11th June 2007
Skateboarding - Olympic Sport Or Not?
As a Londoner the 2012 Olympics are an ever present issue. You can't open a newspaper these days without there being some kind of gripe about the event that, depending on your point of view, is either going to ruin London or make it even better than it already is. First it was the cost, then it was the logo, and now it's skateboarding.
This petition appears to be set up by skateboarders who think making skateboarding into an Olympic sport would be a bad idea:
Skateboarding is not a "sport" and we do not want skateboarding exploited and transformed to fit into the Olympic program. We feel that Olympic involvement will change the face of skateboarding and its individuality and freedoms forever.
What do you think? Should skateboarding be an Olympic sport? Why or why not?
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Add To Yahoo! My WebNo, man skating is a sport to get away from it all. Because of all this Xgames stuff posers are making fun of the sport, and ruining it all for the rest of us!
Posted by Vitalis on 21st of June 2007
I don't really think it would have much of a negative effect. If you think about it, almost all olympic sports have a lot in common with skateboarding already. Look at track and field events. You have people that train individualy, normally with a coach (like having a friend teach you a trick in skateboarding) that are seperated into countries which ultimately compete with each other. Also, look at the winter olympics, you already have skateboarding's little brother snowboarding in the olympics, and snowboarding has not changed much since it has become an olympic event. Whether we like it or not, there will also be international competitions for skateboarding anyway. Just as long as all styles of skateboarding are represented, I think it cant be a bad thing. I apologize for the long comment.
Posted by matt on 21st of June 2007
i believe that u chat alot of s**t but i understand ur view but why cant it be in the olympics.... ? I rekon if stuff like pole vaulting is in the olymics and bikeing is in the olympics why cant another type of sport that can be used as transport be in the olympics. You prolly dont know but there are over 10,000 skaters in the uk alone. my opinion is that sk8in should be an olympic sport
Posted by own4g3 on 27th of June 2007
yea why not? How cool would it be to see skaters from all over the world compete for the worldtop? And maybe skateboarding is allready ruined by jackasses who laugh with the younger generation while they get all the credit because they are sponsored... So why thing of the concequences, let's see what happens ...
Posted by Bortier on 29th of June 2007
why can't skateboarding be a sport at the olympics and snowboarding can. I think that it would improve skateboardings popularity and there wouldn't be so much illegal things going on in it. It would bring more joy to people who like it and the skate community would grow if it was an olympic sport.
Posted by quartizoa398 on 03rd of July 2007
Illegal things? What illegal things? Skateboarding is the very paragon of virtue!
Posted by Board Crazy on 04th of July 2007
the illegal things are drugs and stealings idiot
Posted by koyuitrew234 on 13th of July 2007
*somebody* doesn't understand irony clearly :-)
Posted by Board Crazy on 13th of July 2007
snowboarding is an olympic sport, so why not skateboarding?
(snowboarding did not suffer from it)
Posted by moi on 16th of August 2007
I agree, Snowboarding is still kikass, so it shouldn't hurt to let sk8-bording join in!!!!!
Posted by John on 01st of October 2007
Dudes it would be a great olympic sport! nothing can ruin sk8ing. e.g if some coons make a mockery of vert sk8ing, flatland will still be resected. its the same thing, dude i rekon y not, way more sponsorship and exposure for those hu want it. besides we're sk8rs, hu cares what people think of us, thats the sk8r code
Posted by Mike-NZ skating on 03rd of October 2007
If non skaters saw skating in the olympics they would probably want to start so on the upside the skating population would be bigger so more skateparks would be build. On the downside a load of arsholes could start and get in your way whenever you to skate in the already japacked skateparks.
Posted by on 03rd of November 2007
the only problem with having skatboarding as an olympic sport is that it would have an unbalanced representation thorughout the world, sure there are plenty of people in the major countries, but what aobut everyone else? The addition of a new sport means that everyone should be able to participate. If a sport is filled mostly with the larger countries, they are just going to pull away faster in the medal count.
Posted by on 08th of November 2007
I think it would be pretty cool to have sk8ing be an olimpic sport...
Posted by Sk8 Luver on 11th of November 2007
NO,skateboarding is not a sport. it would make skateboarding more popular but i like that its not very popular. Plus some countries wherever may not know what skateboarding was. so whatever. keep practicing
Posted by Skater4lifeEric on 27th of November 2007
skateboarding is an official extreme sport and a multi mllion dollar buisness, it is already represented in the X games, sponsorship is very high so saying that it is not a sport and shouldnt be part of the olympics is pretty dumb
Posted by tom on 28th of December 2007
no.
skateboarding should not become an olimpic sport. i personaly love skateboarding. i think that if skateboarding became an olympic sport than it would become competative rather than something fun that people can enjoy. if people start to get realy serious about sktaeboarding and start to compete than the imaginary bond between skateboarders will be killed.
lets justsay that skateboaring becoming an olympic sport is like giving every skateboarder a gun that they can shoot at people with smaller guns...
Posted by Anthony on 29th of December 2007
I think your right skate boarding should not be put in the Olympics,because it takes away the whole concept of it.
