Over the Bench Sports Blog: Skater Hockey Africa Series. Part One.

Image of a training session in Rwanda. Photo Credits to @eric_Vision_skater___

Trigger warning: This post contains discussions of childhood physical abuse, which may be distressing for some readers.  Please take care of yourself and proceed only if you feel safe to do so.

In the Over the Bench Sports Blog, Skater Hockey Africa Series we will be looking  starting off by taking a look at the Skater Hockey community in Rwanda. The group are based in the city of Kigali.

I was contacted by a gentleman with a keen hockey interest named Eric at the beginning of January and he explained about his passion to grow the game in Rwanda.

It was refreshing to hear about all the positive influence the training sessions were having, especially engaging with the youth in order to keep them out of trouble.

Earlier on last week I had the pleasure of chatting to Eric to kick start this series off, something I cannot wait to write more about. In a country and continent that has many cultural difference to that of the UK and Europe it is an incredible journey to read how Eric has always been determined to promote Skating and share his love for the game in the most unlikely of places.

Some of the things Eric talks about on his path in life may be difficult to some readers, this goes to show how determined Eric was and still is to succeed in a sport he loves. Here is Eric’s story on his pathway in Skater Hockey in Rwanda:

“Hello, my name is Kwizera Eric.

I am Rwandan, 26 years old, and I would like to share my journey background in skate life style —how I started and how far it has come.

I began skating in 2012 when I was 14 years old. It was a difficult journey because at that time skates were very hard to find. My parents did not support it; whenever I went to the places where we skated and came back home, they would be angry. Sometimes they even beat me. My father especially did not like skating at all—he wanted me to play football instead. But I truly loved skating.

As days and years went by, skating slowly started to become more popular. My parents eventually let me continue, especially as I grew older and they realized that I genuinely loved it. At the beginning, we were only five children skating, without any guidance and without knowing that skating was a real sport like others. For us, it was just for fun.

Later, a man came and put us on the right path. He taught us and explained that skating is a real sport and that, if taken professionally, it can also provide a living. We loved it even more and continued practicing, and our numbers kept growing. From the original five children, we are now more than 100, and more are still joining.

In 2023, we were lucky to receive volunteers from Germany. They introduced us to hockey, and we immediately loved it and started playing it. They told us that it could be very beneficial for us in the future. They brought us basic equipment—hockey sticks and balls. We spent one year together, and then they returned to Germany.

We continued on our own, and up to now we are still working. Currently, I coach more than one hundred children in skating, without any salary. We do not have stable equipment; when it gets worn out, we try to combine our small resources to buy more, even though it is not easy.

Now we are focusing especially on young children. Our youngest skater is only three years old, and he can already skate. We try our best to teach everyone. I was once a child myself, but now I am grown and have taken responsibility. The man who guided us and helped us love skating entrusted the team to us so that we could take care of it, just as he taught us. He is still alive, but he is mostly busy with taking care of his family. As you know, here in Africa, having a family means you must work very hard to survive.

That is my journey in the sport of skating”

Kwizera Eric

Answering questions on behalf of Over the Bench Sports Blog

If you need any further support after reading this post, please know you are not alone.  You can reach out to:

NSPCC: call 0808 800 5000 or visit www.nspcc.org.uk  

Childline: for anyone under 19, call 0800 1111 or chat online at www.childline.org.uk 

Refuge: for support related to abuse, call 0808 2000 247 or visit www.refuge.org.uk 

Samaritans: if you are in emotional distress, call 116 123 for free or visit www.samaritans.org 

I want to thank Eric for sharing his experience in the game and growing up  trying to follow his dreams. It goes to show how determined and goal driven Eric is to help grow the game in Rwanda through his passion and love for the game.

If you wish to get in touch with Eric and other Skater Hockey organisations within Rwanda please check out these pages below:

@eric_vision_skater___

@rwandahockey

@inline_hockey_rwanda

@rwanda_hope_club

@skaterrwanda

@skater_adolphe

Thank you for taking the time to read Eric’s journey and  I hope you can get in touch and help show some support for the growing game in Rwanda. In part two of this series we will be speaking to Capt Amom who helps organize the Skater Hockey Community in Uganda.

Stay safe and have a good week every