Skateboarding free essay sample

Skateboarding has been around since the early 1950’s, when surfers wanted a way to mimic surfing without the water. Skateboarding then, was known as â€Å"sidewalk surfing† to many local skateboarders. The name â€Å"sidewalk surfing† comes from skateboarders wanting to do surfing-like maneuvers while traveling at a high rate of speed. Then 1950’s were the opening era of skateboarding, but it was not very popular at this time. Many people disliked skateboards, because they destroyed property, and nearly ran over people. Skateboarding became most popular in California, where it was founded. Over the years, skateboarding became more advanced, in terms of board shapes. The skateboard was first shaped in an oval form. It was soon changed to a slightly larger, oval wooden board. In these advances, new equipment started to become more efficient. Introducing new helmets, knee pads, and wrist guards. Soon enough, the first tick was preformed on the skateboard, which would be the turning point in the history of skateboarding. The 1960’s were a progressive time of the skateboarding era. At this time, many companies started to produce mass amounts of skateboards, making it a popular item to buy. Skateboarding in the early 1960’s was mostly downhill slalom with a twist of freestyle added in. Competitions were held at these events, making this â€Å"dangerous† hobby a competitive challenge. By the end of the 1960’s, skateboarding had died out and was rarely seen for a while. â€Å"The skateboarding fad died as quickly as it had started, and the sport had entered its first slump. † (Skatelog. com) The biggest change in skateboarding happened in the 1970’s. Although skateboarding was not seen as much, many companies went down, encouraging kids to make their own skateboards out of wood. Making these skateboards did not require any special materials, which was convenient. While skateboarding was already not safe, it posed as an increased risk for injury when kids were making their own skateboards. The most unsafe thing about skateboards, up until the 1970’s, would be the wheels of the skateboard. The wheels of a skateboard were made out of a hardened clay material. This made the wheels ide rough on hard surfaces like pavement and concrete. These wheels easily chipped off and wore out easily. It wasn’t until 1972 when a man named Frank Nasworthy, created the first safe and efficient skateboard wheel. The wheel Nasworthy created was made out of an urethane material. This made the wheel easier to control and more stable at high speeds. The urethane wheel made the skateboards bounce when a bump was hit. Nasworthy stated, â€Å" I thought that if I could sell one set of wheels to each surfing shop, I would make a little bit of money. † (Tony Roberts, People. om) The 1970’s in all, was a productive century in the skateboarding history. In addition, the 1980’s time period had a lot to offer to the skateboarding community. Then shape of the skateboard soon changed again, this time into a wider board. The wider design of this board made it easier to do tricks on. The previously introduced urethane wheels combined with the new shape of the skateboard, created a whole new was to perform maneuvers. The creation of skateboarding ramps began in the 1980’s. Skateboarding ramps were either small or large in size, wooden, with a metal coping at the top. These ramps were usually called â€Å"kicker ramps† because they could launch a person on a skateboard at least 5 feet in the air. Other forms of skateboarding ramps include half pipes and bowls. Many businesses started creating what its known as â€Å"skate parks. † These skate parks included ramps and obstacles for skateboarders to ride on. Local businesses did not allow skateboarding on their property because of the health risks involved and the damaging of property. Skate parks usually recreated an urban skateboarding environment, in a small or large warehouse. These businesses who started skate parks could charge a fee to skateboard. With skate parks blooming and ramps being built, accidents on a skateboard became very often. This caused an increase in health insurance fees, and the reliability of the person or the skate park owner to take action. Injuries involved in skateboarding can range from mild to severe. Bruising to the skin and bones is a mild injury. This can happen when you fall off a skateboard and hit an object or the ground. They can usually be treated by resting the injured spot, or bandages. Broken bones fall in the severe category. This happens when you fall from a long distance or height, to the direct pressure of a bone. Broken bones need to be professionally treated in order to be correctly treated. â€Å"Most skateboarding injuries involve the wrist, ankle, or face. † (orthoinfo. aaos. org) In the 1990’s, skateboarding was pretty close to what it has become today. The shape of the skateboard changed back into an oval shape like before, only this time it had curved up sides. These curved up sides were known as concave. Concave gave the skateboard a way to get off the ground easier. It gave the skateboard more â€Å"pop†. The â€Å"pop† refers to the actual snapping of the tail on the skateboard while doing a trick. In the 1990’s, skateboarding could be a choice in a career. Many skateboarding companies were sponsoring skateboarders who had talent. This would land the skateboarders in competitions that could result in huge paychecks. Nobody before this time in skateboarding thought skateboarding could become a career. This influenced many young skateboarders to step up their skateboarding and try to become a professional. With all the people turning pro, the world needed a skateboarding competition where all the best can compete to be known as the best skateboarder in the world. This very own competition was known as the X-Games. This competition was a day at a time event that would push skateboarding to its limits. The ramps at the X-Games were four times as large as the ramps at a local skate park. Even though some skateboarders were not good enough to become pro, many people still enjoyed skateboarding as a hobby. Some pro skateboarders include: Tony Hawk, Rodney Mullen, Chad Muska, Bob Burnquest, and many more. These skateboarders were some of the biggest names in skateboarding in the 1990’s. â€Å"Modern day skateboarding (2000-present), is at its peak. †(skateboarding. com). There are many new names in skateboarding, and still growing. Skateboarding has become more banned in business and privately own areas. Many businesses have security guards to protect the premises from skateboarders. The reason behind this, is because skateboarders doing tricks on these businesses grounds causes damage to the place, and can cause harm to the innocent people around the place. It is estimated that skateboarders cause up to 2 million dollars worth of damage each year to cities. Many skateboarders do not mean to cause this damage, in which they just need a place to skate. In this economic position as of today, many skate parks are going out of business. The cost of running a skate park is increasing in taxes. Professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek, is very popular in the skate park business. With all of his earnings from skateboarding, he created an organization to provide low income cities with a skate park for kids. This organization is known as â€Å"Safe Spot Skate Spot. † This would provide kids with a safe and reliable place to ride their skateboards without worrying about security and dangers of oncoming traffic. Skateboarding in general, has only reached its peak. Skateboarding is predicted to grown and get better in the future, which could result in a good thing or a bad thing. Skateboarding could grow into an economic expansion, or die away once again like in the 1960’s. Only time will tell which path the future of skateboarding will take.