Skateboarding is a fast-paced sport that combines riding and tricks on a skateboard with fun activities, art, employment in the entertainment business, and modes of transportation. Over the years, many skateboarders have shaped and inspired skateboarding.
According to a 2009 survey, 11.08 million skateboarders worldwide generate an estimated $4.8 billion in revenue annually from the sport.
Skateparks have been built particularly for the use of scooters, fast skaters, freestyle BMXers, and skateboarders. Skateboarding has generated controversy in places where, despite being legal, the practice has harmed parks, plazas, benches, curbs, and brickwork.
Skateboarding Olympics History
Skateboarding was added to a shortlist in September 2015 to be considered for the 2020 Summer Olympics. In June 2016, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board declared that they would approve the proposal for featuring skateboarding as a sport in the 2020 Olympic Games.
Skateboarding's extreme risks of serious injury, including death, and the IOC's hesitation to accept responsibility created one of the primary hurdles to its inclusion in the Olympics.
The skateboarding community believed that the Olympic Games were too "traditional" for the sport, and this view was also pushed. As a result, skateboarding organizations did not actively promote the sport's inclusion.
Skateboarding Olympics Rules
At the Olympic Games, the best skateboarders in the world will compete against one another in the two most well-liked and dramatic disciplines: park and street.
- Athletes are required to perform their best tricks according to strict requirements, including the level of difficulty, speed, and range of motions.
- There are two rounds to the events: preliminary and final.
- The competitors use a dynamic course with bowls and lots of bends to build momentum and execute tricks in midair.
- The skateboarders are scored based on their ability to utilize the whole surface, as well as the speed and height of their tricks during jumps.
- Street events take place on a straight ‘street-like’ course with stairs, handrails, etc., set up to resemble the urban environments where skateboarding started.
- In addition to executing a variety of tricks, competitors are graded on how well they manage their board over their two 45-second runs and five tricks.
Street Skateboarding vs Park Skateboarding
Contests for streets and parks are held on two separate courses and call for unique skill levels.
Street Skateboarding:
The qualities skaters could encounter when riding through an urban setting are replicated in street courses. Typical difficulties on these courses include rails, steps, and stairs. Trick landings on these obstacles usually require a high level of technical proficiency and accuracy.
Park Skateboarding:
Park courses typically have a bowl-shaped layout, but they can also have additional features like rails that let skaters customize their runs. The goal is to locate paths on the course that allow riders to increase their speed and land greater heights on their tricks.