Skateboarding has an opposed-to-authority culture, which makes it seem like it couldn’t be a sport where different skateboarders can compete. Many authorities ban skateboarders in various establishments because they vandalize the establishments with spray paint and hit people while they are skateboarding.
This cultural perception starts in the 1990s where street skateboarding became the most popular form of skateboarding. During this time, many impolite and rude skateboarders have instilled in the minds of non-skateboarders that skateboarders are rude and impolite, which is still instilled in some peoples’ heads.
However, there have been some skateboarding competitions since the 1960s. The skateboarding community is still divided about the issue of whether formal contests should have a place in skateboarding.
There are lots of people asking in forums if skateboarding is considered a sport by people and skateboarders. Since you are all here now, reading my article, let me give you what you want.
Is skateboarding a sport? Yes! Skateboarding is an action sport, originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. Competitive skateboarding began in the 1960s until today. The opening night of X-games happened in the 1990s and skateboarding has made it to the Olympics in July 2021.
The competition in skateboarding has evolved over the years because of skateboarders that are very passionate about skateboarding. These skateboarders or pioneers of skateboarding made sure that skateboarding will still be alive today. Let us take a look at how skateboarding competitions have evolved since the 60s.
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Is Skateboarding Considered As A Sport?
Skateboarding is a sport that requires athleticism, courage, perseverance, and technical ability to ride a skateboard and perform various skateboarding tricks. Since many skateboarders have pushed their boundaries just to improve in skateboarding, it qualifies skateboarding as a sport just like basketball.
The introduction of skateboarding competitions happened very early. It began in the late 1960s. This allows skateboarders that time to showcase their skateboarding skills in an organized skateboarding tournament.
Competitive Skateboarding In The 1960s
In the 1960s skateboarding was influenced by surfing. The tricks and competition during this time reflected surfing. The first skateboarders usually dance on their skateboards like some longboarders are doing today.
The types of tricks skateboarders used during this time became a popular way to ride skateboards. However, because of the Z-boys and the Bones Brigade in the 1970s, everything has changed. These two changed the style of skateboarding.
You can check out the video below about skateboarding in the 1960s. This video shows how good it was back in that day.
Competitive Skateboarding In The 1970s And 1980s
In the 1970s, the urethane wheel was invented and was introduced to the skateboarding community and changed the sport. Before, skateboards were pretty dangerous. It is unstable and limited in its speed and use. However, thanks to the urethane wheels. Urethane wheels help skateboarders to skate fast! Also, it allowed skateboarders to boom a new sport.
Because of this, skateboarding competitions began to change too. During the mid-1970s, skateboarding competitions resembled those of the 1960s. Skateboarders usually do flat-ground tricks mostly that were influenced by surfing.
However, because of the formation of the Bones Brigade, which was organized by an innovative and smart Dogtown skateboarder and other innovative and passionate skateboarders such as Rodney Mullen, the skateboarding competitions began to change rapidly! The ollie trick, which was loved by many skateboarders, began to show other skateboarding tricks.
Sadly, the popularity of skateboarding began to sink in the 1980s, but there are still some competitions that persisted.
Competitive Skateboarding In The 1990s
ESPN was the one who created, organized, and spread the first X games in 1995. This extreme sports competition includes skateboarding, dirt biking, BMX, windsurfing, climbing, and many other extreme sports.
The X games became skateboarding’s highest level of competition and each winner was awarded either gold, silver, or bronze medals. Because of the X games, skateboarding became popular again. That is why today, skateboarding is included in the Olympics already.
The X Games have vert, park, and street skateboarding components. It introduced a real street component in 2010 that meant to capture the street aspect of skateboarding culture. The Olympics have park and street skateboarding categories too.
When Did Skateboarding Become A Sport?
Skateboarding is a sport. Thanks to those who managed the skateboarding community properly before. However, even though skateboarding is considered a sport already, it does not have the inherent head-to-head competitive nature of other sports, such as football or volleyball.
Skateboarding has been a sport since the 1940s and 1950s. However, skateboarding competitions did not begin until the 1960s since no one organized the skateboarding competitions before. After the invention of this great sport, skateboarders would imitate complex surfing maneuvers and tricks on their skateboards.
Of course, there is a big difference in how you might cheer in a basketball game compared to skateboarding competition. Skateboarding does not have a sense of direct competition when you skate on the streets or skateparks. It is limited to a completely non-competitive performance with regards to other skateboarders that also competed.
When Was The First Skateboarding Competition?
Like I have said above, skateboarding has been around since the 1950s or even the 1940s. It took some time before skateboarding competitions began to float.
The very first skateboarding competition was held in the 1960s with the advent of the sport. There is some footage about this competition available on Youtube. One of the available footage is the international girls skateboarding contest in 1965 in Anaheim California. During this time, Makaha also organized the very first skateboarding exhibition at Hermosa Beach California.
However, when you try to search this question around Google, you will see that the first skateboarding competition happened in the 1970s, which is completely not true. Why? Because there is a lot of footage on Youtube from the 1965 skateboarding competition.
Is Skateboarding The Hardest Sport?
No. Skateboarding is not the hardest sport. In the statistics, many people voted for boxing as the hardest sport. However, even though skateboarding is not considered the hardest sport, it still takes a lot of skill to execute skateboarding tricks properly.
In my personal opinion, I would also agree with the statistics and what most skateboarders said. Skateboarding is not the hardest sport for me because there are other sports around there that are more dangerous than skateboarding.
Is There A Skateboard Competition In The Olympics?
Yes! There is a skateboard competition in the Olympics. Some skateboarders are very excited and some are less so. But it will not change the fact that skateboarding has made it to the Olympics.
As of July 2021, skateboarding is already considered an Olympic sport. The sport also has tentative approval for inclusion in the next Olympics which will happen in Paris in 2024. The Olympic skateboarding competition has two categories; park and street. Nyjah Hudson is the male skateboarder that most people said would win. He is from the American Olympic team.
It seems like skateboarding is already a sport even though some people said it is not. Since skateboarding managed to join in the Olympics, it is completely a sport. Skateboarding culture is big enough to include the organized competitive aspect of this sport. The Olympics seems like an extension of this.
Final Verdict
To conclude, yes! Skateboarding is a sport and it will be considered a sport in the coming years. Skateboarding has a competitive aspect that has been around since skateboarding was invented. The style of skateboarding and competitions have changed rapidly over the years.
However, it is also essential to take note that skateboarding is not solely a competitive sport like basketball or football. Most skateboarders usually never compete in a competition. They take skateboarding as a hobby only or as their transportation.
We have to thank the pioneers of skateboarding because they were the ones that managed the skateboarding community properly, which is the main reason why the skateboarding community is broad. If you ask me this question, I would say that skateboarding is a sport.
