Skateboarding History and Facts

Not many people know that surfing is considered to be the ancestor of skateboarding. At first it was called sidewalk surfing, so this can be a possible link to its origins.

Nowadays, skateboarding is gaining more and more fans. Everything is changing in what people prefer practicing more, as wakeboarding seems to be replacing much waterskiing and snowboarding replacing much skiing.

The skateboards in the 1970s were surfboard shaped boards designed more for the California vibe than for function, as skateboarding was still a sidewalk sport. The boards were not at all stable, as the wheels were being kept together by some narrow trucks. Terrain skating increased, as the boards and truck widened.

Even if at first the drainage ditches and empty swimming pools were the practice places to be used, the skaters soon began to build their own terrains, the ramp. Originally, the ramp was a quarter pipe that you would skate up to and up to the edge at the top. The half pipe was a major breakthrough. Even if there are skateboard parks with extremely complex 3-d terrains, the half pipe is still the core of upper level skateboarding. These can also be found in ski resorts for snowboarders. The pipes for skateboarders can also be used for rollerblades.

The skateboard began its changing process during the time of the evolution in skateboard parks and ramp riding. The street riding consisted only of two dimensional moves. People could ride on only the front wheels, that is a nose wheelie or spin spinning like an ice skater on the back wheels, which is a 360. They could also high jump over a bar, long jump from one board to another. This was sometimes even done over some teenagers lying on their backs. The slalom and the stale fish are also other tricks people used to do when skateboarding.

The introduction of the ollie or no hands aerial transformed skateboarding almost completely. This is the first modern skateboarding trick and was invented by Alan Ollie Gelfand. The ollie is to fly off the ground (flat or a wall) with the board, but without holding onto the board and then landing back on the board. It involves using your feet to press against the board in various complicated combinations, depending on the trick you intend doing.

The good skateboarders usually get sponsorship and endorsements, which soon make them very famous.