Thousands of people have taken up skateboarding since the Pandemic started. Skateboard GB, the governing body for skateboarding in Great Britain, said uses of their MySkate up were up by 180,000 each month during the 2020 lockdown, with over 70,000 new people having taken up skateboarding during the whole lockdown period.
When restrictions started to loosen and people could go out again, exercise activities boomed. skateboarding’s ease of participation, needing only a board at minimum, meant that many people found their new hobby, gliding around on four wheels. Liam Teague, manager of the Skatepark at Brighton Youth Centre, said: “The COVID pandemic really boosted the uptake in skateboarding because it was something that you could kind of carry on doing”.
Jane Newbold, Coaching manager at indoor skatepark Source Park, said: “We’ve had so many inquiries from older people as well that want to get involved in it, and it’s probably stemmed from that, you know, that enforced time to reflect on what you want to do with your life and maybe missed opportunities.”
Whatever the exact cause, skateboarding seems to be everyone’s favourite new sport, and with its Olympic inclusion, it’s only going to get bigger and bigger.
