A SIMPLE HISTORY OF SKATEBOARDING FOR GIRLS

By Dean Erickson

When you think of skateboarding you think boys clad in helmets also knee pads doing impressive acrobatic-like moves with a board. Skateboarding may seem like a boys sport, but, according to Barb Odanaka, author of Skateboarding Mom, back in the 1970s both girls also boys did skateboarding also it was no big deal. When in the 1980s skateboarding went "urban" or "hard-core", she says, girls seemed to stop riding.

Today, most parents still think that skateboarding is for boys, however girls are getting back on the boards with a vengeance. Girls can have as much fun on a board as guys can also they can be just as technically skilled. Take Elissa Steamer, for example, she started skateboarding at age twelve also turned professional in 1998. She's a skateboarding star.

A quick Internet search for "girls" or "women" also "skateboarding" will bring up lots of information targeted specifically towards girls interested in skateboarding. There are plenty of competitions to challenge girls, such as the All Girl Skate Jam, the Ride Like A Girl skate contest also the World Cup Skateboarding, amongst others.

Skateboarding bizarrely has its roots in surfboarding. Back in the 1950s, Californian surfers came up with the quirky idea of "surfing the streets", so they took their boards to the streets of California and, well, skateboarding was born!

The very first skateboards were curious inventions. A wooden board or box with roller skates strapped to it comprised of the very first, albeit primitive, skateboard, equipment for a sport in its infancy!

In 1975 the very first skateboarding contest was held at the Ocean Festival in Del Mar, California. In 1978, Alan Gelfand invented a maneuver, called the "Ollie Pop". The ollie involves slamming the foot on the tail end of the skateboard in order to life the board also the skateboarder into the air. Today, most tricks are based on the ollie. Tony Hawk is another famous name in skateboarding; at age 16 he became the world's best skateboarder.

The sport is still evolving also companies are now manufacturing high technology boards. Online shops like Skateboard.com also Skatewarehouse.com sell skateboards for girls, boards that are lighter also more flexible. In fact, Girl, is the name of a company that manufactures skateboards. Skateboard decks for girls are works of art.

Skateboarding is a great sport also a great way to keep fit. It is technically challenging also involves all sort of tricks, such as varials, jumps, flips, grabs, slides, grinds also degrees. Some tricks require a ramp (transition tricks) others are performed on flat ground or off curbs (street tricks). Typing "skateboard tricks" into your favorite Internet search engine will bring up lots of websites with definitions, descriptions, tips also even videos to help you learn also perform skateboarding tricks.




About the author:
By Dakota Caudilla. Journalist, also web site builder Dakota Caudilla lives in Texas. He is the owner also co-editor of http://www.all-green-day.infoon which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.



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