If you haven’t already heard, the Olympics officially decided to add skateboarding to their list of sports in the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics! This was announced some months ago and it has been expected for some time, but we’re still very excited.

This is a big deal for the industry as a whole. And we go into the details below. Unfortunately, we don’t think it’ll be like the Olympic videos we’ve made.

Quick Overview

It was announced at the beginning of the year that skateboarding would officially be included in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. There are two aspects to the competitions. It’s split up between a street course and park course. There’s a men’s and women’s team for each, which in itself is very exciting. It’s great to see the Olympics including everyone in what’s predominately been known as a mens sport.

The teams are listed below:

Women’s Park

Brighton Zeuner (Encinitas, CA)

Bryce Wettstein (Encinitas, CA)

Jordyn Barratt (Haleiwa, HI)

Nicole Hause (Stillwater, MN)

Men’s Park

Alex Sorgente (Lake Worth, FL)

Tom Schaar (Malibu, CA)

Tristan Rennie (Rialto, CA)

Zion Wright (Jupiter, FL)

Women’s Street

Alexis Sablone (Old Saybrook, CT)

Jenn Soto (Jersey City, NJ)

Lacey Baker (Covina, CA)

Mariah Duran (Albuquerque, NM)

Men’s Street

Chris Joslin (Hawaiian Gardens, CA)

Jagger Eaton (Mesa, AZ)

Louie Lopez (Hawthorne, CA)

Nyjah Huston (Laguna Beach, CA)

Congratulations to all the above and we look forward to seeing you compete in Tokyo!

How will Skateboarding Improve?

Growing Competitive Skateboarding

Skateboarding competitions are being shown on major television networks and have only continued growing over the years. With contests like Street League Skateboarding and the Vans Skatepark series, these big contests have led to a large increase in the sports popularity. 

As competitive skateboarding rises, the next evolution in this young sport of skateboarding seems to be rapidly approaching. The sport is growing and taking the world by storm, and that exposure helps the sport overall.

Helping the industry

Skateboarding is very different from other sports in the way that it offers a freedom that some kids might not have otherwise. For some, skateboarding is just a mode of transportation or a way to get some exercise. For most, it’s a way of life. Ask any skater, and they’ll go on and on about how passionate they are about it.

There are many upsides to skateboarding over other sports. It’s relatively inexpensive, doesn’t require a lot of gear, and it’s very practical. The biggest plus point, though, is its accessibility.

It can be done just about anywhere. Any place that has a sidewalk, street, parking lot, a little patch of concrete, you can skate. All you need is your skateboard and your creativity. You do not need a field with specifically marked line, a way to get up a mountain, or even a team. It is unique in that you can do it by yourself or with a whole group. Each person does it their own way.

Making new skaters across the world

The athletes in the Olympics are a mixed bag of skaters. Some have been competing in SLS for years, others are new to the whole competition aspect of skateboarding. These very individuals will be mixed in with athletes that have spent their entire lives trying to get to this stage. This is going to be an interesting crowd this year.

There are many areas across the world that either don’t know about skateboarding, or don’t accept it. The Olympics are world-wide, which means everyone will watch it. This will have the most impact and definitely inspire others around the world to pick up a skateboard and learn how to skate.

Creating a different mindset

Skateboarding has always been mixed in the public eye. There are definitely a few companies and skaters that like the rebellious image and vibe. They want it to stay that way. The skaters that jump fences, run away from security, and vandalize property all seems to be part of the game of skateboarding for them. They do not want it to be socially accepted. All of that it is very much all over popular media these days. Skateboarding is only going to get bigger.

The part that they don’t see is how introducing new skaters to the sport actually helps the industry. Skateboarding is a very tight knit community, with local skate shops and skateparks being the areas where skateboarders can feel comfortable. Without anyone new coming into the sport, those shops will go out of business, and new skateparks won’t emerge.

That is Braille’s entire mission. We want to introduce everyone to the great sport that is skateboarding. When more and more people are discovering how amazing the sport is, the industry only does better. It’s allowed the sport to grow up to the point it is now!

Creating Goals for new skaters

Since skateboarding is generally an individual sport, it leaves the skater up to learning how to skate all by himself. There’s no team or coach, other than the friends you choose to skate with. That’s why the Braille team is passionate to teach skateboarding to everyone. All of our tutorials and videos are meant to empower the industry and teach skateboarding to everyone.

Skateboarding will become more mainstream accepted and it popularity increased. Which is awesome! You will start to see skateboarding becoming the subject of major TV ads, similar to the level of football or Nascar. The power that this has on the entire industry is awesome, because it will show everyone what’s capable when learning how to skateboard.

The predecessor to skateboarding, surfing, is also being added to the upcoming Olympics. These individual and extreme sports are becoming more and more main stream. There will be a lot more companies jumping on board and a lot more money going into the sport. This might be frowned upon but this means that skateboarders can be making more money, and the sport can be expanding.

Expanding the Industry

The growth of the sport is the whole point. I don’t think that anybody wants to see their sport die. So the only way to prevent that from happening, is to make it bigger. The more people that are paying attention to skateboarding, the better off the entire industry will be. The whole point of skateboarding is to go out, have fun, and push yourself with your friends to progress.

Having skateboarding in the Olympics will progress skateboarding to another level. It will also give the new skateboarders more role models, the Olympian skateboarder. That is an interesting point to look at for skateboarders. A skateboarder could be on the cover of the Wheaties box. Wow! Isn’t that a new idea!

Despite opinions on skateboarding in the Olympics, it expands the sport and only makes it grow. Sure, some skaters don’t want it to grow because they don’t want the skatepark riddled with kids that might get in front of them or block the stairs. But, having more light on the sport and more money being poured into it, the community will grow as a whole.

Improving the Sport

There are so many possibilities. Skateboarding is a relatively young sport. The NFL is celebrating its 100^th season. Major league baseball is at 150 years. Skateboarding started in the 70’s and that was its “metal wheels and roller skate turning mechanism” days. The other sports above have been professionally organized for so long. Skateboarding is much younger than most other sports. There is a long way for it to go. 

With something that is so free and open to what each individual wants to do, there is really no telling what is going to happen. There are no rules in skateboarding. You skate how you want, progress in your own manner, and put together your own lines. It really is an individual sport.

When it gets opened up to the broad public and more publicity, there can be a lot more coming into the industry. New technology in the hardware, more skateparks in development, and ultimately more acceptance from everyone. Those “No skateboarding” signs in random areas around the city will soon just, vanish. There might be people to are just looking to just make money, but there will also be those that are there for the love of the sport and wanting to push it to it’s new heights.

Of course, there will be companies and people that are just in it for the money. But ultimately, it’s the passion and purpose that really matters. Those that want to push the industry forward and grow the community will stand out of the crowd from those that just want to make money.

Benefits of the Olympics

1. A lot more people are going to see skateboarding as a legitimate sport
2. More people are going to be interested in skateboarding
3. There is going to be more money being invested into skateboarding and skateboarders
4. More people from across the world will start skating
5. Skateboarding will be more accepted in the society
6. More skateboarding-friendly areas

Without a doubt, skateboarding will change after the Olympics. And we think it’s for the better! What are your thoughts? Comment below and let us know what you think!

If you’re new to skateboarding and looking to improve your skills, definitely check out Skateboarding Made Simple. It’s the most detailed lesson plan for skateboarding that exists. With 9 different volumes, you’ll go from learning how to ride on a board, to skating skateparks and landing more advanced flatground tricks in no time!