SKATEBOARDING

A skateboard has three main components: a board, axels, and four wheels. The activity involves riding this wheeled board. Throughout its more than fifty-year history the technology of those three components has evolved, allowing for various types of skateboard techniques and riding styles. Even as technology and styles have changed, skateboarding historically has been an activity dominated by teenagers and associated with an antiestablishment youth culture. For example, skateboarders have been associated with surfing in the 1960s, punk rock music in the late 1970s and 1980s, and grunge and hip-hop in the 1990s. This antiestablishment attitude is reflected in the participants' desire to partake in an activity that does not have formal adult control or formal regulations. Instead, skateboarders are drawn to the activity because it allows for individuality and creativity.

Brief History

Although no exact date can be established for the origins of the sport, it is a twentieth-century invention. It is believed that connecting roller-skate wheels to a board created the first skateboards. Skateboarding has gone through many cycles of popularity, often determined by the legal status of the activity as well as the general economy. The beginnings of its popularity can be identified in the 1960s with the mass marketing of skateboards. There were few publicly sanctioned places to skateboard; therefore, it primarily occurred informally on paved streets, parking lots, playgrounds, and sidewalks. The initial rise of popularity had two responses from nonparticipants. First, many medical associations warned people of the sport's inherent dangers. Second, many proprietors were concerned about legal responsibilities and damage skateboarders might cause to their property. In the wake of these concerns, skateboarding lost widespread support and appeal in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Another boom in popularity occurred in the early 1970s largely due to the technological innovation of polyurethane wheels, which allowed for a smoother and safer ride. During this time, skateboards were long and skinny, and the most popular riding styles were slalom and freestyle. Adding to the popularity was a wave of privately funded skate parks that started in the mid-1970s. Initially, these were cement parks that included gradual variation of terrain and pool-like "bowls." The popularity of these parks declined over the years with the increase in the number of injuries and the cost of liability insurance. By the early 1980s, most of the parks had closed.

The 1970s also saw an increased commercial interest. Skateboard competitions became more common, and sponsorship broadened outside of skateboard industries. For example, soft drink companies sponsored teams during this time period. Just as skateboarding was gaining mainstream appeal, it distanced itself during the 1980s by associating with the punk movement. The style and location of skateboarding changed as well. It went from a suburban freestyle sport of the 1970s to an urban street sport in the 1980s. A crucial technical invention was the "ollie," a skill that enables the skateboarder to propel the board off the ground. With this technique, skateboarders could "jump" on to a variety of objects. This technique was extended to jumping on and then sliding the board over objects such as handrails. Skateboards changed to accommodate this new style by becoming shorter and wider. Along with street style, ramp skating also grew in popularity. According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, the late 1980s were a peak in the participation rates for skateboarding, reaching nearly 11 million in the United States.

The economic recession of the early 1990s created another lull in the industry and involvement, during which participation declined to approximately 5 million in 1993. Many factors encouraged another period of rapid growth in the late 1990s. Foremost was the increased growth in the general economy. Two other significant factors were the increased media coverage and the changes in the legal status of skateboarding. In the mid-1990s major television networks created televised competitions of skateboarding. ESPN created the "X Games," a festival of various alternative sports. NBC followed with a similar production called the "Gravity Games." In addition, skateboarding's liability status was changed in some states, placing it in the same category as bicycling. These factors encouraged growth of private and publicly funded skate parks. Participation trends in the early 2000s are estimated at 10 million, and approximately 10 percent of skateboarders are female (Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association). Skateboarding's image is so popular among America's youth that it is used to sell everything from soda and fast food to cars and Band-Aids.

Cultural Import and Social Significance

Skateboarding and many other alternative sports became a symbol of the active, creative, independent, and, ultimately, "cool" teenager in the later 1990s. The significance of skateboarding as a cultural marker of "cool" can be demonstrated by looking at the most famous skate-boarder, Tony Hawk. In a poll conducted by a teen marketing research firm in 2002, Hawk was voted the "coolest big-time athlete" ahead of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Derek Jeter (Layden). Hawk's video game, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, has been one of the most successful games since its release in 1999. He also created a tour of alternative sports called "Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam." In its first years, this event was ranked in the top twenty most lucrative U.S. concert tours.

The Disney Corporation is aware of skateboarding and, in particular, Hawk's cultural significance among teenagers. Disney owns ESPN, which owns the brand X Games; Hawk has a series on ESPN, Tony Hawk's Gigantic Skate Park Tour. In addition, Disney bought the rights to Hawk's autobiography; and Hawk is the principal star of Disney's movie Ultimate X.

Skateboarding has historically appealed to a teenage audience, and it has generally been identified as an alternative form of physical activity. With the increased commercialization and use of skateboarding as a symbol of "cool," it will be interesting to see if there is a backlash to this mainstream appeal, or whether skateboarding becomes accepted as a conventional sport.

See also: Extreme Sports, Roller Skating and Blading, Snowboarding, Teenage Leisure Trends.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beal, Becky. "Disqualifying the Official: An Exploration of Social Resistance in the Subculture of Skateboarding." Sociology of Sport Journal 12 (1995): 252–267.

Borden, Iain. Skateboarding, Space and the City. Oxford, U.K.; New York: Berg, 2000.

Brooke, Michael. The Concrete Wave: The History of Skate-boarding. Toronto: Warwick Publishing, 1999.

Davidson, Ben. The Skateboard Book. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1976.

Davis, James. Skateboard Roadmap: History, Tricks, Culture, Global Coverage and Top Skaters. London: Carlton Books, 1999.

Layden, T. "What Is This 34-Year-Old Man Doing on a Skate-board? Making Millions." Sports Illustrated (10 June 2002): 80–92.

Sporting Goods Manufactures Association. "Sports Participation Topline Report, 2000." Available from http://www.sgma.com.

Becky Beal