Skateboarding Tricks

Skateboarding tricks are cool moves that skaters perform on their boards. Some tricks happen on flat ground, and others are done on ramps and rails. Learning tricks takes lots of practice and balance.

Basic Tricks

The ollie is the most important trick to learn. It is a jump where the skater pops the tail of the board and slides their front foot forward. The board seems to stick to their feet as they fly through the air. Almost every other trick builds on the ollie.

A kickflip is when the skater flips the board with their foot while in the air. A heelflip is similar but the board spins the other way. These tricks take a lot of practice to land.

Ramps and Rails

Skate parks have ramps, rails, and bowls for doing tricks. A grind is when a skater slides along a rail or edge using the metal trucks on the bottom of the board. A drop-in is when you ride down from the top of a ramp.

Professional skaters do incredible tricks on huge ramps. Tony Hawk was the first person to land a 900, which is two and a half spins in the air. Skateboarding became an Olympic sport in 2021, so now the best skaters compete for gold medals.

Fun Facts

• The ollie was invented by Alan Gelfand in 1978.
• Tony Hawk landed the first-ever 900 in competition in 1999.
• Skateboarding made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Did You Know?

The youngest Olympic skateboarding medalist was only 13 years old, proving that kids can be some of the best skaters in the world!