On August 3, 2016, The International Olympic Committee announced that skateboarding would officially be added to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games.
Olympic skateboarding is set to include two events: street and park, both with male and female teams. In Skateboarding, the rider is free to select which parts of the course to tackle and which tricks to perform. Following it’s exciting and creative debut skateboarding is set to attain better financial investment, more facilities, encouragement of inclusion and diversity, a new avenue for Team GB to flourish in and increased potential for young people to take part and find success.
Bicycle Motocross racing (BMX) began as a counter-culture sport and its success and progression since becoming an Olympic game is a viable blueprint for the future of skateboarding. We want to raise awareness of skateboarding’s inclusion in the upcoming Olympics to encourage future skateboarding Olympians to enter the sport and to see our students prosper as much as possible from our lessons. We believe this marks a defining turning point in skateboarding’s history and acceptance, making the 2020 Olympics completely different to any other. In 2012 there were 26 sports contested, and in 2016 there were 28, and 33 are scheduled for 2021.
Given the positive forecast for the future, we believe this is the best time to invest as a country into the growth of skateboarding and, with investment, we will have a better potential for winning medals along with an abundance of social and cultural benefits. We want to pioneer skateboarding as an Olympic sport and are excited at the chance to help make this a reality for young people and see them prosper and flourish through skateboarding.