Why is skateboarding so often misunderstood?

The Rom skatepark in Hornchurch, east London on Wednesday became the first skatepark in England to receive national listed status. English Heritage say this is a milestone in the history of skateboarding and it reflects the sport’s cultural legacy.

The 8,000-square-metre Rom Skatepark was opened in August 1978. The park’s central 4,000 square metres is surfaced in shotcrete with a series of bowls and hollows let into it.

The sport originated in the surf culture of southern California in the 1950s and 1960s. At first, skateboarders confined themselves to public streets, but from the mid-1960s, spaces like swimming pools and the vast concrete spillways and drainage features along the California coast were colonised.

This trend reached the UK in 1977. That year saw the opening of the UK’s first commercial skatepark, Skate City, on the South Bank of the Thames (see video above).

Skateboarding declined sharply in popularity in the early 1980s, and of the skate parks, only the one in Hornchurch and the Solid Surf in Harrow now survive as original skateparks.

However, movements such as Ealing Skatepark Association and Brighton & Hove Skatepark Association have given a new lease of life to skateboarders.

Skateboarder, Henry Weathersbee, 14, from Ealing (pictured below), told Channel 4 News: “Since I started skating, I have become increasingly part of the most amazing community.

“A day at a skatepark is so much more than a sport. Meeting old friends and making new ones, the challenge of testing yourself against the ramps.

“Skateboarding is often misunderstood. My involvement with the campaign to get a skatepark built in Ealing a few years ago showed the prejudice of those who don’t understand. Their fears of crime, graffiti and anti-social behaviour have been shown to be completely unfounded.”

Skateboarding bans

Teenagers away from the skateboarding parks still struggle to gain recognition and are often seen as a public nuisance. In Coventry, the council has recently installed skateboarding deterrents, such as metal studs.

Norwich city centre could also soon be a no-go area for skateboarders, if a bylaw to ban them gets the green light. The new law would also see them banned from other parts of Norwich.

Skateboarder Ricardo Magee Atxukarro (pictured above), a sports development officer in Sussex, told Channel 4 News: “Skateboarding is alive and well, and with Rom being listed a heritage site it finally feels like skateboarding is getting some recognition it deserves.

“It’s important to remember that skateboarding isn’t a crime, it’s a lifestyle and a positive activity for anyone who takes part in it whether that’s riding or just enjoying watching.

“I still skate now and have been involved in the creation, design and build process myself of a few skateparks in Sussex and they are popping up all over the place.”