**Collaborative post**
Skateboarding has enjoyed a grasp on American and worldwide culture for a long time. It’s something that ordinary people can do and elite athletes can get money for doing. Are skateboard competitions still a must-watch for many or is it losing the attention of people?
The industry itself, as in selling skateboards and equipment is still growing upward… but what about competitions? Let’s dig a bit.
X Games and The Olympics
When it comes to getting viewers, the venerable X Games, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2025, have been one of the biggest draws. It’s shown on a major cable network and it is heavily promoted. Roughly 44 million people will see it.
As long as the X Games helps prop it up, other competitions and their prize money could keep going. All of this is dependent on people going back outdoors and not staying home due to something like a global pandemic.
Skateboarding is moving to a very large stage – the Olympics. It will be one of the events of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and the ICO has given provisional approval for it to be part of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This is going to put the sport in front of many eyes, and if the participants pull off an incredible move or two, or twenty, then that could get people interested in learning to skateboard and fill skate parks again.
Promote Recognisable Faces
When people think of skateboarders, Tony Hawk is the one that most people visualize. He has long been an ambassador to the skateboarding world… but he is not immortal.
Fortunately, there is another well-known name: Shaun White. He won gold in the 2020 X Games in skateboarding and he is charismatic. Newcomers could be drawn to being tempted to try out riding a skateboard by watching him or playing one of his video games.
There are other skateboarders that might be very well-known within skateboarding circles, but the general public might not be aware of them. People like:
- Shane O’Neill
- Jagger Eaton
- Lizzie Armanto
- Cory Juneau
- Nyjah Houston
Social media has made it much easier for these people to put themselves out there, especially with video clips, and amass followers. Skateboarders need to lean on this to get future interest.
The Verdict
While there is a lot of other things to compete with, including e-sports, skateboarding can still keep its part of the market share. Skateboarding competitions will continue for the foreseeable future.
