It’s in the air
Since its creation in 1958, skateboarding has been at the top of the world of extreme sports
With a recent popularity spike in BMX and scootering, kids are moving away from the skateboard community with fewer new riders taking it up.
“I believe the skate scene here is okay, but it could be bigger,” said Mitch Cooke, owner of HAF Skate and Tattoo.
“One of the reasons it isn’t bigger is the scooter epidemic. Kids want instant gratification. So instead of learning how to skate, sticking to it and building skill, they want something they are good at right away, which comes with scooters.”
Freestyle scootering recently took off in the world of extreme sports, and quickly began to take over skate parks across the world.
The sport uses purpose- built razor scooters to do stunts and tricks as apposed to a skateboard.
“The difference between scootering and skateboarding is the lifestyle,” said Cooke.
“I think the rewards from building skills by skateboarding are much greater than anything else if you stick with it. You skate every day with your buddies, and it’s really rewarding and satisfying.
“Now, kids get these scooters and by the first day they can do a tail whip. Everything is all good for them from there. They don’t have to build any skill with them.”
BMX has also seen a rise in popularity, with more kids ditching their skateboards for the lightweight stunt bicycles.
“I love skateboarding, but it is really hard,” said Andy Roode, a local BMX rider. “I chose BMX after rolling my ankles too much skateboarding. So I picked up a bike and I just enjoyed it more. It was just more fun for me.”
He’s noticed kids are picking up more bikes and scooters over skateboards, as well, and feels it may be due to the sport’s difficulty.
“It seems like it is just easier to hop on a scooter with a bunch of your friends now,” said Roode.
“Once you learn how to roll, you can hit ramps and banks, but it isn’t like that with skateboarding. There is more of a learning curve with skateboarding, so these kids just jump on a scooter or even a bike.”
The Truro skate park recently got a new extension, adding on a flat ground street plaza to give rookie skaters a place to learn and build skill easier than the original, more technical part of the park.
The point of the extension is to give new riders an easier, less discouraging area to practice skating, and to bring in new interest to the sport.
“It is too early to say if it has worked,” said Cooke.
“I’ve been skating there every single day and I’ve seen some new faces showing up, some kids who are out there trying. Hopefully we keep getting more.”