Skateboarding At The 2020 Olympics
Skateboarding at
the 2020 Olympics
The Events
Each event will feature 20 competitors, with at least one from the host nation Japan. Qualifiers will be based on world rankings, as well as the World Championships. Qualifying events started January 1st 2019 and will end on the 31st May 2020, but as each country is limited to a maximum of 12 skaters across the four competitions, we can expect to see some top skateboarders from more obscure countries taking part on the world stage.
Street Skateboarding
So what exactly does each event entail? Street skateboarding is just what it sounds like - your classic skating down a course that contains similar terrain to what you would find on the street - but totally free from slow-moving pedestrians or yappy dogs that could get in the way of your most precious skateboards! A selection of obstacles, including curbs, benches, handrails and walls, allow some serious skateboarding stunts to take place. Expect to see the athletes incorporating their street surroundings into a spectacular display of tricks. Better not try this one at home, as even the very best skateboards won't help you reach Olympic heights in your local town!
Park Skateboarding
Park skateboarding, on the other hand mainly consists of ramps. Instead, it takes place in a course made up of a series of different shaped transitions. Skaters in this discipline focus mainly on aerial tricks. They gather speed over the ramps to allow them to reach dizzying heights for breathtaking tricks in mid-air. Grinding will also be on display, this is when competitors carefully balance their boards on the edges of the ramps and slide along using different parts of the skateboard.
Judging
As you can imagine, judging these kinds of competitions is no mean feat. Skateboarding isn't like an Olympic running or swimming race, where the winners are clear. Instead, it will be judged more like gymnastics, with judges awarding points for the athletes' routines. Of course, judging in an event like this isn't entirely objective, but more points are on offer for the complexity of the stunts, and of course, the success with which they're pulled off. Other things that the judges take into account are flow, timing and stability.
Skateboarding On The World Stage
Skateboarding in the Olympics has been a bit of a hot topic for the skating community. Some people welcome the chance to show the wider world just what goes into this sport. If you've spent years having your hobby dismissed as a bit of childish fun, then this is an opportunity to finally let people see just how complex and thrilling skateboarding can be! But not everyone agrees. There are those who believe that skateboarding grew out of counter culture, and it should stay out of the mainstream - and it doesn't get much more mainstream than the Olympics.
Pros and Cons
Pros Of Olympic Skateboarding
One of the main benefits of this event is the chance to see skilled skateboarders from around the world. Very few skateboarders have become household names, and those who have are usually from the USA or the UK. The richest pro skateboarders are almost all European or American. But skateboarding is popular everywhere, and this Olympic event should shine a light on talented athletes representing poorer countries, as well as women skateboarders - who are rarely in the spotlight. Olympic skateboarding might well encourage more people to take up the sport, which could lead to better investment in skateparks and other facilities, so there could be a knock-on effect. Finally, it's an awesome showcase for the best skateboarders, and should help those who still won't acknowledge that it's a sport to see the light.
The Downside
However, there are plenty of skateboarders who don't like the idea of it as an Olympic discipline. They see it as a culture, rather than a sport - and skateboarding has always attracted people who would rather break the rules than follow them, which is an attitude that doesn't go down well at the Olympics!
So far, there's been no word on whether Olympic uniforms will be mandatory. But the thought of skateboarders in flag-print spandex doesn't exactly appeal to many fans of the sport...
The Bottom Line
All this might be a bit premature, though. Skateboarding appearing in the Olympics doesn't necessarily mean that it's going seriously mainstream - especially as this could be a one-off. There's no guarantee that the sport will continue through to the 2024 Olympics, so let's enjoy seeing it on the world stage while we have the chance!
