Beaufort skateboarder, 7, in national championships

A ROUND of applause followed Bradley Saunders' first trick at the Ballarat skate park.Then the rest of the young riders and skaters stopped and took notice.The freakish seven-year-old has been skateboarding for four years and last month secured a place in the junior national championships for the second time with a third placing in the SBA Dew Series Victorian qualifier in January. He will contest the 18-under sponsored division, in which he finished 14th last year.Saunders, from Beaufort, even has a sponsor - Forks Industries - after the Melbourne-based company discovered his talent via YouTube."He just put a little YouTube video on two years ago and they saw him on that,'' his father Peter said."Someone who knew these guys told them about it and they contacted him.''Saunders is effectively matching it with competitors up to 18 years old, due to his sponsored status."He does so well, because he is consistent. The older kids try the really hard stuff and it doesn't always work,'' Peter said."Wherever we go, people just stop and stare. They can't believe what he is doing.''Video games and a skate park construction near the family's former home in Rosebud, on the Mornington Peninsula, were the initial motivators to take up skating, which has quickly turned into Bradley's life.He carries his skateboard everywhere, hones his skills almost every day and travels far and wide for competitions most weekends.The quietly spoken youngster only said a few words during our interview, describing his ambition to become a professional skater.And while most youngsters would pick a big-name such as Tony Hawk - who Saunders has met and even receives shoes from in the mail - as a hero, he certainly hasn't forgotten his grounding in the sport."A kid called Max at Rosebud,'' he says, when asked about who he looks up to.And who's Max?"He is a local kid who taught him how to skate,'' Peter said. "When he was three years old, (Max) was 13 and he taught him and took him under his wing."Saunders will take part in the junior national championships, in Sydney, on April 10.