Skateboarding, along with Surfing, Karate, Baseball/Softball and Sports Climbing, was added to the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games on August 3, 2016, after a voting procedure of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This addition to the Olympics sparked repercussions from within the skateboarding community, creating the dilemma: “Should skateboarding be in the Olympics at all?” While outside observers may see this addition to the Olympic category as a step forward for skateboarding, many skateboarders in fact see it as detrimental. The centrality of this contrast is based on the issue that skateboarding is primarily considered a subculture, and not a sport. Additionally, many believe that this addition to the Olympics Games goes against the core of skateboarding. This key difference is what makes avid skateboard practitioners not accept the fact that skateboarding is being promoted as a sport. Furthermore there is concern that the future generations of skaters will be introduced to skateboarding in a manner that is in direct opposition to how the current generation hopes the climate will remain. Although it makes sense to think that a sport’s addition to the Olympic Summer Games is a step forward, in skateboarding’s case, it is not; skateboarding should be taken out of the Olympics for its own good. In other words, skateboarding does not belong in the Olympics Games, since it goes against the core of skateboarding beliefs, and will probably damage this core for the future generations. 

A target public is defined as a certain group of individuals which some form of advertising is directed to (Pitts, Stotlar 2013). According to the International Olympic Committee's president, Thomas Bach, the reason why skateboarding was added to the Olympics was because the IOC had a distinct target public in mind. This target public is a younger audience that does not take interest in traditional Olympic sports. The lack of engagement of the younger generation in viewing the Olympic Games has been notorious, thus the IOC felt a commitment to add what this group would like to watch. Bach stated in an interview: “We want to take sport to the youth. With the many options that young people have, we cannot expect any more that they will come automatically to us. We have to go to them. Tokyo 2020’s balanced proposal fulfills all of the goals of the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendation that allowed it. Taken together, the five sports are an innovative combination of established and emerging, youth-focused events that are popular in Japan and will add to the legacy of the Tokyo Games” (IOC Approves Five New Sports For Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 2017).  The IOC recognized its own weakness in reaching a generation of viewers and after identifying this target public, made very specific changes to attract it. 

A subculture is defined as a cultural group within a larger culture, often having beliefs or interests at variance with those in the larger culture (Oxford English Dictionary). On the other hand, a sport is defined as an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment (Oxford English Dictionary). It is understandable that many may label skateboarding as a sport, or even an "extreme" sport, but for most of its practitioners, it is not. For the majority of skaters, skateboarding is a subculture and, as cliché as it sounds, a lifestyle. Skateboarders as a subculture are truly a counterculture to most typical sports. What other organized sports value, conformity, rules, and competition, are not really a part of the skateboarding subculture. Skateboarders have their own sense of fashion, their own sense of what is cool and what is not, and even their own way to socially organize themselves. Separating themselves from the larger cultural group, skateboarders tend to be seen as their own subculture. As skateboarding escapes from the parameters of a sport, skaters do not strive for better results, no medals, no first places in competitions; they are simply having fun. The truth is that skaters as a majority do not engage in competitions. In simple words, the key to comprehending this contrast is to understand that typical sports value competing and winning, while skateboarding as a subculture does not value these things. Of course, there are competitions within skateboarding, but many core skaters do not find it authentic. 

The core of skateboarding is not found in textbooks, nor in academic studies, which makes it hard to define. As stated before, skateboarding is not a sport, thus its core does not rely on what traditional sports praise. “There were no exclusive positions, no championships, no elite standards, no end goal to achieve, and nothing to win” (Beal, 1995). The core of skateboarding relies on the freedom and fun that skateboarding brings. Once one has no rules or standards to follow, one can fully use his creativity and imagination, thus achieving a level of personal satisfaction that one might not have with a traditional sport. This freedom of action is what attracts so many people to skateboarding, and is what makes it so popular and enjoyable. It could be argued that skateboarding is a route to escape competitions and the pressure for results. Those are the basis of the core of skateboarding, not having to worry about being judged, but to enjoy being yourself with no rules. Professional skateboarder and poet Jeff Grosso states: “For me, the underlying philosophy of skateboarding is to have fun and not care about what anyone has to say about what I do. That is why I love skateboarding” (Vans 2016). 

