The History of Skateboarding, A Sport of the Asian Games 2018

You are right if you think that skateboarding is now a trendy sport again in Indonesia. You can see children and teenagers playing their skateboards in many corners of the capital alongside the many new skate parks built in the country.
Let’s check out the history of skateboarding!
Skateboarding was invented for the first time between 1940s to 1950s by a surfer from California named Frank Nasworthy, who at that time wanted to find an alternative activity when he could not find waves to surf. The journey of skateboarding began and the first board was made similar to a surfing board, but smaller with roller skate wheels.
In the 1970s, Nasworthy produced new wheels made of polyurethane, also known as cadillac. The new wheels made the popularity of skateboarding rise quickly. A lot of manufacturers in California modified the boards. Along with the development of this sport, endless modifications were made until we had the skateboard that we know today.
Now, when did exactly skateboarding become a trend in Indonesia? Skateboarding entered Indonesia in 1980s. These skateboard enthusiasts found the information about skateboarding from videos and magazines from other countries. Over the years, the popularity of this extreme sport flourished among the young people in Indonesia. Skateboarding events started to emerge in Indonesia, producing a lot of skateboarding communities and athletes.
Skateboarding will be contested at the Asian Games 2018 in Indonesia, as one of the 40 sports in the event. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) thought that it is important to include roller sports – skateboarding and roller skating – since skateboarding will be contested at Tokyo Olympics in 2020 meanwhile roller skating will be included at the Youth Olympics in 2019 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. So, the Asian Games 2018 is considered to be the perfect venue to test this sport before joining the Olympics.
The events for roller sports for Asian Games 2018 will be held at the Jakabaring Sports City in Palembang and also at the Saparua youth sports facility in Bandung, West Java. Both places have already roller skating facilities but not skateboarding tracks. Get ready to witness some cool skateboarding tricks!

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