Skateboarding, a sport originally adopted by surfers to be able to surf on land, is gaining more and more popularity at Northwood and around the world. Here at Northwood, more and more students are picking up the sport for the first time.
“I’ve been skating for three years. My friends started before me and I just picked it up. I like the sport; it’s fun and I always try to get better at it,” sophomore Bryant Gutierrez said.
Skateboarding is an individual sport that gives skateboarders the freedom to do what they like and try new things. Learning tricks keeps you interested and attentive after you get comfortable with skateboarding.
The freedom to do anything you want is what keeps people interested in the sport.
“Being able to go where you want and do what you want is my favorite part,” Gutierrez said.
Some students also find skateboarding a good way to release stress.
“I love it because it’s a good stress reliever and an individual sport, so everything is on you,” senior Pedro Becquer-Ramos said.
Sophomore Forest Batsche agrees with Becquer-Ramos.
“It puts me in a good mood and clears my head,” Batsche said.
Skating does not have to be an individual sport, however. Senior Christian Owens learned to skate with his dad.
“I started skating at 15, and I started with my dad, before I found sports,” Owens said.
Other things like music and pop culture also influenced Owens. Pop culture can have a large influence on people, and is the reason why junior Evan Seagroves began to skate.
“I first started in fourth grade when I saw a television show with Tony Hawk and people looked up to him,” Seagroves said.
Seagroves keeps skating because “it keeps me active and it is a good way for me to meet new people; it’s a good sport.”
Seagroves also competes over the summer and has placed in two different competitions.
“When I first went, I got first place in beginners level, then the next year I got second place in advanced level for mini-ramp and the whole park competition,” Seagroves said.
Seagroves placed second in a whole park competition competing against skaters his age.
“There’s a whole park competition that was five minutes and you skate around the whole park. There are judges at different spots in the park and you get judged on the difficulty of your tricks.”
Seagroves also competed in a mini-ramp competition.
“The mini-ramp is a half pipe that is four feet high and your goal is to do as many tricks as you can in two minutes,” Seagroves said.
Other students choose to skate recreationally.
“I started skating at the end of seventh grade when I was bored and didn’t have anything to do,” Batsche said.
Batsche believes skateboarding does not have to be about competing, and for him it is simply for pleasure.
Owens joins him in this belief.
“It’s fun,” he said. “You can just ride, enjoy the wind and do tricks.”
— By Ryan Millis