Skateboarding Sports Report

Executive summary 

Skateboarding is something of an emerging sport for the professional scene. Originally a sport seen around urban areas and associated with lower economic subcultures it is now a sport with a growing professional element with new leagues and competitions being founded in the last decade or so. Furthermore, skateboarding will for the first time be an Olympic sport at Tokyo 2020 and it is expected to give rise to a new generation of professional skateboarders and bring the sport to the mainstream.

The professional element of the sport is still very much in its infancy and the structure is a little fragmented. There are major competitions globally such as the annual Street League Skateboarding and the X Games. In addition, there are brand led events such as the Red Bull Rollercoaster and the Vans Park Series. The UK competition scene is growing rapidly. For
the first time in 2019 there was a British National Skateboarding Championships organised by the governing body Skateboard England and streamed on by the BBC on iPlayer. In addition the UK has annual events such as NASS and Boardmasters which act as more of showpiece for the best skateboarders, both professional and amateur, in a festival
environment.

Unlike many other sports skateboarding has its origins in a subculture focused around creativity, risk and freedom. Skaters would share similar fashion that included staple brands such as Vans, DC, Thrashers, Converse and many more. Therefore, despite it being early days for professional skateboarding it is still a sport with a large participation and audience that boasts a distinct identity. The likes of Monster, Red Bull, Nike and Beats are backing the emergence of the sport and have  commercial involvement with professional skateboarding.

When it comes to sponsorship, skateboarding offers a unique platform to engage with younger audiences in a sport that looks to challenge the norm and holds a level of creative entertainment many sports cannot bring. Alongside this the subcultural roots mean that there is an already well established young urban audience, though it is looking to gain more
mainstream acceptance without sacrificing identity. There is room for brands to help assist rises in participation through encouraging new skate parks and events whilst also engaging with an already large audience.

Contents 

• Skateboarding on the rise
• What is professional skateboarding?
• Skateboarding – British structure
• Skateboarding – International structure (1/2)
• Skateboarding – International structure (2/2)
• Spotlight – Olympics
• Spotlight – Street League Skateboarding
• Street League Skateboarding London 2019
• Street League Skateboarding London 2019 Exposure
• Street League Skateboarding London 2019 Sponsors
• Spotlight – Go Skateboarding Day
• Spotlight – NASS and Boardmasters
• Spotlight – Red Bull
• Spotlight – Vans
• Skateboarding – skateparks in the UK
• Skateboarding – sponsorship landscape breakdown
• Skateboarding – culture
• Skateboarding trends

Click here to see the Skateboarding Sports Report.

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