Is the Impact of Olympic Skateboarding Good or Bad?
On August 3rd 2016 it was announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that skateboarding was to appear in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The news left the skateboarding world unsurprisingly divided in opinion. To think, the activity of skateboarding in the East Midlands town centre of Kettering (where I'm from) and others around the country, would land you an ASBO, but could also win you an Olympic medal. It's no wonder the IOC's decision raised a few eyebrows.
Many turn to skateboarding because it lacks the stiff upper lip of many other sports. It doesn’t have that wake up at 5:00am and train vibe. It’s one of the only sports where lack of respect, egotism and hostility to other skateboarders is generally frowned upon. A mindset that it is not shared by some of the more, jock like sports such as football. Your pink-skinned Dad isn’t going to be screaming at you from the side-lines, and you definitely aren't going to be put on any strict bulking/cutting diets. It's very laid back and often turned as a form of creative outlet, much like surfing or snowboarding. Skateboarding is the freedom to get up and skate whenever you feel like and go and have fun with your friends. You don’t need to worry about winners and losers every time you set foot in a skatepark. To put it bluntly skateboard and the Olympics just don’t go together.
Skateboarding is un-orchestrated and spontaneous. There is no set way in which you should be skateboarding; you are free to be expressive in any way you choose. The Olympics isn’t always like that; there are rules, guidelines. It involves words like orthodox - we don’t use that word in skateboarding.
Although of course, there is a competitive skateboarding scene with competitions like Street League, Dew Tour and X-Games. It is widely recognised in the skate world that it is not the only way in which you can judge the sport. During this Olympics it will be likely that many will be witnessing the sport for the first time, and due to the negative press it has historically received, it may not get the viewing it deserves. It will likely be shown in two to three formats. The tricks that skateboarders will be doing will be similar; it will very much funnel the sport into two styles, likely on a perfect built street style course and a vert ramp. I am apprehensive that the sport will not be fully appreciated, for we will not be shown the vastness of the sport and everything that goes into it.
As I struggle to put into the exact words as to what I mean, I want to revert to something that Mark ‘The Gonz’ Gonzalez said on the matter. (If you don’t know him, please look him up, you will not be disappointed). Known for his expressive and creative style of skateboarding, Gonz continues at the age of 53 to push the envelope on what skateboarding is.
Gonz stated that ;
“the Olympic people that do skateboarding are gonna say that skateboarding is theirs, it belongs to them now, ‘we are skateboarding, this is what skateboarding is now’. They think that what they’re doing is right and everything else is not good…… Having fun is what it's all about.”
And I think that’s it, isn't it? Skateboarding is a rebel sport, and now someone else is going to decide what we're allowed to do. Someone that until the time of the Olympics has had nothing to do with skateboarding. The very people that we seek to avoid in our choice of past time and they’re the ones who will be trying to govern what's good or bad. Skateboarding will be judged in a controlled format in a controlled environment. The people who have very little appreciation for the roots of the sport will be able to say no, that's not how you skateboard, what you're doing over there, isn't right! So I guess that’s what I’m eventually trying to get at. I don’t necessarily think the Olympics will show skateboarding in its truest form. It won’t show the hunt for a suitable skate spot, the pedestrian dodging, the sweeping of pools or when you run over a tiny pebble and get launched 10 feet on your face!
But, whether you like it or not, there are always positives, and although they may not seem obvious on the surface, they are well and truly there!
The popularity of skateboarding has fluctuated through its lifetime, taking one of its most significant dips during the mid-2000s - something which I hold Avril Lavigne personally responsible. How many of you are still haunted by the echoes of "He WaS a SKaTeRboi” being screamed at you whilst you walked through town? Being caught with a skateboard during my time at secondary school would’ve cost you a broken deck and good kick in; not exactly something I was particularly fond of. With that dip in popularity, the sport lost its demand. Many brands and shops that we saw grow from the golden days of the 90s were sadly lost to the ages.
The announcement of skateboarding into the games will have no doubt increased the exposure of the sport, it is undeniable in fact. In my local community, the growth is noticeable; for a time skateparks were riddled with children playing on scooters, skateboarders were very much a minority. But now, we see many of those youngsters trading in for skateboards. We now see the 90s skaters digging out their old boards and heading out with their kids to go skating! We are also seeing a rise in the number of female skaters, we have the likes of Nora Vasconcellos and Samarria Brevard to thank for that! More demand is being put on local councils to build spaces that can be used as a park, preventing people from having to travel to the bigger towns.
The greatest victory of all? The rebirth of the local skate shop. Many will tell of the endless hours spent in their local shops and how they were very much a central hub for the skateboarding youth. With the shop owner acting as a big brother/sister to the youngsters, this became a place where life long friendships were formed. My local area was saddened following the closure of the legendary 'Chopper Skate Shop'. Still, we have seen a major revival and the birth of 'ILLICIT' skate shop and other local skate based businesses like ‘Sketti Butta’.
In short; skateboarding will be cool again and hopefully, young people may not be ridiculed and beaten up for wearing anything other than a pair of air max 95s.
Suppose it means that local people can set up small businesses and make reasonable bank in a world dominated by major corporations. In that case, I’m here for it.
If it means that someone will have something will have good access to skateparks and give them something to turn to when they’re finding things difficult? Then once again, that’s a significant victory. Finally, if young boy or girl can be inspired by what they see at the games and instead of a pair of football boots they want for Christmas; it’s a set of wheels, trucks, bearings and deck, then we have to see that as a good thing.
As skateboarders, we have the power to show the world what this sport is all about, we know that the games may not display our sport at its truest, but that’s up to us! Grab your board, head out and most importantly, have fun!
Written by Jordan Yeates
My name is Jordan. I turned to writing as a source of relief from my struggles. A few years ago, I struggled a lot and therefore I wrote a lot. With time, I got alright at it and even started to enjoy it. I now do it everyday but this time because I enjoy it and I want to start sharing my work with others. You can find me on Instagram and Facebook @jordanyeatesmh. Here I share more of my work, along with some videos too.