A Look At Skateboarding

A sure fire craze for the young generation, skateboarding is one the favorite extreme sports worldwide. With over 12 million enthusiasts around the globe, nearly 4 million of the board wielding junkies involved in the sport is at least 18 years of age or younger.

But what is skateboarding in the general sense? The sport is defined as an activity wherein a person interacts with his or her skateboard. The skateboard is any platform with fastened wheels and it is actually a product of a design first used in the 50's. This smaller board served only as a pastime for surfers during times when the beach was at low tide.

Back then surfers would assemble their own rolling surf boards by disassembling their roller skates. They took the wheels of the skates and attached them to sturdy wooden planks. One can say that this idea is a relative of the crate scooters which was also a famous pastime back in the day. Conversely, these crate scooters were made from skateboard wheels attached to wooden crates and this base structure is then attached to the handle bar.

But it was in the 60's when skateboarding was shown under an all new light. Here is when the skateboarding craze really exploded. Surf board manufacturers started selling millions of skateboards. These skateboards were actually reassembled from surf boards produced by the same company. Skateboards and skateboarding in general was presented to the market as the alternative to surfing when it entered the off season. During the 70's, skateboard manufacturers started investing in new technology when they released an upgraded version of the skateboard.

Today, skateboarders have the advantage of getting the best designs making use of the cutting edge research and product development funneled into skateboard manufacturing. It has since grown into the multi-billion industry giant that it is today.

So why are so many people crazy about the skateboard? Well one main fact is that skateboards are way cheaper than bikes and even scooters! It being ridiculously low priced, even kids can afford to buy their own from their allowance.

It can also replace the bikes and scooters as a means of local transportation. It is definitely a more practical way of reaching nearby destinations at the fraction of the cost with no registration whatsoever needed for it to be street legal.

But from the basic pastime and transportation mode of the skateboards, a more upbeat lot of enthusiasts have spawned an altogether fiercer and more demanding use for the simple plank on wheels: The X-Games. Here, skill and style are both tested in worldwide competitions held around various renowned international spots. Experienced and well trained skateboarders feature their various tricks and stunts to outclass other competitors.