Of the first purpose-built skateparks, from the 1970s boom years of the sport’s second wave, very few remain. Preserving them is about more than sporting history.
The desire to transfer the thrills of surfing on to dry land created the monumental culture of skateboarding, now vividly documented in a new exhibition.
A skateboarder attempts a jump.
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As the Winter Olympics are showing, the unique cultures of action sports seem to support long careers among the top athletes – something other sports and society in general could learn from.
Breakdancing will make its sporting debut at 2024 Olympics games in Paris.
Newscom/Alamy
Although it’s now an Olympic sport, at its core skateboarding is still a counter-cultural activity that represents creativity, community and personal expression.
The inclusion of new action sports can offend Olympic traditionalists and outsiders alike. But it’s part of a long-term strategy to keep the games relevant and appealing to younger fans.
Skateboarding is no longer just for punkish, subcultural rebels – it’s everywhere, for everyone.
Peter Thomas of the Winnipeg Art Gallery (left), Marcel Dionne of Roarockit (centre) and Jaimie Isaac, curator for Indigenous/Contemporary at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (right), are seen building a skateboard using a do-it-yourself kit in this 2017 photo. Art and design schools should reward those who actually build and create more than they do design theorists.
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Even as our world goes digital, there will always be an appetite for craftsmanship, for art and for the work only human hands can truly bring to life. Art and design schools should celebrate creators.
The first worldwide skateboarding conference, Pushing Boarders, showed how skateboarding is evolving to include people of all genders, ethnicities and sexualities.
Brazilian pro skateboarder Luan Olivera performs a switch 360 flip at the Maloof Cup, a skateboarding competition in South Africa.
Neftalie Williams
Skateboarders are being driven from Melbourne’s Lincoln Square after community complaints. But skaters are citizens too, and with obesity on the rise, their activities should be encouraged.
The IOC is seeking to address the problem of an ageing audience with the inclusion of more youth-focused action sports in the Olympics.
FISE
The Japanese Olympic Committee recently announced five new sports for possible inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics: baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing.
Skaters bring culture and creativity to places others avoid.
Nic Redhead