Skateboarding

Skateboarding is both a recreational activity and action sport that has experienced highs and lows over the decades. Avid skateboarders have kept the sport alive, influencing its evolution, form, and style. While no one person is known to have invented the skateboard, skateboarding emerged in California during the 1950s as a way for surfers to "surf" when the waves were flat. Initially called "sidewalk surfing," the first manufactured skateboards were made of roller skate wheels attached to the bottom of square wooden boxes or boards.

Skateboarding’s early growth spurt came to a halt in the 1960s and again at the end of the 1970s when accidents and injuries led authorities to deem skateboards unsafe. Sales dropped, skate parks closed, and the sport went largely underground. In the 1990s, high-profile exposure on ESPN and MTV breathed new life into skateboarding as a mainstream sport, and its popularity continues to soar.

Brief History

During the 1950s and early 1960s, the skateboarding craze was in full swing, and manufacturers such as Makaha and Hobie began to mass-produce the first skateboards, selling over fifty million boards in three years. In 1963, the first skateboarding competition took place in Hermosa Beach, California. After the sport was declared unsafe, skateboarding entered the first of what was to become several slump periods.

The invention of the urethane wheel in 1973 reinvigorated the sport as the new wheels were easier to control, providing better traction and speed and allowing skaters to perform more complex stunts and tricks. Some of the most famous tricks are the kicktail, aerial, and invert. However, by far, the single most influential trick in the evolution of skateboarding was the Ollie, invented by skater Alan Gelfand. By slamming his back foot down on the tail of his board and jumping, he and his skateboard popped into the air. The Ollie remains the basis for many modern skateboarding tricks, and in 2002, Gelfand was inducted into the Skateboard Hall of Fame.

Also giving the sport a boost in 1975 was a slalom and freestyle contest held in California where the famous Zephyr Team (Z-boys) competed and wowed the audience with their exciting skateboarding maneuvers, taking the sport to a whole new level. Among the most famous Z-boys are Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta, and Jay Adams.

Skate parks were also introduced during the 1970s, featuring obstacle courses, banks, empty swimming pools, and cylindrical pipes where skaters could challenge themselves and compete. Near the end of the decade, when the sport once again became controversial, many skate parks closed due to high insurance rates and fear of lawsuits, sending the sport into its next slump.

During the 1980s, while skateboarding had largely gone underground, avid skaters continued to ride, and small skater-owned companies cropped up, each experimenting with new styles and shapes of boards. Skateboarding videos also emerged featuring advanced stunts using handrails, ramps, and stairs, as well as skateboard art and logos. Some of the most famous skateboarders emerging from this decade include Tony Hawk and Steve Caballero.

Overview

During the mid-1990s, skateboarding experienced its next growth phase. In 1994, World Cup Skateboarding was founded, a body overseeing skateboarding competitions worldwide and regulating the competitive ranking of professional skateboarders. In 1995, skateboarding was exposed to the masses in ESPN’s first Extreme Games, bringing it back into the mainstream. Skateboarding was also included in the 1997 Winter X Games, garnering critical media attention and an influx of advertising dollars and sponsors. By the end of the decade, a skateboarding culture had emerged, influencing clothing styles, music, and advertisements.

Since 2000, it is estimated that over eleven million individuals under the age of eighteen own a skateboard, and skateboarding has been included in physical education programs to improve balance, strengthen muscles and bones, and help youth develop social skills, mutual and self-respect, and artistic expression.

Two bodies govern the sport of skateboarding: the International Association of Skateboarding Companies (IASC) and World Cup Skateboarding, run by former National Skateboarding Association President Don Bostick. Skateboarding has gained respect as a professional sport, meaning increased sponsorship for events and increased purse money earned in competition. Professional skateboarders can earn from $1,000 to $10,000 monthly, depending on how many competitions they enter, how they place in these events, and how many companies are sponsoring them. In return for the use of a sponsor’s equipment and for related testimonials and endorsements, individuals or teams who participate in skateboarding events earn cash payments and free or reduced-price merchandise.

In 2003, to promote skateboarding worldwide, Go Skateboarding Day was established by the IASC, celebrated annually on June 21. In 2004, the International Skateboarding Federation was established to provide direction for the sport and to lead talks with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about including skateboarding in the Olympics. In 2009, the Skateboarding Hall of Fame & Skateboard Museum opened with nominees selected by IASC.

Since 2006, there has been a resurgence of skate parks, with many independent cities including organized skateboarding activities in their local communities and parks. The world’s largest skate park, Shanghai Multimedia Park (SMP), is located in China, measuring over twelve thousand square meters and featuring a five thousand-seat stadium, the world’s longest vert ramp, the world’s largest skate bowl, a large downhill full pipe, a street section, and other attractions.

Skateboards have evolved over the decades, from clay wheels attached to rudimentary wood boards to urethane wheels, fiberglass boards, and boards made from aluminum, nylon, Plexiglas, foam, or other materials. Skateboard shapes have featured both wide decks with big wheels and thin decks with small wheels (allowing inertia to be overcome more easily and enabling more tricks). Typical modern skateboards have a raised nose and kicktail to increase trick potential.

A surge in the demand for skateboard products has given rise to children’s skateboards, skateboard graphics and art, skateboard decal packages, and skateboarding video games (such as the prosperous Nintendo 64 Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1). The skateboarding market is estimated to produce $4.8 billion in revenue annually.

Bibliography

"Connecting the world through skateboarding. World Cup Skateboarding. World Cup Skateboarding, 2016. Web. 30 April 2016.

International Skateboarding Federation. International Skateboarding Federation, 2016. Web. 30 April 2016.

"Skateboard Trick List." Skateboardhere.com. Skateboardhere.com, 2016. Web. 24 May 2016.

"Skateboarding History." Skateboardingskateboards.com. Skateboardingskateboards.com. 6 Feb. 2009. Web. 24 May 2016.