Sam Beckett said that skateboarding's perception among those who provide funding "needs to change."GETTY IMAGES
British skateboarder Sam Beckett said that the presence of British skateboarders at Tokyo 2020 is being put at risk by "terrible" government support, according to Alistair Magowan of the BBC. Beckett, who aims to take part when the sport makes its Olympic debut in Tokyo, said that Great Britain is "so far behind" other countries. This year's national championships were canceled because of a "lack of funding." Skateboard England has five months to find sponsors for the '19 event, "which would carry Olympic qualifying points." It cannot access more Sport England funding to help stage the championships and said that it does not have "the expertise to source sponsorship on a national level." A Sport England spokesperson said that the body has "invested almost £3m ($3.85M) in over 70 skateboarding projects and parks since 2009" and provided £142,000 ($182,000) to Skateboard England to help it become a "sustainable organisation" (BBC, 8/23).
