Petite fille faisant du skateboard au Liban

Lebanon

Snoubar Skatepark

On August 4, 2021, one year after the explosion that hit the city of Beirut, the first public skatepark was built.

To allow young people to practice their sport in a safe space, to encourage human encounters between people of different origins and to give a new impetus of joy to the Lebanese youth, such are the objectives of the Snoubar Skatepark project.

For two months, volunteers from all over the world, the Decathlon Skateboarding and Decathlon Libanon teams, as well as the association Make Life Skate Life, participated in the construction of this skatepark with the support of the Decathlon Foundation.

Photo from skatepark Beyrouth Liban (4) (1)

“We worked very hard to build the skatepark. The volunteers give everything. We met a lot of local skaters, we skated together one morning. Skateboarding is a great intergenerational sport, it creates social links, everyone talks to each other.”

Jean-Philippe Rode

Project leader at the Decathlon Foundation and product manager at Decathlon SkateBoarding

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Since the opening of the skatepark, dozens of young people have come to live their passion every day. This is the case of Mike who says:

“The skatepark has changed my life. When you skate you just want to have fun, you don’t think about negative things”

With the association JustChildHood, Mike gives lessons several times a week to Palestinian and Syrian children from the neighbouring refugee camp:

“It’s going to change their lives”.

Mike, passionate about skateboarding

This project of the Decathlon Foundation goes even further and encourages the professional integration of young people in a context of economic and social crisis in Lebanon. Decathlon Lebanon is committed to offering professional opportunities to local skaters (internships, seasonal contracts or permanent contracts).

This sports and solidarity project, which brings the meaning of Decathlon to life, is just one of the 1000 projects supported by the Foundation and carried out by our teams.

If you too would like to join the adventure and get involved in a local project, contact us!