A huge congratulations and good luck to Taylor Cunningham who will be heading out to Argentina with the Great Britain Skateboarding team to compete in the qualifying events for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Taylor recently secured first place in the UK men's Skateboarding National Championships and, as a result, has been invited to Argentina by Skateboard Great Britain. Taylor will hopefully be sending updates over the course of his time in Argentina, which we will also share. All of us at King Ethelbert School are incredibly proud of what Taylor has achieved and wish him the very best of luck with the qualifying events. You've got this Taylor!
A statement from Taylor's parents:
Taylor's Skateboarding journey
Born in January 2009, starting to skate at the age of 4. At just 5 years old, he participated in his first jam at Revolution Skatepark in Broadstairs and won first place in the U7's category. From that moment on, he has skated all over the UK and internationally taking part in various jams, competitions and events in the UK and overseas.
Taylor's notable achievements to date:
2023 - invite from SBGB to attend Paris Olympic Qualifier in Argentina May 2023
2023 SBGB National Championships Mens Park event - 1st place
2023 Cornwall - Bowlageddon - Mens 2nd place
2023 Malmo - Vert Attack - U16’s placed 7th
2022 Prague - Mystic Cup - Mens Bowl Comp - placed 27/40 (highest place for GB)
2022 UK Independent Vert Series- Skater of the Year
2022 Ambassador for F51 Skatepark in Folkestone
Furthermore, when Tay was only 10 years old, he won the gold medal in the Mens Open Mini Ramp Champs at the 2019 NASS Festival. Last year, he also had the honour of representing skateboarding for Team GB as a baton bearer for the Queen's Relay for the Commonwealth Games 2022. Additionally, he actively supports his local community by teaching kids how to skateboard at his local skatepark.
Taylor skates "Goofy" and prefers skating Bowl and Vert. His current favourite trick is a front blunt, and his dream trick is a body varial 540. In Taylor's own words, "I believe that there's a sport out there for everyone, and for me, it's skateboarding.”
At the end of April Taylor received an invite from SBGB to represent SBGB (Skateboarding Great Britain) in Argentina . This is a remarkable opportunity for Taylor, and it could have a significant impact on his skateboarding career. He considers it an honour to represent his Sport, his local area of South East England and of course his Country.
This event in Argentina is just the start of the mountain Taylor will need to climb and crucial for him to attend, as a good placing will set him up for following events in the years to come (LA in 2028, Brisbane in 2032).
Taylor believes that attending this competition will give him a good opportunity to be seen by potential sponsors and people that could help with funding and future support, while also giving him the experience of what it takes to compete at a professional level.
The following day with the help of his parents Taylor started a Go FundMe campaign to try & raise the funds to see if his dreams could come true! So with the help of our local community, the skateboard community, friends, family, far and near and the kindness complete strangers, we incredibly reached our initial fund target in just 6 hours! We thought it would a lot longer than that. The result being Taylor is off to Argentina!
To follow his progress on please follow his journey on Instagram @tayrayskates