NATASHA: Bohdi and Jasmine love to skateboard. I like the good community and I like making friends, but I also like how it’s really fun. BOY: I kind of got into it because, back in the day, my dad used to skate around a lot.
Skateboarding’s hard, but I reckon anyone that puts their mind to it, they can easily do it. And you know what? Right now is an exciting time to be a skater. I was very excited to watch the Olympics because there was skateboarding. But before we get to that,
Let’s have a quick look back at the history of skateboarding. The origins of skateboarding can actually be traced here, to surfers in the 1940s and ’50s. They wanted a way to practise when there weren’t waves, so someone had the bright idea of putting wheels on a wooden board
So you could surf, kind of, on land. At first, people would ride around on footpaths and car parks. Then, in the ’70s, there was a terrible drought in Southern California. People had to empty their swimming pools, which became the first ever skating ramps. From there, the sport took off.
NARRATOR: It takes an almost perfect sense of balance, strong nerves, and a smooth, sloping surface. It might look easy, but it requires a great deal of strength and control. Boards became more sophisticated… Some kids think timber is the best and some kids think flex is the best.
..and more skate parks started popping up. Competitions got big and pro skaters became superstars. MAN: Now it’s become a lot more mainstream, so a lot more people skateboard, as you can see here – how many people are actually using the skate park themselves, whether they’re on skateboards or scooters or BMXs,
But you see a lot more skateboards. A lot more people are doing it, picking it up, giving it a shot and loving it. But the biggest thing to happen in skating for a long time is the Olympics. Not every skater was thrilled about seeing their sport in such a mainstream competition.
After all, skating has traditionally been seen as a sport for rebels and free spirits. But for a lot of skaters, it’s really inspiring to see the best of the best compete in front of the world, including some of the youngest Olympians ever. JASMINE: We’ve had two 13-year-olds on the podium
And a 16-year-old, which… That inspires me a lot because they’re really young. And I’m 13 in three years, which is probably when the Olympics is going again, and they were competing against a 34-year-old. It was really good to watch young people win medals. Sadly, not all of Australia’s skateboarding team
Could make the Games this year. Back in May, two Aussies and a coach tested positive to COVID at an Olympic qualifying event in the US. But for these guys, it’s the chance of a lifetime, and for the rest of Australia’s top skaters, well, there’s always 2024, 2028, or even Brisbane 2032.
BEAU: We had the right people in the right places, and I think, in the future, we’ll do it – we’ll smash it. And who knows – maybe you’ll see these guys up on the Olympic podium one day. Yeah, I’m trying to work hard and get to the Olympics. Yeah.
In about, like, a few years. Maybe not the next Olympics, but maybe the one after.
source
