Skateboarding has over the years evolved into being more than just a sport. Originating from the United States, skateboarding is now viewed as a form of:
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- Art
- Entertainment
- Transport
Most people enjoy the ride and performance of various skateboarding tricks without embracing the history behind the sport. There is a rich ton of information on skateboarding out there if you take the time to look.
Well, to keep you in the know, here is a bit of the history of this American sport.
What Is Skateboarding?
Skateboarding has undergone several evolutions in terms of what it means. However, we can define it as a sport involving riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.’
Skateboarding In California
Skateboarding is known to have originated from California somewhere between 1940 and 1950. The whole idea was birthed by surfers who wanted to feel the same thrill they did when surfing, even when there were no waves.
Within no time, inventors were busy coming up with wheeled ‘surfboards. Skateboarding was then born with the name “sidewalk surfing.”
Challenges
Skateboarding hasn’t become so popular without a few hiccups. The sport was first practiced downhill. Skaters had to get a steep slope and then ride down the hill. Having to evade and maneuver the bends led to many injured skaters that it was once declared illegal.
When the sport was becoming quite serious and holding skateboarding competitions, most people preferred watching a roller derby competition to skateboarding competition. The media played such a huge role in its skateboarding crash by branding the sport as a ‘dangerous activity.’
In 1965, skateboarding ultimately crashed. Few lovers of the sport went on skating and discovering what more the sport had to offer. It was these few loyal skaters that later brought the sport back to life.
A New Skateboard Wheel
Now, looking at the skateboarding crash in 1965, skateboard inventors wanted to develop something more friendly and safe to use. Frank Nasworthy came up with the urethane wheels replacing the clay wheels that rocked in the 1950s and 1960s.
These new wheels had better grip and enabled skaters to ride and maneuver safely. The skateboards were reinvented to have a kick-tail which was meant to make maneuvers even easier.
The reinvention of the skateboard attracted more people to the sport and three years later, the first skate park sprouted in California. Before a decade was over, skateboarding was the talk of the entire world.
Skateboarding, like most other sports, has had its own ups and downs. However, each challenge and success has brought the sport to where it stands globally.