A new partnership to advance research and increase participation in action sports has been launched by a San Diego state university center dedicated to skateboarding and The Skatepark project (TSP) The world leader in advocacy, education and philanthropy of skateboarding.
Thanks to this new initiative, SDSU Skateboard center, action sports and social change And the TSP aims to improve awareness of mental, physical and social benefits of skatefing culture while introducing other events and oriented activities focused on the community.
“We are incredibly enthusiastic about the partnership with the Skatepark project and the growth of our ability to improve the lives of young skaters and students through research and innovation,” said Williams naveDirector of SDSU and Deputy Professor of Sociology.
“Meeting young people where they are and using their skateboard love helps them to see university as a place of belonging,” said Williams. “He creates a bridge towards other shared interests of studies, including affairs, international relations and diplomacy, sociology and the areas of art and technology, among others.”
A new partnership means new opportunities with skateboarding and action sports
The SDSU center and the TSP will be employees in three main areas:
- Conduct and promote studies on the social, cultural and well-being impacts of skateboarding and action sports.
- Develop events and programs on and off campus that demonstrate the advantages of skateboarding in the promotion of physical and mental health, inclusion and development of young people.
- Commit with international universities, government and non -governmental organizations, as well as business partners to share information and best practices to take advantage of the roller board as a force for social change.
“The Skatepark project recognizes the importance of research with regard to understanding, progression and promotion of skateboarding and action sports,” said Benjamin Anderson BasheinCEO of the Skatepark project. “This is why we are delighted with the development of the center and the essential work that can be done there. We are impatient to serve as a thought partner and collaborate with SDSU on projects related to the advantages of skateboarding and skateparks for their tens of millions of users across the country and in the world. »»
For the TSP, skateboarding is a tool for community development, which is in direct alignment on the mission and objectives of the SDSU center.
And the scope is quite wide.
The TSP has taken care of nearly 700 skateparks in the 50 American states. There are about 17 million annual Skatepark visitors to TSP parks have helped finance. Beyond the United States, skateboarding has a popularity in South Africa, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere.
In addition, in the Beyond the council: skateboarding, schools and study of society funded by TSP and that Williams a co-author of the University of South California,, Researchers interviewed more than 5,000 people passionate about skateboarding and carried out more than 120 interviews with young people.
The USC team found that skateboard promotes a strong feeling of community and personal identity among the participants. It also serves as a support for self-expression and helps skaters to build social networks which often extend beyond the culture of skateboarding.
By aligning resources and efforts, partner organizations said that SDSU and TSP teams also contributed to skateboarding capacity to continue to be a precious tool for physical and mental well-being.
“Often, skateboarding is different from traditional team sports, because it is so strongly based on individual practice and the improvement of skills which is then shared in a common space in a skatepark or a” spot “. This strengthens the capacity of Mental and physical health by forcing skaters to challenge themselves and develop concentration and confidence. David KamperAssociate director of the SDSU Center for Skateboard, Sports and Social Action Change.
“By looking for its unique advantages, we can unlock new ways of promoting well-being through movement and self-expression more widely,” said Kamper, also a professor in the studies of the Department of Indians in America. “We are delighted to work with TSP in this way, because the organization stimulates both the research and the real practice of skateboarding on a global scale.”
The evolution of skateboarding: a sport future
Skateboarding as we know it today has its origins in California in the 1940s and 1950s as a fun way for children to move in town. During the 1960s and 1970s, surfers turned to skateboarding to practice their movements and skills, often in the embankments and ravines of southern California which were paved to stop erosion. These mini hills provided perfect concrete and asphalt waves.
In the 1980s, Tony Hawk – Who continued to establish the TSP – appeared as the leader of vertical skateboarding, and in the 1990s, established one of the most famous teams of skateboarding under his brand Birdhouse Skateboards, in San Diego.
And anyone who has been at SDSU since the early 2000s knows how much the omnipresent roller board is and that is only growing, said Williams.
Presenting a consumer attraction and supported by the points of sale from MTV to X Games to Louis Vuitton, the skateboard is worldwide as a power of young people. In 2020, the skateboard made its debut as an Olympic sport at the Japan summer games, and sport returned to the Paris 2024 summer Olympic Games.
Today, many cities and communities across this country – including San Diego – now recognize the importance of skateboarding in young people and have established skateparks and public events. In this way, skateboarding has helped build a feeling of civic pride and community property in many communities, said Williams.
Thanks to the work of its SDSU center and partners like TSP, the growing body of university research devoted to skateboarding and action sports will only continue, he said.
“Almost everyone has connected to the roller board, which remains an influential part of culture and urban life, for young people and, really, for people of all ages,” said Williams, a Skateboard himself, who was the inaugural ambassador of skateboarding, appointed by the American State Department.
“Skateboard is constantly evolving in terms of style, technique, health benefits, accessibility and its impact on public diplomacy,” he said. “This represents everything we want our young people to live early in life.”