A Simple History Of Skateboarding For Girls
By Dean Erickson
 When you think of skateboarding you think boys clad in helmets and 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 and boys did skateboarding
and 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, but
girls are getting back on the boards with a vengeance. Girls can have
as much fun on a board as guys can and they can be just as technically
skilled. Take Elissa Steamer, for example, she started skateboarding
at age twelve and turned professional in 1998. She's a skateboarding
star.
 A quick Internet search for "girls" or "women" and "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 and
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 and 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 and companies are now manufacturing high
technology boards. Online shops like Skateboard.com and Skatewarehouse.com
sell skateboards for girls, boards that are lighter and 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 and a great way to keep fit. It is technically
challenging and involves all sort of tricks, such as varials, jumps,
flips, grabs, slides, grinds and 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 and even videos to help you learn and perform skateboarding tricks.
Dean Erickson. Journalist, and web site builder Dean Erickson lives
in Texas. He is the owner and co-editor of http://www.skateboard-centralpark.com on
which you will find a longer, more detailed version of this article.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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