Keep Rolling

Skateboarding is something anybody can do. You can be young, old, male or female- there is even a Brazilian skater who lost his legs due to illness and now sits on his board, pushing with his hands.

But before anybody starts, it helps to know a few tricks and some of the jargon - just so you fit in on your first trip to the local skatepark!

This video with Jack Metcalfe, a sponsored skateboarder from Interact skatepark in Burnley, will give you a few tips on basic tricks: the ollie; the kickflip; a backside 180 (try not to land on your backside!) and the fifty-fifty grind. If you’re baffled by any words, check out the A-Z below.

The A-Z of Skateboarding

A - Air. Any time a skateboarder launches from a ramp into the air is called “getting air.”  

B - Bail. Jumping off the board through fear of injury.

C - Coping. Metal bar joining the curved part of a ramp to the decking. Tricks can be performed on the coping.

D - Deck . The large wooden part of the skateboard that people stand on.

Decking. The highest part of ramps where people stand before dropping in.

Dropping in. Rolling down a ramp from the decking.

E - Element. Skateboarding brand that sponsors Bam Margera, the star of MTV’s programme, Jackass.

F - Flip. Any trick where the board rotates on a horizontal axis. For example, a kickflip, heelflip, 360 flip, varial flip.

G - Grind. Moving along a rail or ledge with all the wheels off the ground and the weight on the trucks.

Grip tape. The rough part of the top of the board intended to increase friction with skaters’ shoes to help them perform tricks.

Goofy. Refers to those who skate right foot forward.

H - Horse. Skateboarding game where those who do not land a set trick are punished with by being given a letter. The first to spell horse looses.

I - Impossible. Trick invented by the famous skateboarder Rodney Mullen. The board rotates on a vertical axis instead of the usual horizontal.

J - Jam. Skateboard equivalent of a musical “jam.” A large group of skaters gather in a park and encourage each other to do their best tricks.

K- Krooked. A grind where the weight is put over the front truck and twisted at an angle.

L - Land. Successfully completing a trick is called landing it.

M - Mini ramp. Smaller version of a vert ramp that is between four and seven feet high. The sides are not vertical.

N - Nose. The tip of the board. This is slightly steeper than the tail in order to help perform tricks.

O - Ollie. The essential building block of most skateboarding tricks, it was invented by Alan “Ollie” Gelfand in the 1970s.

P- Pop. Popping a board describes pushing down on the tail and propelling it upwards. Also refers to how springy a skateboard is.

Q - Quarter pipe. A curved ramp used for tricks. Half of a half pipe.

R - Regular. Refers to those who skate left foot forward.

S - Slam. Falling very hard when trying to perform a trick.

Switch. Skating in the opposite stance to one’s natural preference. For example, a goofy skater standing in the regular, or a regular skater in the goofy position.

Snake - To begin using a ramp while another skater is still on it.

T - Tony Hawk - World famous skateboarder who popularised the “Tony Hawks Pro Skater” video games.

Tail. The slightly less steep end of the board that the back foot is rested on. 

Transition. The curved part of a ramp.

Trucks. The metal bars which link the wheels to the wooden board. Trucks are used for grinding and turning.

U - Underground. Refers to a very good skater who is not well known.

V - Vert. A large ramp between 10 and sixteen feet that is vertical on either side. Also known as a half -pipe. Not to be confused with a mini ramp.

W - Wax - Applied to ledges and rails to make them slippery enough to grind on.

X-Games. International skateboarding competition held each year at Camp Woodward in Pennsylvania, America.

Y - “Yeah!” Celebratory expression called out by other skaters when a trick is landed.

Z - Z- Boys. Old school team of skateboarders formed in 70s California. Stars of the documentary “Dog Town and Z-boys.”

*Image from Dailymail.co.uk

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 3:59 pm and is filed under Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.