Posted by brandon on 01st of January 2008
skateboarding is for real people who can take the pain not people who wanna be famous
Posted by bob on 16th of January 2008
If you guys seriously knew about skateboarding and art of it, then it wouldn't be put into The Olympics.
It's just going to become a mainstream sport and totally ruin the real concept of it.
Skateboarding is a sport, I will give you all that, it's getting out there everyday and sweating your balls off, or for us chicks;boobies.
However, it is also a form of artistic expression, I mean why do we have all these artisic companys hooked with skateboarding?
Plus, it's getting away from the mainstream of things. Skateboarding looks so easy, but isn't and it takes dedication to love the sport. Alot of us don't get money for it, just the joy.
Why should we have that indiviuality taken away from us as skateboarders?
Most of the ones saying it's okay, are people that agree with snowboarding being apart of it, and i have nothing against snowboarding, but it's not really for going against these illegal places that they can't snowboard, where all can we legally skate? That's another thrill of it that I love. I love skateboarding and the whole concept of it. Don't take it away from us making it mainstream.
Posted by Bawnshequa on 15th of February 2008
yes it should be it is the best most active thing you can do and enjoy and very fun too watch
Posted by Toby Langston on 09th of March 2008
WHY NOT?skateboarding is great to watch.it would make me waatch more of of the olympics!
Posted by chavs suck on 16th of March 2008
I've been skating since 1995 and I've seen skating grow in popularity and then fade a couple of times. You kids that think you are all crazy punks by going and ollying up a kerb and being all alternative and artistic by wearing a skate tee... get a grip. Most of the indy skate companies are all owned by one big brand anyway... the 'alternative' image is a con its just a different way of selling to people. In short it would be good for skating to become 'mainstream' and get away from the 'punk' image and if you really loved skating (for skatings sake and not because you wanna be cool) you would understand that. So yes it should be in the olympics - more parks would be built more people would skate and the sport would grow. Its good to share the love not selfishly hide it away. At the moment the skate fashion grows but not the sport and that in my opinion sucks...
Posted by roliusprime on 14th of April 2008
I think that skateboarding should be part of the Olympics because then people that think its boring would get into it a little more.
Posted by Nicole on 22nd of May 2008
well i dont think it should be cause its like a sport but its the only one without rules and if it went in to the olypics there would be loads of rules and then we wouldnt be able to express ourselfs as much because people would be goin ur not doin it write. where as at the moment we can skateboard however we want.
Posted by ryan on 22nd of August 2008
no!if it was then everone would call us pussys and such its a sport so we can chill
Posted by david on 06th of October 2008
dudes
i say yeah man
Posted by SKATE on 12th of December 2008
skateboarding should be a olympic sport, because it would expand skateboarding wayy more, and keep some skaters off the streets, i am a skater and i love it, this would give more sponsorship oppurtunities.
Posted by Johnny Gunno on 11th of March 2009
NO!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by pj on 19th of March 2009
Skating is an art!
Posted by Benjamin on 02nd of April 2009
Skating is more than an art. Its a sport just as much as snowboarding and biking. Why cant it just be an olympic sport, it wouldn't hurt.
Posted by Fallen on 10th of April 2009
It should be an olympic sport because its just as much of a sport as snowboarding or sking or football or basketball or anything else you can call a sport
Posted by Ronald on 29th of April 2009
I love skateboarding, i think is sport for diferent people than the ones who practice olimpic sports. just imagine IOC forcing skaters to use ridiculous uniforms and doing anti doping test, then they probably will try to create rules to sport and things like that. maybe de olimpic games need skateboarding to improve their popularity but I dont think skateboarding need the olimpic games
Posted by on 08th of May 2009
god dam u
sk8bording is kool
soes spongebob
Posted by sjdas on 18th of May 2009
i think it should be all my friendpretend that we are in the olympics and make our own games
Posted by christian colon on 19th of May 2009
The Olympics goes against everything skateboarding's about for most people. Most people including myself have gotten into skateboarding because it has no rules and needs no coaching. Thats the problem with other sports.In sports the goal is to win and not just to go out and have fun. That's why we skate, not to play SKATE, not to see who's better but just to have fun.
Posted by Irv on 15th of August 2009
Wow. some of you are total arses. Claiming that skateboarding is hardcore and underground, and your so rad becuase you do it. If your so into skateboarding, like me, skateboard has its own meaning to you (and me) and weather they put on the Olympics or on big brother 10, it doesn't change my relationship with my skateboard. And hey, any promotion of the "sport" is good, maybe councils in London will stop banning us from highstreets, and actually give us some facilities, open your eyes!
Posted by Matt on 02nd of November 2009
It wont happen. Thats why they have x games:D Making it a sport would make it a bit retarded cuz ppl are guna come up to you and telling you ur ollying funny and it aint allowed in the olympics, skating is about fun and individuality, so no no to olympics
Posted by Samar on 20th of December 2009
I think it should be in the olympics, makes it more popular, security guards would understand why were skating a spot and were not just there as punks were athletes, eventualy there might even be some skateboarding in school sports. Never kno...
Posted by skate mate on 08th of January 2010
I don't believe there would be any negative OR positive effect. Things would just stay the same. The worst I could see happening is most skaters calling the ones who compete in the Olympics pussies or something.
Posted by Vaughn Lewey on 16th of June 2007