History

= **The Birth Of Skateboarding:**  = Skateboarding was born in the 1950s, when Surfers in California came up with the idea to surf the streets. It is unknown who made the first skateboard, and it seems that numerous people came up with the idea of it during the same time period. Numerous people have claimed to be the first inventor of skateboards; however, no one had proof. Therefore, skateboarding remains to be a result of spontaneous creation.The first skateboarders began by using wooden boxes or boards with roller skate wheels nailed to the bottom. As expected, a great extent of people got hurt in the early years of skateboarding. As time passed, these boxes turned into planks, and eventually companies began making decks of pressed layers of wood. toc



= **Timeline: Skateboarding Throughout The Years:** =

** 1950s **
Skateboarding is born in California. The exact date it started is unknown and the first to do it is unknown as well. However, it is known that skateboarding has its roots in the culture of surfing.

** 1960s **
Skateboarding becomes more popular as non-surfers begin to skate. It shifts from street and pool riding to downhill slalom and freestyle. Skateboard brands have grown up, and begins holding skateboarding competitions. Skateboarding takes a sudden dive in popularity as many people assume that it was just a fad. It continues, but with a lot fewer people skating. Skateboard companies die out one at a time, and skaters are forced to create much of their own equipment.  

** 1970s **
Frank Nasworthy invents urethane skateboard wheels. Until this point, skaters used clay or even metal wheels. These wheels spark new interest in the world of skateboarding. The Ocean Festival is held in Del Mar, California. It's a traditional freestyle and slalom contest, but the Zephyr team arrived and blew the contest away with a new agressive, innovative style of skateboarding. This event catapults skateboarding into the public eye. The most famous of these Zephyr team riders were Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. Alan Gelfand invents the Ollie. Skateboarding takes a second dive in popularity. Insurance rates for skate parks rise dramatically and many skate parks are forced to close.

** 1980s **
Skaters continue to skate, but in a more underground way. Small privately owned skateboard companies pop up, owned by skaters. These small companies encourage creativity in designs. Skateboarding evolves into an even more personal style of expression. Skateboarding begins another dive in popularity. It's not as bad as the previous ones, but it hits vert skateboarding the hardest. Most skaters only skate street. Pro vert skaters fall on hard times. The movie Gleaming the Cube comes out, starring Christian Slater as a skateboarding teenager. The movie has cameos from famous skaters like Tony Hawk, and makes a strong impact on people's view of skateboarders.

** 1990s **
Street skateboarding grows in popularity, but with a new edge. Skateboarding grows along with punk culture, and skateboarding gains a strong angry image. World Cup Skateboarding is founded, to oversee the biggest skateboarding competitions all over the world. World Cup Skateboarding also functions to regulate points from one event to another, in order to give a general idea of how professional skateboarding is progressing, and how pro skaters do from contest to contest. The first X Games are held, giving a lot of attention to skateboarding. The X Games bring in new money and interest, helping to propel skateboarding in popularity, and pushing skaters to new levels of invention. Because of 1997's Winter X Games attention, skateboarding becomes classified as an "Extreme Sport". Many skaters rebel against this classification, and resent skateboarding's slide into the mainstream.

** 2000s **
Throughout the 2000s, skateboarding contests and competitions grow in popularity. The Dew Tour begins in 2005 and quickly grows to rival the X Games. Small local contests and international skateboard contests pop up all over the world. Skateboarding becomes mostly mainstream, but retains a strong dose of the punk, anti-establishment, and individualistic attitude. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 comes out for Nintendo 64, and is a major hit. This generates even more attention for skateboarding. The game has been followed by many Tony Hawk video games, each one a hit. T he International Skateboarding Federation is founded, and takes the lead in talking to the International Olympic Committee about adding skateboarding to the Olympics. The reaction in the skateboarding community ranges from excitement to outrage. The International Association of Skateboard Companies founds Go Skateboarding Day, and sets it for June 21st. The Lords of Dogtown movie comes out, telling the story of the Zephyr team.

** 2010s **
Nowadays, skateboarding is an extremely popular sport among teenagers, kids, and even adults. You will rarely find a town that doesn't have it's own outdoor/indoor skateparks. Many new skate companies has risen because of this popularity, and makes its mark in the skateboarding industry. As time passes, skateboards will get more and more high tech as more discoveries are made to the components. It's popularity will only continue to grow and evolve in the future.

=** Page History: **=


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= **Sources:**  = Some ideas on this page is obtained from: []