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Skateboarding

Explorer · ages 7 and underAdapted from Wikipedia
A skateboarder soars through the air at a skate bowl, practicing tricks for an upcoming competition.

What Is Skateboarding?

Skateboarding is a fun sport where people ride and do tricks on a skateboard. Some people skateboard for fun. Some do it as an art form. Some people even use it to get around. Skateboarding started in the United States.

A Short History

Skateboarding began a long time ago, in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Surfers in California wanted something to do when the waves were flat, so they rode boards on the sidewalk. In 1976, Alan "Ollie" Gelfand invented a trick called the ollie. In the 1990s, street skateboarding became the most common style. Every year on June 21, people celebrate Go Skateboarding Day.

Skateboarding Today

Skateboarding is now part of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It made its debut there in 2020, and it was also part of the 2024 Games. The movie Thrashin' helped make skateboarding popular in 1986. Many people also enjoy skateboarding video games, like the Tony Hawk series.

Early skateboarders often rode barefoot. This meant they needed special shoes made for skateboarding. Today, many skateboarders wear sneakers made just for them. Skateboarders also love to make art on their boards.

Many places ask skateboarders to wear bicycle helmets to stay safe. Helmets help protect your head while you learn new tricks. Skateboarding is best when you ride carefully and have fun with your friends.

Quiz time!

3 questions about Skateboarding

Question 1 of 3

Where did skateboarding start?

Pictures

A skateboarder at a Wikis Take Manhattan event in New York City.
Skateboarders take part in the Manserama event at the Iso-Vilunen skatepark in Kaukajärvi, Tampere, Finland, in 2015.
A skateboarder performs a frontside five-0 trick at Millennium Skate Park in Owl's Head Park, Brooklyn, during a skateboarding event in 2019.
Skateboarders wait their turn during a best trick contest at a skatepark in New York City's Lower East Side in June 2019.
Brazilian skateboarder Luiz Francisco at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he finished fourth in the park competition.
A skateboarder jumping at Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California, in June 2022.
A skate park in Onalaska, Wisconsin, where skaters can practice tricks on ramps and smooth concrete.
A skateboarder rides in front of the Olympic Stadium in Montréal, Canada.
A U.S. Marine carries an experimental skateboard during the Urban Warrior '99 training exercise in Oakland, California, in March 1999. The skateboard was tested for moving quickly through buildings during urban military training.
A 'No Skateboarding' sign on a street in Dnipro, Ukraine.
Judi Oyama wearing a white shirt and helmet at the Capitola Classic downhill skateboarding race in 1980.
A skateboarder gets air on a big quarterpipe at a Skateistan skate park.

Keep exploring

Olympic Games
California
2020 Summer Olympics
Tokyo

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Skateboarding, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.