Skateboard

A skateboard [ skeɪtbɔ ː ɹd ], sometimes Germanized also called rolling board, is a board ( deck) with two axes (trucks ) and four casters ( Wheels ) on which you can move standing by pushing with one leg ( pushing ). The skateboard is rarely used as a mere means of transportation. The skateboarding ( Skating) has rather over the decades developed into a sport with a rich repertoire of tricks ( tricks ) and an own terms. The tricks consist mostly of jumps with a skateboard and are often performed in combination with rotations of the board and of the body.

Construction of the skateboard

A skateboard is usually seven layer, made ​​of Canadian maple or Baltic existing board ( deck). Its dimensions are normally from about 80 centimeters in length and width 20 cm. At the graphically often elaborately designed bottom two movably mounted axles are screwed.

Such an axis ( Truck) consists of two main components: the lower part (base plate), the four screws ( mounting, bolts, shorties ) is attached to the board, and the upper part (Hanger ), the two wheels on ball bearings ( wheels) from polyurethane plastic bears. Both parts are connected by a main bolt ( kingpin ) and two bushings ( bushings, rubbers, dohdohs ). By moving to a tipping point ( pivot) axles mounted the skateboard can be steered by shifting your weight. For a better driver stability on the skateboard, a mostly black, self-adhesive sandpaper ( grip tape) is adhered to the top surface ( tread ). The Skateboards today have front and rear, one each on the axes outstanding, upwardly bent portion. The rear projecting area of the board is called tail, the front nose. In addition, most have more professional boards nowadays a slight curve inward ( concave ).

In addition to the above-described common form of the skateboard still exist other variants. The most important are longboards and slalom boards. Longboards have a longer deck, larger and softer wheels, less pronounced nose and tail. Slalom skateboards are often made of flexible vibrating wood and often without any overhang on the nose and tail. Snakeboards are divided in two skateboards. They are both the slalom as used for tricks.

Components of a normal skateboards are:

Disciplines of skateboarding and skateboard tricks

Culture of skateboarding

Skateboarding is hardly comparable to traditional sports. There is a lack of leagues or associations, which are divided in the sports community, national or international hierarchies. And yet, organizations worry about the existence of a global network for carrying loose competitions such as the " Mastership ", a sort of World Cup, the X Games in California or regular so-called " contest ". There is the "World Cup of Skateboarding " and in Germany the " Club of Skaters ". As part of this contest actually consist rankings of international skateboarders. The skating is still in the self- understanding of many skaters rather than individualized expression of life - sometimes known as a kind of art - viewed as a sport. From the use and " appropriation " of public space often arising conflict and criminalization experiences that first origins of skateboarding in the " drop-out mentality of the Surfer" and the records Complete creativity have rooted subculture until today skating. So it has entered into a certain connection of fashion, the visual arts such as graffiti, graphic design and photography or different music scenes. For example, one calls the skateboarding culture related varieties of punk and hardcore music sometimes known as skate punk.

Because of the almost lack of organizational structure, its intentionally unregulated character and the mostly young practitioners skateboarding is often counted among the so-called recreational sports. Against this position, however, speaks next to his subcultural connections, the continuity of skateboarding, which is now carried on for decades. In addition, the complexity of the sport demands on willpower and a willingness to learn, the fast is contrary to the character -learn and fast paced trend sports.

Skateboarding has long been dominated predominantly male. However, in recent years are also more and more females interested in this sport. Professional skateboarder interior, such as Elissa Steamer and thus present a role model represents the skateboard industry, especially in the area for clothes and shoes, this development fits and designs fashion now especially for young women.

Rules and Terms

According to the Road Traffic Act ( Highway Code ) § 24 para 1 A skateboard is not considered a vehicle, but as a means of transportation on the same legal basis as a wheelchair and a sledge. For such means of transportation, the road traffic legislation for pedestrians are in Germany. It follows that skateboards on roadways may not be used, since these are noisy Highway Code § 2 paragraph 1 subject to the vehicles. Furthermore, the use of skateboards prohibited on bike paths, since for skateboarders the same rules apply as for pedestrians in the traffic area. When skateboarding so you are obliged to use the pavement.

History of skateboarding

The origin of modern skateboarding, formerly known as "Asphalt Surfer", is in the 60s and was created by the transmission of surfing on the asphalt and concrete. It became a trend sport which has been practiced mainly by young people. There were also Championships, which included downhill slalom, obstacle course and freestyle on a flat plane. Due to other burgeoning trends, however the sport quickly lost importance and towards the end of the decade it was even difficult at all to buy a skateboard.

The development of polyurethane rollers meant a great technical progress with better adhesion and rolling properties, as well as the construction of the principle axis system still in use today whose weight- sensitive mobility enabling the steering of the skateboard. These technological developments have revived the sport again, as this new maneuvers were possible. Forerunner of today's skateboard culture was the Zephyr team of Dogtown, a neighborhood of Venice Beach in California. This group consisted of passionate surfers, which the skateboard sport in the 70s gave a new face by stylistic transfer their hobby on the road. Particularly groundbreaking here was specially developed by them discipline, pool riding, which was the birth of Vert style and continues today in the form of half-pipe. A native of the team Tony Alva was later the first skateboard world champion and had a lasting influence with his style the scene as well as public perception.

In the early 90s, the shape of the normal road Skateboards turned into a leaner, almost symmetrical cut with almost equally long overhangs on the nose and tail. This type of construction and the resulting allowed movement and leverage new forms of tricks were executed.

In its construction, the skateboard now seems to be ripe, experiments with new materials such as boards made ​​of aluminum, carbon or Kevlar layers and various Achstechniken at Longboards could not prevail. Over the past decades there have been several phases in which the skating enjoyed great popularity. They were followed by periods where the sport lost many of his followers.

An important means of communication of the scene are regularly published print and video publications and websites with blogs and discussion forums.

Professional Skateboarder

Especially in the USA, a professional skateboarding scene has developed. Professional skateboarder obtained by sponsorship agreements with one or more companies ( mostly manufacturers of skateboards, garment sector companies or skateboard shops ) cash and in kind. A familiar example of this is provided by the popular skateboarder Tony Hawk, Danny Way, Bam Margera, Jamie Thomas, Chris Cole, Mike Vallely, Eric Koston, Paul Rodriguez Jr., Ryan Sheckler and Rodney Mullen. But European skaters like the Vans riders Chris Pfanner, or German Mack McKelton have success in the contest.

Jargon / Glossary

See main article: Skateboarder jargon