Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport where people ride and do tricks on a skateboard. It started in the United States and has become a fun activity, a kind of art, a way to get a job, and even a way to travel using a transportation.

Many skilled skateboarders have helped grow the sport. In 2016, it was announced that skateboarding would become an Olympic sport. It debuted at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for both men and women, and it was also in the 2024 games.

Since the 1970s, special places called skateparks have been built for skateboarders, freestyle BMXers, aggressive skaters, and people on scooters. Skateboarding is fun and allowed, but sometimes it can accidentally damage things like curbs, steps, and parks. This can cause some disagreements in different places.

History

Skateboarding started in the 1940s and 1950s with wooden boards that had roller skate wheels. It began with surfers in California who wanted something to do when the waves were calm. This was called "sidewalk surfing." Early skateboards were made by putting skate wheels on wooden planks. The sport became more popular in the 1960s with magazines, TV shows, and competitions.

In the 1970s, new polyurethane wheels made skateboarding better. Skateparks started to appear, and new styles developed. The 1980s and 1990s saw more street skateboarding with new tricks and board designs. By the 2000s, skateboarding was very popular, especially with young people. It was added to school programs for exercise. The sport became an Olympic sport in 2020, debuting at the Tokyo Summer Olympics with street and park events.

Main article: History of skateboarding

Trick skating

As skateparks and ramps became popular, skateboards changed too. Early tricks were simple, like riding on just two wheels or spinning on the back wheels. In 1976, a new trick called the ollie was invented by Alan "Ollie" Gelfand. This trick made skateboarding exciting because it could be done on flat ground. Later, Rodney Mullen adapted the ollie and created other cool tricks like the kickflip. These tricks let skateboarders do fun moves in the air using just their skateboard. Recently, skateboarders have even started doing tricks in the air like the 1080, which was first landed by Tom Schaar in 2012.

Culture

See also: Skate punk, Punk fashion, Category:Skateboarding videos, and Skate video

Skateboarding became popular after the 1986 film Thrashin', directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin. The film featured famous skaters like Tony Alva, Tony Hawk, Christian Hosoi, and Steve Caballero. Skateboarding started with surfing culture but grew into its own style, especially in places far from the ocean. The short film Video Days (1991) showed skateboarders as fun-loving figures.

Some cities sometimes have concerns about skate parks. Magazines like Thrasher show skateboarding in many ways, while others like Transworld Skateboarding show different sides of the sport. Many skaters today enjoy music styles like hip hop, reggae, and hard rock. Female skateboarding groups, such as Brujas in New York City, create friendly spaces for women and girls to skate together.

Skateboarding culture includes making and sharing videos of tricks and new skateboarding spots. Skateboarding video games, like the Tony Hawk series and Skate series, have become very popular. Early skateboarders often went barefoot, which led to the creation of special skate shoes. Brands like Vans became famous for their skate shoes in the 1970s and '80s, and many shoe companies now make shoes just for skateboarding. Skateboard decks often have unique art, showing the personality of the skater. Famous artists have even created special designs for skateboards, making some decks very valuable.

Safety

Skateboarding can be risky because riders might fall over small cracks or bumps in the pavement. This can cause small injuries like scrapes, cuts, or bruises. Wearing a bicycle helmet and other protective gear, like wrist guards, helps keep skateboarders safer.

Skateboarders share the roads with cars and other people, so they can sometimes get into accidents. Some places have special areas for skateboarding to help prevent injuries. In the past, Norway had rules about skateboards, but now they have places like Frogner Park in Oslo where people can skate safely.

Other uses and styles

For styles of skateboarding, see Skateboarding styles.

Skateboards can also be used for transportation, especially longboards, which are made for smooth riding over longer distances. Some people like using skateboards because they are easy to carry, help with exercise, and don’t harm the environment like cars can.

In the late 1990s, the United States Marine Corps tried using skateboards during training to see if they could help soldiers move inside buildings. There’s also a fun activity called trampboarding, where you use a skateboard on a trampoline to bounce high and do tricks. Another exciting style is swing boarding, where the board swings like a pendulum, letting riders flip and spin while staying in the air. You can watch these tricks on YouTube.

Controversy

Skateboarding can sometimes hurt city features like curbs and benches when tricks are done. To help stop this, some places put up special things to stop skateboarding.

Many cities have rules about skateboarding in some public places. This helps keep people and property safe. In some spots, like Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., skateboarding is not allowed because it can damage important surfaces and structures. This makes it hard for park managers and police to keep things safe.