Read the article about a young skateboarder, and then answer the following questions. Shelly Downley is a young skateboarder with an amazing future. She developed an interest in skateboarding when, at the age of four, she was given a skateboard. Although like most beginners she had a few falls, she was never hurt because her parents made sure that she understood the need to wear a helmet. By the time she was six, Shelly's parents realised how much she enjoyed the sport, so they put her name down for a local skateboarding contest. Although she didn't win, she got a special medal for being the youngest, and her mistakes taught her that to get better, it's important to get the basic techniques right. This is something she's sure has helped her become the skateboarder she is today. Her love of skateboarding grew, and by 2014 she held three competition titles for her age group. In 2016, she became the youngest competitor in the national Open Series, and discovered what it's like to compete against women with much more skateboarding experience. She realised that to get to their level, she needed to invest in quality equipment. At the competition, a coach suggested she try to get into the British skateboarding team. Shelly's dad is from Britain, where they all live, but her mum's from Japan, and Shelly realised she had a choice about which country to represent. First, she considered the Japanese team, especially as her family were planning a trip to Japan at the time. But in the end, she decided that going for the team where she was based would be more logical. Since then, Shelly has competed as part of her national team all over the world, most recently in Spain. She loves staying in different hotels, although this can be expensive for her parents. They were pleased on this occasion, therefore, to find out that a friend's house was available, which helped. The team did pretty well in Spain, and after the competition, Shelly uploaded some video clips of the event to her blog, as she usually does. There were also cameras filming other teams for a sports programme, and she found that the opportunity to watch other competitors helped her make progress. Shelly knows that if you want to be good at skateboarding, you have to practise every day, and even when she's not training, she's naturally competitive. When she goes swimming, which many people find relaxing, she can't help trying to go faster than everyone else in the pool! So when she wants to chill out, she spends time baking instead, which helps her slow down and concentrate on something other than sport. She's recently taken up photography too, and this is something that she finds is a break from the high-energy world of competition. As she started to become more well known, she began to give interviews, which are regularly published. In fact, she advises fans to read skateboarding magazines to get useful tips. Last month, she did an interview for a national newspaper. They wanted to know whether she was planning to go to university after school, or focus on her sport, something she says she's not made her mind up about yet. One thing she's determined to do is travel the world. She was pleased with the interview, but not with the fact that they got the name of her skateboard wrong. The photograph they took to go with it was much bigger than she had expected, and while it was a shock to see her image taking up nearly the whole page, she secretly loved it. 1 How old was Shelly when she entered her first competition? 2 When did she first compete with adults? 3 Which country's skateboarding team did Shelly join? 4 Where did Shelly and her parents stay when she competed in Spain? 5 Where does Shelly share information about her competition performances? 6 What does Shelly do to relax? Give two details. . 7 What has Shelly decided to do in the future? 8 Why was Shelly unhappy about a newspaper interview she did?

Answer:

six
2016
Britain / British skateboarding team
a friend's house
her blog / online
Award 1 mark for each detail up to a maximum 2 marks:
baking
photography
travel (the world)
they got the name of her skateboard wrong

Knowledge points:

Solution: