Skateboarding

Skateboarding started in the 1950's in California when surfers decided to try surfing on the street. No one knows who created the first skateboard but many have claimed the title. The first skateboard was made from a surfboard with rollerskate wheels attached to the bottom. After sometime company's started to fashion the boards out of pressed wood and shortened the length.

In 1963 skateboarding started to peak as a sport. People started to realize that this was more than something to do when you couldn't surf. Skateboarding started to become a competitive sport with competitions held at local surf stores. At this time the sport hadn't evovled to what it is today. The most popular forms at the time where known as downhill slalom (street louging) or freestyle which is a bit more technical. Freestyle was the predeccessor for today's modern skateboarding.

In 1972, after a several years where skate boarding was thought to have died out, a remarkable break came about in the wheels designed for the boards. Before wheels where made out of clay, Frank Nasworthy invented urethane wheels. Today the wheels are made out of polyurethane which is still very similar to the urethane wheel.

In 1978 came another skateboard revolution. Alan Gelfrand, nicknamed "ollie", created the basis for almost all modern skateboard tricks. This was called the ollie, which is basically where a skateboarder jumps with the board. Almost all modern day tricks are based off this and happens to be one of the first and hardest tricks a skateboarder learns. In 2002 Alan Gelfand was inducted to the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.

Near the end of the 70's skateboarding felt it's second crash in popularity. Pulbic parks had been built but do to skateboardings dangerous nature insurance companies would not cover liabilty damage in these areas. People kept skating through the 80's and into the 90's but most equipment was made at home. Skateboarding once again recieved popularity in the mid 80's with the introduction of the VCR several skate videos started appearing on the market.

In the late 80's skateboarding once again took a dive. Vert skateboarding (skateboarding on ramps and half pipes) quickly lost popularity and skaterboarders started taking to the streets. In 1995 ESPN held there first Extreme Games to huge success causing skateboarding to become more of a mainstream event and fueling its popularity. In 1997 ESPN introduced the Winter X Games, with such sports as snowboarding. Many skateboarders have become upset with the switch from an underground sport to something more main stream.