Sports competitions are exclusionary, and that also goes against the core of skateboarding. In Becky Beal’s research paper “Disqualifying the Official: An Exploration of Social Resistance Through the Subculture of Skateboarding”, the author observed and interviewed several skaters over the course of two years. During this period of time, she noticed a pattern on skater’s opinions about competitions. She noticed that “especially significant for the subculture of skateboarders was creating a physical activity in which most people could participate, and to encourage participation and to de-emphasize the role of competition. In fact, skaters are very outspoken against competition when used as a means to an elite and exclusive status” (Beal 1995). Beal’s findings not only support the claim in the prior paragraph that skaters do not value competition, but also reaffirms a key component of the core of skateboarding. Skateboarders do not engage in competitions routinely because that is not the point of skating. The reason why people skateboard is because there are no rules for it, no set objective to be met nor an opponent to be defeated. Once again, skateboarding should be an endeavor for those who do not desire competition and instead want to engage in a physical activity that only values participation, with no pressure for results. This is the core of skateboarding, to not worry about being judged by your performance, but to simply engage in it. People who are emerged in this subculture know that competitions go against the core of skateboarding. Skating should not be about winning or getting perfect scores, but engaging in a physical activity without pressure. Following this logic, the Olympics go against this fundamental part of skateboarding, thus going against the core of skateboarding.

How the future generations of skaters will perceive the act of skateboarding is a legitimate concern of many skaters, because they do not want their subculture to die. A subculture is composed of individuals who identify themselves with a set of beliefs and interests. If people stop associating themselves with those interests and beliefs, soon enough, that subculture will slowly shrink and eventually stop existing. As described in the prior paragraph, competitions go against the core of skateboarding, thus also does the Olympics. The concern surrounds the fact that as new generations will grow up thinking that skateboarding is an Olympic sport, where there is a big emphasis on winning, the core may be hurt for good, and maybe even become extinct. In other words, young skateboarders will skate for a score and to win, like a traditional sport, and not to simply have fun. According to David Toole, owner of Bluetile Skateshop, “There will be three different groups within skateboarding in the next years. There will still be a “core” side, but considerably smaller than what it is now; a big chunk of people who will claim they skate, although they barely skate; and a small group of individuals who will really push the competitive side of skateboarding” (Toole 2017). Toole seems to not be as alarmed as the rest of the skateboarding community about this topic, but he is aware that things are going to change if skateboarding continues to be considered an Olympic sport.

Within skateboarding and many other subcultures, it is important to be authentic. In a study named “From Core to Consumer: The Informal Hierarchy of the Skateboard Scene”, Tyler Dupont approaches what is authenticity within a subculture, and more specifically, the skateboarding community. As a skateboarder himself, Dupont was able to see through the way skaters see an individual, and break down what is to be authentic. Dupont claims that one of the biggest factors that compose authenticity is something called subcultural capital. In his research paper, he writes: "Subcultural capital is an accumulation of cultural knowledge, an ‘authentic’ performance of the skateboard ideology, and possession of items that represent ‘authenticity.’” (Dupont 2014). In other words, authenticity is directly linked to the amount of specific knowledge one has about a subculture. The lack of the same knowledge results in an unauthentic image towards the members of that subculture. 

 It is important to point out that Dupont defined what is to be authentic as an individual. The key to incorporating his points into this argument is to apply them to an event, that being the Olympic Games. As described in the paragraph before, one of the most important pillars of authenticity is subcultural capital. Using Dupont’s definition, in order to be authentic, a certain amount of knowledge is required, and the only way to have that is by being immersed into that subculture. When the subject matter is an event, it ought to have people within that subculture organizing it in order to have the right format and details. Otherwise, some knowledge necessary to make an event that follows the expectations and ideals of that subculture will not be met. This is proven by the fact that subcultural capital is the amount of cultural knowledge and the ideology behind the given event. If the event was not planned, organized and/or run by skaters, there will be little to no subcultural capital in effect.

This lack of subcultural capital, described on the prior paragraph, is already a big issue within the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee recognizes the International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) and the International Skateboarding Federation (ISF) as entities that will collaborate to make the games happen. The FIRS regulates disciplines like Inline Hockey and Roller Skating Freestyle, which have nothing to do with skateboarding. On the other hand, the ISF is composed of a panel of directors who are well respected by the skateboarding community such as Tony Hawk, Brian Schaefer and Ryan Clements. The issue here is that the International Skateboarding Federation does not have autonomy to organize the events on its on, since it needs to answer to the International Roller Sports Federation. In the IOC’s eyes, the ISF is supposed to be a mere consultant for the FIRS to organize the games, and decide how the events should be formatted. Here is where it is crucial to connect the dots between subcultural capital and legitimacy. If skateboarders do not run an event, skaters will not recognize the event as legitimate and will likely oppose it. It is evident that the skateboarding community does not want to be regulated by a non-skater organization, and in this case, FIRS. 

