Skateboarding Honor

Recreational Activities

Requirements

1. Know how to correctly use the following equipment and why it should be used when skateboarding:
   • Helmet
   • Elbow pads
   • Knee pads
   • Footwear
   • Gloves
   • Wrist guard

   Answer: Protective equipment and why to use it: 1) Helmet — protects the head against head trauma and fractures in falls, the most essential item; 2) Knee pads — protect the kneecaps and knees in frontal falls and when sliding; 3) Elbow pads — prevent scrapes and fractures of the elbows; 4) Wrist guards — cushion the impact when you support yourself with your hands on the ground, preventing sprains and fractures; 5) Appropriate footwear (skate shoes with a flat, grippy sole) — provide firmness on the deck and control of the tricks. Protection is used because skateboarding involves frequent falls and impacts against hard ground, and the equipment drastically reduces the risk of serious injuries. — A helmet reduces the risk of death from traumatic brain injury by up to 85% according to the CDC (USA). Professional skaters always use all the equipment in training, even if they compete without some of it in street. Skate shoes (Vans, DC, Nike SB) have vulcanized rubber soles that stick to the deck without slipping.

2. Identify and name each part and component of a skateboard.

   Answer: You identify: Deck (the board, usually maple); Grip tape (the black grip on the top surface); Trucks (the metal axles underneath, connecting the wheels); Wheels (polyurethane, generally 50-60mm); Bearings (inside the wheels); Central pivot (kingpin); Screws. — A classic deck has 7-8 plies of Canadian maple hot-pressed — superior durability. Bearings are rated in ABEC (1, 3, 5, 7, 9): a higher number = greater precision. Soft bushings make loose trucks (easy turns); hard ones = firmer for ramps and high speed.

3. Completely disassemble and reassemble a skateboard, reinstall the bearings, and tighten the wheel nuts and the central pivot (kingpin) nut to the correct tension.

   Answer: You disassemble: loosen the wheel nuts, remove them, extract the bearings with a tool; loosen the deck screws, separate the trucks; remove the bushings. Reassemble in reverse order: trucks with bushings, screw onto the deck, bearings into the wheels, mount the wheels on the axles. — The correct tension of the wheel nut is critical: too tight brakes (the wheel does not spin); too loose and it flies off. A central pivot (kingpin) that is too tight makes turning difficult; too loose causes instability at high speed. Professional skaters adjust according to preference — street prefers a firm pivot, downhill prefers it very loose.

4. Demonstrate at least 10 skateboard tricks from those listed below. The tricks must be performed in front of an instructor who knows them, who must evaluate the correct execution. Perform at least 5 tricks different from the first ones on a skate ramp.
   • Ollie
   • Wheelie (manual) for 10 meters
   • Nose Wheelie (nose manual) for 10 meters
   • C-Turn
   • 180 degrees
   • 180° body varial
   • 360 Spin
   • Grab Rail
   • Leap Board
   • Turn downhill
   • Kickflip
   • Double Impossible
   • No Comply Kickflip
   • Kickflip Fakie
   • Kickflip Switch
   • Fakie Bigspin
   • Nollie Kickflip
   • Nollie Heelflip
   • Nollie Frontside 180 bigspin
   • Varial Kickflip
   • Heelflip Varial
   • Backside Kickflip 180
   • Frontside Heelflip 180
   • Frontside Kickflip 180
   • 360 and Kickflip
   • Double Frontside

   Answer: You demonstrate 10 tricks on the street/court (Ollie, Wheelie, Nose Wheelie, C-Turn, 180, 360 Spin, Kickflip, Heelflip, Varial, Manual) and 5 different ones on a ramp (Drop-in, Pump, Grind, Boardslide, 50-50 Grind). — The Ollie is the foundational trick of skateboarding (created by Alan Gelfand in 1978) — the basis of all the other aerial ones. Learning 10 tricks takes on average 6-12 months of daily practice. Falls are part of the process: protective equipment prevents small accidents from turning into serious injuries.