit hard. I do fall down but then I get up and I do it all over again,” Amaya said.

Amaya says she is lucky to have her little sister Safiya join her on her adventures.

“Snowboarding makes me happy and I get to do it with my family,” Safiya said.

You can follow Amaya and Safiya on their journey through their Instagram accounts @amayazm and @safiyashredz, where they regularly post their achievements and adventures.

They aim to continue practicing both snowboarding and skateboarding so they can compete at the international level to make their parents and Canada proud.