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Skateboarding today:
Today, more than
11 million skateboards are ready for use throughout the United
States as skateboarding enjoys continued popularity with young
people around the world.
American Sports
Data estimates some 9.3 million skateboarders take to USA
streets and skate ramps at least twice a week, while more than
2,000,000 skateboarders say they skateboard every single day.
Although more and more girls seem to be attracted to the sport,
91% of the participants are boys in the age range of 10 to 16
years of age.
Recent surveys indicate
the age-range is increasing, with more and more skateboarders
keeping their boards and their abilities past the age of 16. New
products geared for skateboarding other than just high-performance
tricks, are again providing inexpensive transportation alternatives
for college-age students, and recreational opportunities for all
skaters.
Also, ramp skating
has become popular again, which has further diversified the products
available from the contemporary skateboard companies, and more
and more skateboarders are again able to enjoy the individualized
athletic challenge the sport presents them.
Skateboarding's
history:
Tracing its origins
back to the apple-crate scooters of the 1920's, skateboarding
really burst into the mainstream along with the growth and popularity
of surfing during the late 1950's and early 1960's. By 1963, Makaha
and Hobie were manufacturing high-performance
clay-wheeled skateboards, and in the early 1970's urethane wheels
began to appear as the next step towards the modern skateboard
equipment of today.
It's been more than
a quarter of a century since the first skateboard competitions,
and the sport is now popular world-wide, with literally millions
of skateboarders developing their skills throughout Europe, South
America, Australia, Japan and South Africa.
The Skateboard
Marketplace:
Genuine skateboarding
equipment is created by an industry comprised of entrepreneur-developed
companies creating 1997 domestic sales in excess of $500 million,
with total world-wide sales, when shoes and all skateboard-related
accessories are included, estimated to be more than $750 million.
1997, like the previous
two years, was another growth year for the industry, with nearly
100,000 high-performance skateboard decks being produced each
month by the industry's leading manufacturers.
Sold and distributed
(more than 70 international distributors) to specialty retail
stores around the world, genuine skateboard products include 7-ply
laminated maple decks, aluminum-alloy trucks, high-grade
urethane wheels, precision bearings, and alloy mounting
hardware. Many skateboard companies now also include softgoods
in their product lines: hats, clothing, graphic products, and
many companies also produce their own promotional videos featuring
their sponsored athletes demonstrating their latest talents.
Genuine skateboard
products are sold by retailers, many now also featuring surfboard
and snowboard products, as more and more the participants of one
sport also participate in the others. Thousands of these retailers
attend the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expos held twice
each year in California, where indoor vert-ramp skateboarding
exhibitions are always a crowd favorite.
Competitions
for 1998:
In July, the 18th
annual World Cup Championships will be held in Munster,
Germany, with skaters representing 26 different countries competing
at the professional and amateur levels.
Also this summer the
ESPN telecast of the X Games, from San Diego, California,
featuring the top vertical ramp and "street style" skateboarders
will again be broadcast to millions of television viewers.
The Vans / Hard
Rock Triple Crown of Skateboarding will again conclude its
series of professional vert events in October, at the Universal
City-Walk Hard Rock Cafe. The $75,000 total prize money three-series
event will feature qualifying contests on the east coast and in
Hawaii.
Skateboarding's
future:
In 1995, skateboarding's
manufacturers formed a non-profit trade association, the International
Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC), dedicated to
promoting the sport, as well as sound business practices.
IASC member
companies make up the major suppliers and manufacturers of the
sports highest performance and safest equipment. With recent changes
in liability rulings and laws, IASC members are working
with local and state governments in the development of safer skateboarding
venues, including the establishment of municipal / public skateboarding
areas.
During 1998 a nation-wide
campaign, SkateParks USA, will coordinate legislative
efforts at the state level to bring about the necessary changes
to provide local communities throughout the country to develop
and build their public skateparks.
Jim Fitzpatrick
International Association of Skateboard Companies / IASC
PO Box 37 Santa Barbara, CA 93116
805.683.5676 805.967.7537fax
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http://www.skateboard.com/iasc
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