In the picture, a male skater holding the skate with the hand while performing a stunt.
SPORTS

Skateboarding

Linked to the urban culture, Skateboarding is a sport that consists in moving on a board with wheels and at the same time, performing several stunts.

A large part of them are performed by lifting the board off the ground and doing air stunts. It is considered one of the "must-not-miss" of the #Santiago2023 Pan American Games, since it is another one of our debuting sports.

In the picture, a male skater making a stunt.

History of this sport

Skateboarding emerged in the 40’s in Malibu, California, when surfers could not practice because the ocean was extremely calm.

In the 60’s, small surfboard manufacturers began building skateboards in a more professional way. At the same time, some teams were formed in order to look for sponsors.

In 1963, the first skateboard contest was held at the Pier Avenue Junior High School in Hermosa Beach, California. Sponsored by Makaha. This time, the competition was not only about moving around, but also performing different disciplines such as slalom or freestyle.

In 1981, the Thrasher magazine appeared, which is considered as the bible of this sport. On its pages you could find articles about skateboarding, music, interviews, photographs, and skateparks reviews.

As years went by, this sport evolved, gained popularity and the number of people who practiced it grew. According to some estimates, there are 11 million active skaters around the world.

In the picture, a male skater making a stunt.

How do you compete?

This sport emerged on the streets. Its main characteristic is the piece of wood which has sandpaper to maintain a good grip. It has four wheels, one at each end and is usually 33 and 35 inches long and 7.5 and 8.5 inches wide.

There will be two disciplines in the Santiago 2023 skateboarding programme: street and park. In both modalities, skaters have 60 seconds to show their routine in each phase of the competition, and judges will score from 0 to 100 points.

The competition considers men’s and women’s categories with 17 participants in each of them, who will perform spectacular tricks in a festive atmosphere.

It emerged in Venice Beach (Los Angeles), where skateboarders began skating in empty swimming pools. Park competitions take place on an uneven track with a series of difficult curves. Some of the attractions are the incredible jumps and tricks in the air, and also the enormous speed they reach while performing them.

In this category, the track is straight and very similar to any street with edges, steps, handrails, park benches, just like an urban track. Each skateboarder competes individually and shows different skills or tricks, which are valued considering the level of difficulty of the tricks, speed, originality, execution of the pirouettes, movements, among others.

Quiz

In which city did skateboarding originate?

Check answer

Information for the community

“Esqueibor, historia del skate en Chile,” is a documentary that shows different milestones of this sport that arrived in Chile 50 years ago. This film presents the pioneers and idols of this discipline in the country, from the-mid 1970’s to the present. It tells the story of skateboarding in Chile through interviews and archive material.
This documentary is available for free here: https://ondamedia.cl/show/esqueibor-el-skate-en-chile For further information about this discipline, here is the website of the Skateboard Federation of Chile: www.patinchile.cl

Go back to sports