Skateboarding facts for kids
Skater in front of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (2019)
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| Highest governing body | World Skate |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Mixed-sex | Yes, separate competitions |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Worldwide |
| Olympic | Since 2020 |
Skateboarding is a cool action sport where you ride and do amazing tricks on a skateboard. It's also a fun way to relax, a type of art, a job for some, and a way to get around. Skateboarding started in the United States and has grown a lot over the years.
In 2009, people spent about $4.8 billion on skateboarding stuff, and there were over 11 million skateboarders worldwide. Big news came in 2016: skateboarding became an official sport at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for both guys and girls! Since the 1970s, special places called skateparks have been built just for skateboarders and other riders.
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Awesome Skateboarding Tricks
As skateparks and ramps became popular, skateboards changed too. Early tricks were simpler. Skaters would ride on two wheels (a "manual"), spin on their back wheels (a "pivot"), or jump over things and land back on their board (a "hippie jump"). They also did long jumps from one board to another. The Bertlemann slide was another cool trick, named after a surfing move.
In 1976, everything changed when Alan "Ollie" Gelfand invented the ollie. This trick lets you jump with the board sticking to your feet! At first, it was mostly a Florida trick. But in 1978, Alan visited California, and skaters there were amazed. The ollie quickly spread around the world.
Later, in 1982, Rodney Mullen figured out how to do the ollie on flat ground. Mullen also invented the "Magic Flip," which we now call the kickflip. He created many other tricks, like the 360 Kickflip, which is a spin and a flip all at once. The flat ground ollie is super important because it's the base for many street skating tricks. It lets skaters do tricks in the air without needing ramps. More recently, in 2012, Tom Schaar was the first to land a 1080, which is three full spins in the air!
Skate Shoes: Your Board's Best Friend
At first, some skateboarders rode barefoot because they wanted to feel the board directly. But this often led to foot injuries. So, special shoes were needed! One of the first popular skate shoes was the sticky-soled slip-on. These shoes became famous thanks to Sean Penn's skateboarding character in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Shoes like the Randy "720" and Vans sneakers became super popular in the 1970s and 80s. They gave skaters better grip and connection to their boards. Tony Hawk once said, "If you were wearing Vans shoes in 86, you were a skateboarder." Vans even helped fund the famous skateboarding movie Dogtown and Z-Boys and was the first shoe company to support a professional skateboarder, Stacy Peralta. Vans has also sponsored many big skateboarding events over the years.
As skateboarding grew, other shoe companies started making special skate shoes. Brands like Converse, Nike, DC Shoes, Globe, Adidas, Zoo York, and World Industries all joined in. Many professional skateboarders even get their own "pro-model" shoes with their name on them! Some companies, like Sole Technology (who make Etnies shoes), even help build public skateparks for everyone to enjoy.
Skateboard Deck Art
Skateboarders love to show off their unique style, and you won't usually see them in uniforms. This personal style often shows up in the cool pictures on the bottom of their skateboards. This started in the mid-1970s when Wes Humpston and Jim Muri began creating designs for Dogtown Skateboards. They made the first famous skateboard art, like the "Dogtown Cross."
Before the mid-1970s, skateboards looked more like small surfboards and didn't have many designs underneath. Some early boards, like "Roller Derby" and the "Banana board," just had company logos or stickers on top. But as skateboarding changed, artists started adding their ideas to the boards.
Many artists helped shape skateboard art in the 1980s. Jim Phillips created the edgy "Screaming Hand," which became the main logo for Santa Cruz Skateboards. This design even became popular for tattoos and collectible figures! Artist Vernon Courtlandt Johnson used skeletons and skulls in his art for Powell Peralta. This was around the time that punk rock music started mixing with skateboarding culture. Other important skateboard artists include Andy Jenkins, Todd Bratrud, Neil Blender, Marc McKee, Tod Swank, Mark Gonzales, Lance Mountain, Natas Kaupas, and Jim Evans.
Over the years, skateboard deck art has continued to grow. Many people now collect skateboards just for their artistic value. Famous artists like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring have even created limited edition skateboard designs. Today, most professional skateboarders have their own special decks with their favorite art printed using computer graphics.
Collectible Skateboards
Some skateboards are so special they become valuable collector's items! In 2019, a full set of 248 skateboard designs from the brand Supreme was sold for $800,000 at an auction in New York. A 17-year-old from Vancouver bought them to show in a gallery. In 2014, a gold-plated skateboard from SHUT Skateboards was sold for $15,000, making it one of the most expensive skateboards at the time.
Skateboarding Safety Tips
Skateboarding is fun, but it's important to be safe! Small cracks or bumps in the pavement can make riders fall, especially if they go across the crack. This is a common reason for falls. Going a bit faster can sometimes help reduce this risk.
Most injuries from skateboarding are not too serious. Skaters often get scrapes, cuts, bruises, and sprains when they fall. About half of the injuries reported to hospitals are broken bones, usually in the arm or leg. Many skaters who get hurt are new to the sport, having started less than a week before their injury. Serious injuries like traumatic head injuries or even death are rare, but they can happen.
When you use a skateboard for transportation, you need to be careful of other traffic. Skaters on the street might get hit by cars or fall into traffic. Skateboarders can also accidentally hurt other people. If you fall, your skateboard might roll or fly into someone else. If a skateboarder crashes into a person walking or biking, that person could get hurt.
Many places require skateboarders to wear bicycle helmets to protect their heads. Other safety gear, like wrist guards, can also help prevent injuries. Some experts suggest that skateboarding should mostly happen in special skateparks to reduce injuries and keep skaters safe from cars or other people.
Did you know that skateboarding was actually banned in Norway from 1978 to 1989? This was because of too many injuries. The ban made skateboarders build secret ramps in forests to avoid the police! There was only one legal skatepark in Norway during that time, in Frogner Park in Oslo.
Other Ways to Skate
Skateboarding for Transportation
Using skateboards just to get around is often done with a longboard. Depending on where you live, using skateboards for transportation outside of neighborhoods might not be allowed. People who use skateboards to get around say it's easy to carry, good exercise, and better for the environment than cars.
Skateboarding in the Military
Believe it or not, the United States Marine Corps actually tested skateboards in the late 1990s! They used them during city combat training. Their goal was to use skateboards to move inside buildings to find hidden wires or snipers.
Trampboarding Fun
Trampboarding is a cool way to practice tricks using a skateboard deck (without wheels) on a trampoline. The trampoline's bounce helps you get high in the air to do tricks. In regular skateboarding, you need to do an ollie to get height. You can find many videos of trampboarding on YouTube!
Swing Boarding
Swing boarding is when a skateboard deck hangs from a point above the rider. This lets the rider swing back and forth, like riding in a half-pipe. With a special harness and frame, riders can do turns and spins while flying through the air!
Images for kids
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Skateboarder in Manhattan, New York (2008)
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Skateboarder in Grants Pass, Oregon (2010)
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Skateboarder at Skateistan in Kabul, Afghanistan (2011)
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A skateboarder in mid flight performing a trick in Australia (2012)
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Nicholas Deconie frontside five-0 at Millennium Skate Park in Brooklyn, New York (2019)
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Skaters await their turn during the best trick contest at the Coleman Playground Skatepark in Manhattan, New York. (2019)
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Brazil's Luiz Francisco competing in the 2020 Summer Olympics final at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo on August 5, 2021
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See also
In Spanish: Monopatinaje para niños
- Skateboarding trick
- Carveboarding (or Surfskating)
