RECIPIENT of the world’s first university scholarship for skateboarding, Greenacre’s Amar Hadid has been named Canterbury Bankstown’s Australia Day Ambassador and is looking forward to presiding over celebrations and helping to inspire upcoming generations next Wednesday.
This will be the 23-year-old Muslim’s fourth year of being an ambassador and it is a role she holds dear.
“It’s important to note that you don’t have to be born here to be a proud Australian,” she said.
“It’s more about the commitment you make to our beautiful, vibrant, multicultural country.
“I love the new citizenship ceremonies as it’s so exciting to see everyone keen to play their part in society, helping each other to progress our nation.”
Also excelling in soccer, touch football and tennis, Amar took up skateboarding about nine years ago and has reached Olympic qualifying standard but was unable to compete in the final qualifier for Tokyo last year as she was recovering from Covid.
“After much contemplation, and a lot of training and successful results in competitions in Australia and later in the US, China, Brazil and Sweden, I knew my heart was truly in skateboarding, so I am now focusing on skateboarding as my sole sport,” she said.
“I enjoy very much the challenge of skateboarding – you fall, then you must get up and get it right – synergetic with what we must all do in life.”
After recently graduating from her first degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Amar hopes to next study courses in Medicine but is keen to take part in the skateboarding qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics mid next year.
“I want to continue to inspire and motivate young females to pursue their dreams, and help them understand and believe that skateboarding sports can strengthen them in ways that were previously never thought possible in a sport that is male dominated,” she said.
“With the right drive, determination and persistence – anything is possible.”
