On a fine late October Saturday afternoon, a group of young children get out of a van and head to the Xuhui Riverside, a large public open space that stretches along the banks of the Huangpu River. They are all wearing T-shirts, helmets and elbow, wrist and knee pads. What makes this group stand out is that they are all carrying skateboards.

When they arrive at the skatepark by the river the group performs some warm-up exercises before they all jump on their boards and begin the serious part of their skating day.

While some of the children are obviously competent and skilled and quickly glide along rails and ramps, performing tricks and deft leaps and twists, others are beginners just learning how to place their feet on the boards and they move more slowly and carefully.

The men behind this novel skateboard program for children are James Herrmann and John Sawchak from the Shanghai-based international skateboard company Iconx. This is one of the skateboarding programs the enthusiasts have initiated in town this year.

"We focus on teaching the art of skateboarding, educating children about healthy living, and being outdoors to have a good time as a community. Our goal is to intrigue kids and get them outside, get them involved," James Herrmann, a qualified architect told the Global Times at their Iconx shop-cum-clubhouse on Nansuzhou Road.

No boundaries

Herrmann, a US citizen and a self-professed "fundamental learner" who has just been living for a year in Shanghai where he picked up skateboarding, is fond of the idea that "there are no boundaries in this sport - it can be visually appealing, especially active and intriguing."

His sentiments were echoed by his partner Sawchak. "Skateboarding is so much more than just a sport. To me, it's something totally different than a sport like basketball, soccer or football - it's formulated and limitless. Everyone has their own style, their own way of skateboarding to express themselves. And it's very creative - you can associate skateboarding with many other things like photography and videography," Sawchak said.

Sawchak is a professional skateboarder from the US who has been skating for about 12 years. "My brother introduced me to skateboarding when I was around 10 years old, and I haven't stopped since. I bring my skateboard with me everywhere I travel around the world. And right now, I'm in Shanghai and I feel obliged to show people here what skateboarding is about - which is a lot more than just exercises. It's about personal growth and also a different channel to express yourself."

This is Sawchak's second time in Shanghai. Prior to his first brief stay in the city last year, Sawchak had been skateboarding in South America and Asia where he was filmed as a professional performer.

Sharing their love for skateboarding and with a common goal to expand the local skateboarding community in Shanghai, the pair began to organize events and gradually began to focus on teaching young children.

"We've done some events before teaching kids, a little bit here and there, and then one day the idea clicked to actually turn it into a program for kids to do something different. So after we did a couple of events, we saw the potential the program had, we took it and started the summer camp," Sawchak said.

Their summer skate camp ran from Monday to Friday between May and September, and was popular with the children who joined up - like 13-year-old American Leah Osann who moved to China with her family about eight years ago.

Osann, an eighth grade student at the Shanghai United International School, joined the camp in late summer with her younger sister Ava. "My mom was at work when we had two weeks left of the summer vacation. So she found this camp for us, said that sounds cool, and then I had my first week there," Osann explained.

Birthday present

Her father had given her a skateboard for her 13th birthday, but she hadn't really used it until she came to the camp. "I've been skateboarding for about two years but I haven't been very good at it, so this camp kind of helps me learn. As I've been trying to stick with the camp for about four months now, I'm a lot better at skateboarding than I used to be. Before I wouldn't use my skateboard at all, but now I'm using it every day after school," she told the Global Times.

The Osann sisters are now attending the fall skate camp which costs 1,800 yuan ($295) for five sessions. "We're running the camp every Saturday, from 2 pm to 6 pm. We meet the kids at our shop first, and they get to see all the cool skateboarding things that are around and what we have to offer, and then we take them to a skatepark in the city," Herrmann explained.

Sawchak said there were about four or five really good skateparks around the city. "The skateparks at the Xuhui Riverside, Pudong Jinqiao area and Yuanshen Stadium, and the SMP Skatepark in Yangpu district are where I usually take the kids on weekends. I take them to a different location each time to keep things exciting and changing, so the kids don't get bored. Each location has different features to practice on, so we're rotating parks to where we can practice different skills," said Sawchak who is the head coach for all of the Iconx skateboarding programs.

