olympics

Street Skating Competitions – Tokyo Summer Olympics 2021

life

Well, did you catch the street skating competitions at the Tokyo Olympics? I have come to the conclusion that I will never qualify for the olympics. There are several reasons for this.

Of course the biggest reason I will never skate in the olympics is that I was a late starter to the sport. Having said that, I already feel like I won my gold medal when I learned to cruise on my board. A huge accomplishment for me. The next reason I will never skate in the olympics is that I can not do tricks (nor do I want to, to be quite honest).

The street skating at the olympics was amazing. The tricks, in my opinion, seemed a bit dangerous. Every time a skater’s board hit the rail I was like, ‘Does their mother know they’re doing this!?!’. And then there were the falls. Yes, even qualifying olympic skaters fall. When I saw them go down and summersault, I think I held my breath until they got up. One skater was limping afterward, but most just went on like nothing happened. I guess they are used to taking a fall. My goal is not to fall at all, as I don’t want to break anything.

Of course, I was cheering on Team USA. However, I also caught a glimpse of the finals and was wowed by Kelvin Hoefler from Brazil. He did a trick where the nose of his board hit the rail and then he twisted so the other end of the board hit the rail all in the same trick. I was like “Wow! That is amazing!” (There is a name for that trick, probably a fakie something or other.) So Kelvin had a fan from the US as well.

Maybe I should be a skating talent scout. As Kelvin took the Silver in the men’s division, I must have a nose for talent. Way to go Kelvin Hoefler! Team USA’s Jagger Eaton, who also impressed my with his fakie nose grinds, took home the Bronze. Way to go Team USA! Of course, Japan’s Yuto Horigome cleaned up with the Gold medal.

For the women’s skate, Japan also took the Gold Medal as well as the Bronze Medal. Thirteen year old (yes you read that correctly- thirteen year old) Momiji Nishiya took home the Gold. Japan’s Funa Nakayama the Bronze. Brazil’s Rayssa Leal took home the Silver. Team USA’s Alexis Sablone came in 4th place.

If you missed the competition, youtube is bound to have some videos for you to catch-up with. The park skating is still to come. We shall see if Japan and Brazil do as well in the park competition.

As always, Happy Skating!

Summer Olympics 2021 – Skateboarding

life

It’s finally here! Skateboarding competitions at the Tokyo Summer 2021 Olympics. As a newbie/oldie skateboarder myself, I am interested in watching this new competition.

First off, there will be two types of skateboarding competitions to watch. One is street, the other is park. The park skateboarders will have 45 seconds to impress the judges performing their tricks, skating in the deep concrete bowls. They will have three attempts at their best score. The street skateboarders will be skating on an “urban” course made up of stairs, benches, planters, rails, etc. that will simulate the terrain of the average street skater. They have to skate the course two different ways, are timed just like the park skaters, and have tricks as well. Oh boy!

At last, there is no competition for newbie/oldies, such as myself, who are just proud to be doing kick turns and cruising around. So, I will continue to enjoy my laid-back skating and cheer on the competitors. I am especially interested in my fellow street skaters’ competitions. Go Team U.S.A.!

The Men’s Street competition is on July 25th, the women’s street on July 26th. Women’s park will be on August 4th and Men’s park on August 5th.

The U.S. Olympic Team competing in park are: Jordyn Barratt, Cory Juneau, Heimana Reynolds, Bryce Wettstein, Zion Wright and Brighton Zeuner. The U.S. Olympic Team competing in street are: Mariah Duran, Jagger Eaton, Jake Ilardi, Nyjah Huston, Alexis Sablone and Alana Smith. Good-luck everyone!

As always, Happy Skating!

Skateboarding at the Olympics!

life

So I did a little research on my skateboard trucks. There was the name Chris Joslin on them. Well, I had to find out what kind of dude this guy was. Afterall, his name is on my board.

I found out Chris Joslin lives in SoCal. Hey, so do I! He is of course a skateboarder. Hey, so am I! He is a really good skateboarder as a matter of fact. I watched some videos of him. So good in fact that he has brands like Independent putting his name on their trucks. Oh, and he is due to be in the Olympics as well. Skateboarding in the Olympics! Well…the Olympics that were supposed to happen until the CoronaVirus hit and put a hold on things. I wonder…since the Olympics will be postponed…would there be enough time for me to train? I can, after all, skate my driveway and street. Ok, my kick turns could use a little work but hey… Just kidding. I can not do any tricks. But since becoming a skate Betty, watching the videos of Chris Joslin makes me appreciate what talent and skill skateboarding takes. I am glad skateboarding finally made it to the Olympics. I will tune in to cheer on Team USA when the time comes.

I also saw in the recent National Geographic Magazine an article about skateboarding. Very interesting. More girls are getting into skateboarding these days. I guess I am on trend. Well, these kids make skateboarding look so easy, but believe me, it takes a lot of practice, skill, drive, and most likely bandages to get good enough to make it to the Olympics. After getting my board, I know it is not as easy as it looks. Sometimes the easiest way to appreciate something is to try it for yourself.

As always, Happy Skating!