Skateboarding at Stanton
Photo by Gavin Grady
JILLIAN WILLIAMS | OCTOBER 19, 2020 | SPORTS
Retro music blasts over the speakers, with the sound of boards hitting the pavement and gliding over the concrete, as skaters drop into ramps in front of anxious onlookers. This is the typical scene at an energetic skatepark as skaters of all backgrounds come together. While skateboarding is a sport that typically falls under the radar, Stanton College Preparatory School has a large community of skateboarders who have connected and formed new friendships.
Skateboarding includes a diverse crowd with participants from various backgrounds bonding over their shared love of the sport. Friends skating together can share knowledge or “tricks” as well as helping to motivate one another. This has allowed the sport to grow in popularity with the coronavirus’ social restrictions in place.
“I enjoy skateboarding because it’s a good way to relax the mind and smile,” said junior Stefan Jurj. “Skating in the afternoons and nights allows me to create a stronger bond with friends.”
For skateboarders like Jurj, skateboarding is a social sport, acting as a way to form new friendships with others who share a common interest. With these connections, a sense of unity is created among a diverse group who might not otherwise have associated with one another. Since skating is such a versatile sport, there is constantly room for learning and adapting to others’ skating styles and techniques.
“Not only do you get excited when you land a trick which took you a while to learn, but your friends are just as excited as you are,'' said senior James Dray, who has been skateboarding for about a year.
Many perceive skateboarding to be just for show or an aspect of popular culture, due to its association with popular brands such as Vans. This is largely because of social media and the way it represents the sport, focusing on the finished product of a trick rather than the effort it takes to achieve it.
“While many people percieve skating as a fashionable hobby that’s easy to get into, it’s a very difficult hobby to get good at considering the amount of hours it takes to learn a single trick,” said Jurj.
Photo by Gavin Grady
In the 1940s, when skateboarding was created, the sport was largely restricted to California surfers as an alternative to surfing when the waves were flat. Over time, skateboarding has evolved from “sidewalk surfing” to an extremely extensive and distinct sport open to all audiences.
“I think many people hype up skateboarding and believe those who do it are ‘cool’,” said sophomore Sion King. “In actuality, it’s just a community of people who want to have fun and learn new things.”
Another misconception surrounding skateboarding is that it is a sport that is limited in its audience. Social media portrays skateboarding as being constrained to white teenage boys. However, many people of all ages and backgrounds skate, including women and people of color. People with disabilities and physical limitations can also skate, with modified skateboards and wheelchairs allowing even those who are typically limited to skate.
“The perception of skateboarding is that many people can’t do it or many people can’t gain the ability to become as great as popular skaters,” said sophomore Ylliana Miagao,. “A lot of skate culture seems like a bunch of people in their teens. In reality, everyone can skate with the right mindset regardless of age, gender, or disability.”
Despite the sport’s wide audience, there is a certain stigma surrounding skateparks, with many people seeing them as a source for criminal activity. Kona Skatepark stands to disprove these ideas as the first skatepark in the United States, spreading skateboarding culture and setting the stage for the variety of skateparks around the U.S. today. Located in Jacksonville’s Arlington area, this family-owned skatepark hosts a variety of family-oriented programs such as a summer camp and Color Me Kona, where members of the community are invited to come in to make art on all the walls and ground of the park. These events attract a large audience and strengthen the sense of community.
“As the popularity of skateboarding has increased, a negative perception seems to dominate, as seen in the ‘skater’ characters portrayed in many television shows and movies,” said Martin Ramos, owner of Kona Skatepark. “Skate Camp and events like Color Me Kona work to break that perception and show how inclusive the skateboarding lifestyle really is.”
Kona and other skateparks around Jacksonville are free with no real rules or regulations, creating less of an organized sport and more of an art form. They combine the athletic aspects of skateboarding with creativity such as photography and music to promote the artistic aspect of skateboarding.
“If there was one word to describe skate culture, it would be passion,” said Ramos. “That is what drives its progression and manages to keep participants involved for a lifetime.”
Despite a lack of understanding from the rest of society, skateboarding is flourishing during these times as a socially distant, yet fun sport. Skateboarding represents a diverse culture as people of various ages and backgrounds connect together and form friendships over a shared appreciation for the sport. As skateboarding becomes increasingly popular and the dynamic of the sport changes rapidly, it continues to be a passion and escape for many students at Stanton.