Each camp session usually has around 10 to 12 participants aged from 5 to around 15. "It doesn't matter there is an age difference because they're all getting along to learn something new together," Sawchak said.

Herrmann believes children can skateboard as long as they can walk. "But we take them from 5 years up preferably. Some people would say that's really young but it's perfect for learning - you're finding out what your body is and are trying to work on balance. I think skateboarding is a great way to learn that," Herrmann said.

The basics of skateboarding include pushing, moving, turning, direction and balance. "It's all about foot placement, and figuring out where your feet need to be and when, and of course when to change and how fast to change. So the biggest thing is definitely being able to move and learning direction. Once you get these down, that's when you can start getting more technical," Sawchak said.

While Sawchak and other coaches teach tricks at the camp, they always make safety their priority. "We have three main concerns. The first one is making sure everyone's always safe - they can't skate if they don't have safety equipment around. At home they can do whatever they want, but with us, safety is number one. The next thing is making sure everyone's having fun with skateboarding. Number three is of course learning."

Tricks are easier

Noam Ballon is a new arrival to the Saturday camp. The 12-year-old moved to Beijing from France when he was only 4 months old. After that he came to Shanghai where he has been skating for some two years.

"I used the skateboard a long time ago, like when I was 8, but I stopped for a while because I found it too hard. But then I started it again and since my legs are longer and I'm taller now, it's easier to do tricks," the seventh grader from the Shanghai American School, Pudong Campus, told the Global Times.

Ballon said he really liked the skate camp after his first session - it offered a good environment and he will keep attending until he leaves Shanghai. "I have always loved speed and airtime. Whenever I do a new trick on my board I feel great."

Sharing a love for skateboarding is Nick Hiller, a 12-year-old German boy who attends the British International School Pudong. The London-born boy moved to Shanghai with his family last summer and has been twice to the fall camp. "I love skateboarding because it's fun and there are always new challenges," Hiller said.

A comparatively skilled skateboarder, Hiller came to know John Sawchak at after-school activities. "John is my teacher at an after-school program where students can bring their own skateboards and skate the ramps that they bring to the school. I think it's cool and fun to skate with other guys and you always make new friends at the camp," Hiller said.

This after-school skateboarding activity is another program that James Herrmann and John Sawchak have developed. "Since our summer camp went really well, once school started, I got in contact with some international schools and we agreed to the after-school sessions during the week," John Sawchak said.

According to Herrmann, they're now running after-school skateboard sessions in a few international schools, including the British International School Pudong and the Shanghai Livingston American School.

"We've got almost 40 students at the British International School Pudong. Instead of doing soccer, rugby, basketball or karate or whatever, we have introduced skateboarding to these students as an option, another outdoor activity, after school. And we're finding that the kids are really falling in love with it. A lot of them are already signing up for the next session," Herrmann said.

Chinese involvement

Although at present, most of their students are from international schools, Herrmann and Sawchak do have some Chinese involvement. "On Sunday afternoons, we have sessions for Chinese children. Usually we have a class of about 15 Chinese kids, plus their parents. It's a good chance for them to learn skateboarding, pick up some English, and make new friends. So it's a lot more than just skateboarding. It's about socializing, making new friends, practicing new languages, being outdoors happily, and having fun and doing something different," Sawchak said.

The team has taught more than 100 children in Shanghai in different skateboarding programs over the past six months. The American girl Leah Osann said she thought the camp was "really awesome" and it helped her understand the appeal of skateboarding. "I guess this sport is appealing to me because it's really fun and very challenging at the same time - you fall but you are always encouraged to get back up."

With their teaching programs building and evolving, Herrmann and Sawchak feel increasingly rewarded at introducing children to something new and exciting. "It's also exciting for us because we've been able to teach them and provide the kids with something that they can really grasp," said Sawchak.