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| Skateboarding Info |
History of the skateboard
The history of skateboarding goes hand in hand with the history
of the skateboard. Improvements in skateboarding equipment have spurred
advancement in skateboarding techniques and new techniques have required
new equipment.
Skateboarding has its origins in surfing, and was originally called "sidewalk
surfing". While surfing influenced skateboarding in it's early days, now
the reverse is also true. Surfers are adapting skateboarding tricks into
surfing, and the result is evolution in both sports.
The first skateboard
The first commercial skateboard was the Roller Derby Skateboard
that was introduced in 1959. Before this skateboards were home made pieces
of wooden planks with roller skates attached to the bottom. At the time
there was a rapidly growing interest in skateboarding (sometimes referred
to as sidewalk surfing) and soon many other similar products emerged. The
boards were from 6 to 7 inches wide. These boards used wheels made of clay.
They had poor traction and would come to a dead stop when rolling over even
small pebbles. This made skateboarding inherently a dangerous sport and
after a few years many cities banned skateboarding because of liability
concerns. This development caused the first skateboarding fad to die completely
in the fall of 1965. Many skateboard manufacturers went out of business
because of losing money on cancelled orders for the Christmas holiday season.
The second generation
In 1970 Frank Nasworthy started to develop a skateboard wheel
made of (An ester of carbamic acid) urethane. The improvement in traction
and performance was so immense that popularity of skateboarding started
to rise rapidly again. With the growing interest companies started to invest
more in product development and many companies started to manufacture trucks
especially designed for skateboarding. As the equipment became more maneuverable
the decks started to get wider, reaching widths of 10 inches and over in
the end, thus giving the skateboarder even more control. Manufacturers started
to experiment with more exotic composites, like fiberglass and aluminum
but the common skateboards were made of maple plywood. The skateboarders
took advantage of the improved handling of their skateboards and started
inventing new tricks. Skateboarders, most notably the (Click link for more
info and facts about Z-Boys) Z-Boys, started to skate the vertical walls
of swimming pools that were left empty in the 1976 California drought. With
increased control skateboarders could skate faster and perform more dangerous
tricks. This caused liability concerns and increased insurance costs to
skatepark owners. Many skateparks went out of business and the parks were
torn down or bulldozed. In the end of 1980, skateboarding had died again.
The third generation
The third skateboard generation, from early eighties to early
nineties, was started by skateboard companies that actively promoted their
sport. The focus was initially on halfpipe and vert ramp skateboarding.
The invention of the (Click link for more info and facts about ollie) ollie
made it possible for skaters to perform huge airs off vertical ramps. With
vert skating being dominant decks were initially very wide with large and
wide wheels. Manufacturers preferred maple plywood over more exotic composite
materials almost exclusively. The third skateboarding fad was killed by
the global economical recession in the early 90's.
The current generation
The size and shape of the fourth and current generation of
skateboards is dominated by one trick: the ollie. The boards are all about
7.5" wide and 32" long. The wheels are extremely hard so that they will
slide better during grind and slide tricks. The wheel sizes are relatively
small so that the boards will rotate more easily during flip tricks. At
one point the wheels were only marginally larger than the bearings they
encased but that fad has died and wheels currently are around 50 to 57mm
in diameter. The decks are still almost always maple plywood but interest
in high technology materials has increased slightly after the cost of manufacturing
them has dropped.
With the evolution of skateboard parks (or skateparks) and ramp riding,
the skateboard began to change. Street skating was originally basically
two-dimensional tricks (e.g. riding on only the front wheels (nose manual),
spinning like an ice skater on the back wheels (a 360), high jumping over
a bar, long jumping from one board to another (often over fearless teenagers
lying on their backs), slalom, the 900 and stale fish, etc.)
Around 1978 or so, street riding became transformed by the invention of
the ollie or no hands aerial, the first modern skateboarding trick, by Alan
"Ollie" Gelfand. To 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 to be performed. No longer
is the trick to fly from one place to another. On the way the board can
twist and flip, as can the rider, then to be united before hitting ground.
The development of these complex tricks went from the street to the vertical
tops of the half pipes (and other terrains).
Very skillful skateboarders often become famous through sponsorship and
endorsements. Examples include Tony Hawk (who has a series of video games
in his name), Bob Burnquist, Rodney Mullen, Steve Caballero, Bam Margera,
and Josh Kalis (who has appeared in numerous television advertisements for
(Click link for more info and facts about DC Shoes) DC Shoes).
Hawk has appeared in the MTV music video awards. In the vert world, some
are surpassing the skills of Tony Hawk. Recently his signature trick, "The
900" was performed by an Italian skater named Georgio Zattoni and a Brazillian
skater by the name of Sandro Dias. Also, Danny Way is considered by some
to be the most innovative and daring skater. Many styles today are a mimic
of Tom Penny, who is a pioneer and in the early 1990s was the first skater
to catch his flip tricks in mid air.
All this from an object that was never designed to lock into grinds, flip
in the air or do the tricks performed by today's skateboarders. Throwing
themselves down large stairs and handrails only ups the ante in the modern
skateboarding world. Today's skateboarders not only differ greatly from
those only 10 years ago in terms of tricks and consistency, but also style,
which is a very important aspect in the way skateboarders are marketed by
skateboarding companies.
Famous Skateboarders
Jay Adams
Tony Alva
Mark Appleyard
Stephen Berra
Ali Boulala
Bob Burnquist
Steve Caballero
Kareem Campbell
Rune Glifberg
Mark Gonzales
Tony Hawk
Heath Kirchart
Eric Koston
Bucky Lasek
Jason Lee
Bam Margera
Guy Mariano
Rodney Mullen
Chad Muska
Stacy Peralta
Andrew Reynolds
Geoff Rowley
Kanten Russell
Arto Saari
Elissa Steamer
Aaron Suski
Ed Templeton
Jamie Thomas
Tony Trujillo
Baldur Tryggvason
Mike Vallely
Danny Way |
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Skateboard Supplies
Check
out customskateboarding.com
the biggest Online Underground skateboard shop!
Wondering how to ollie? Can't land on your board whenever
you try to kickflip? Check out the skateboard trick tips page for detailed
instructions on how to kick, flip, drop & shove it.
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Skateboard Parks
 over 500
skateboard parks listed
SkateboardParks.com
has THE LARGEST up-to-date, VERIFIED collection of Skate Parks on the internet.
515 and counting! We have contacted and verified all of the US Skate Parks we have
listed to provide you with accurate & current information.
Check out the
Cortland NY
skate park
The Cortland Skate-park is located on Kennedy Parkway in Yaman
Park, right off Exit 11 on Interstate Rt. 81. It is open from April 12 - October
26.
The hours for the park are as follows:
School Days: 3:00 p.m. to dusk
All other days, noon to dusk
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