Ella Ledingham: A family affair on the road to Dakar

Ella Ledingham will take on the World Skate Games in Paraguay and then she’ll represent Australia a few days later at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar. 

The 15-year-old street skateboarder from Lennox Head is one of Australia’s emerging talents. 

Behind her progression is a family of seven that has travelled the world, supported her ambitions and watched her grow from a young skatepark regular into an international competitor.

“My dad started skating when he was young, so he taught us all when we were little,” Ledingham said. 

“I was six when I started skating, I competed in my first World Skate competition in Dubai in 2023 and I realised that I wanted to keep doing it.

“It was my first time overseas, it was a really cool country and was awesome seeing a different culture. To be able to compete and represent Australia is awesome.”

Ella is the fourth of five children, with three older sisters, India, Taylor and Asher, and younger brother Kai.

Mum Brie says all five children have had a go at skateboarding, but Ella was the one who took it to another level.

“Everybody sort of did skateboarding because Luke (Ella’s dad) was into it, but Ella was the one that definitely had the talent and took it to the next level,” Brie said.

“Everybody kind of had a turn.”

For the Ledingham family, supporting Ella has meant plenty of travel, long days at skateparks and time away from the usual teenage routine.

Brie says it has been a rewarding experience.

“The amount of travel that we’ve done, even as a family, has made us go to different countries that we would never even think to go to. It’s been a great experience for the whole family,” she said.

“I’m really proud of Ella for how far she’s come and how committed she is.”

That commitment has seen Ella progress rapidly through the Australian skateboarding pathway.

In 2023, she finished third at the Australian Skateboarding League’s Melbourne Open before making her international breakthrough at the 2024 Exposure Street Open in California, where she led qualifying before finishing fifth in the professional women’s final.

She returned to the event in 2025 and again finished fifth, before making her World Skateboarding Tour debut at the 2024 World Street Championships in Dubai.

Further World Skate events in Kitakyushu and Rome have continued to provide valuable experience against the world’s best.

“I skateboard every day,” Ella said. 

“I love skating in Byron Bay or Redbank, Gold Coast is also really cool and there are some parks in USA that are unreal.”

For Brie, watching her daughter compete on the international stage remains a mixture of pride and nerves.

“It’s so special. It’s nerve-wracking and I’m super proud of her,” she said.

“I think it takes time, too. She’s gone to a few events now and she’s getting better and better every time we go.”

And when it comes to who gets the most nervous on competition day, Brie has no hesitation.

“I think I definitely do,” she said.

“Luke, her dad, he’s super supportive and he’s a little bit more calm than me.”

Ella, meanwhile, is learning to handle the pressure that comes with competing on the world stage.

“She still gets a bit nervous, but I think she’s getting better the more that she does it, for sure,” Brie said.

Away from the competition results, Brie believes one of the biggest benefits of skateboarding has been the community Ella has grown up around.

“I definitely think it’s the community. Everybody’s super close and super supportive,” she said.

“You come down here and some of the older guys that skate all the time at the skate parks are just always so supportive of the kids.

“We’ve definitely made some really good friends, and I think it’s just a good,

complete environment for everybody.”

Ella’s recent progress has now earned her one of the biggest opportunities of her young career.

After great results in the Rumble Skate Australia domestic series and consistent results on the world stage she proved that she was ready for this step and secured her selection to represent Australia in women’s street skateboarding at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games.

With the Youth Olympics and World Skate Games both on the horizon, the Ledingham family has plenty to look forward to.

“We just found out about the Youth Olympics, and then the World Skate Games was kind of there as well,” Brie said.

“So we were thinking, ‘Can we do both?’

“But the World Skate Games is a really important one, so we’re just going to have to knuckle down and make it happen.”

Ella’s long-term ambitions extend beyond Dakar, with Brisbane 2032 also firmly in her sights.

“LA 2028 is definitely a goal, but I definitely want to go to Brisbane 2032, that would be unreal to compete at a home Olympics.”

For now, the family will continue to travel, watch, support and cheer Ella on, just as they have from the beginning.

“We’re definitely all along for the ride with Ella,” Brie said.

And with a big family behind her, Ella’s journey is only just beginning.