The most evident case of dissatisfaction of skaters towards this appropriation of rights to organize the games, described before, is in Brazil. The Brazilian skateboarding community is raising the flag for skateboarders organizing the Olympics, by supporting CBSK (Confederação Brasileira de Skateboard). Elite skaters such as Bob Burnquist, Pedro Barros, Luan Oliveira and Leticia Bufoni are a big part of this movement. All of them have done multiple posts on social media about supporting CBSK, and not giving legitimacy to any other organizations. Pedro Barros, 6 time Gold medalist in the X-Games, threatened to not compete if the responsible organization is not CBSK. This shows the extent to which skaters are opposed to this appropriation of their activity. In other words, the Olympics have already started on the wrong foot with skateboarders, by not giving them autonomy to organize their own events, thus, making the opposition to skateboarding as a part of the Olympics grow.

Other influential anti-Olympics advocates are getting more exposure. Jeff Grosso is a 48 year old professional skateboarder and poet, well known by the skateboarding community for being an enthusiast of the core side of skateboarding. In his Youtube show, “Love Letters to Skateboarding”, he says “I’m so glad we are not a sport, or a legitimate industry, we are a horror show, a joke at the best” (Grosso 2016), and, mocking the corporate side of skateboarding, he says “Let’s put them in a camp, let’s all make them the same, we’ll all be copies of one another!” (Grosso 2016). He mocks the lack of individualism in that side of skateboarding. He also despises the expression “Train me” within skateboarding. He is an outspoken advocate against the Olympics, and explicitly speaks about how he wishes it were not added to the Summer Games. Respected by his peers, Grosso’s stance influences a large portion of the skateboarding community, thus making the opposition against the addition of skateboarding to the Olympics grow. The simple fact that Jeff Grosso supports this cause gives legitimacy to any other skater to also support it, thus, once again, making the opposition stronger. It is imperative to notice that, as he influences more skaters, the opposition against the Olympics becomes stronger and more legitimate. 

David Toole is the owner of Bluetile Skateshop at 621-23 Harden St, Columbia, SC. He has owned the shop for over 15 years, and has skated for decades. Toole not only is very knowledgeable about skateboarding, but he is highly respected among the skateboarding community in Columbia, SC. Toole agreed on participating in an interview about his thoughts on the Olympics. David Toole has a negative outlook about the Olympics, and believes it won’t be beneficial to skateboarding. He states:

 “I have a lot of mixed feeling about the Olympics. In my opinion, the same thing happened to football. I watched that movie Leather Head a few years ago, and I thought the plot had a big link to skateboarding. After all, you had this group of people who loved what they did and were super passionate about it, and then it all became corporate. Consequently, they didn’t love it anymore, because the soul of it is taken away. Suddenly it is all about making money and winning. I think that may happen to skateboarding with its addition to the Olympics” 

(Toole 2017). 

Toole’s comments go back to the prior claim that the competitive aspect of the Olympics will hurt the core of skateboarding. Although Toole recognizes that it is an issue, he does not think that the subculture will come to an end, but it will definitely shrink. Toole’s outlook on the Olympics are visibly negative, so much that he began our interview with a disclaimer. He stated that any argument about the Olympics bringing more participants to skateboarding, may be invalid. Also, it is important to point out one of Toole's other arguments. "Core" skate shops will suffer from this addition to the Olympics, since there will be more competition from big sport supply stores. According to him, specialized retailers will struggle as corporate non-"core" entities will infiltrate into skateboarding. Toole's comments reflect the opinion of a majority of the skateboarding community. The detriments that the Olympics will bring to the core will be evident not only to the subculture but also to those who depend financially on skateboarding. 

Authenticity within skateboarding is part of its core. Without authenticity, someone or something will create neither engagement nor interest among skaters, and it will not be seen as something legitimate or interesting. There is an important question to be addressed here. Why is it important that skateboarding remain authentic? Why should someone inside the Olympic Committee, who is not merged into the subculture of skateboarding, care that its core is being destroyed? The reason is that, in skateboarding’s specific case, as it is pushed more to the mainstream through the exposure that the Olympics have, the less appealing it is to people to practice it. As David Toole pointed out, as exposure goes up, participation goes down, and that may be an issue for the IOC in order to maintain the sport’s popularity. The IOC chose to put skateboarding in the Olympics because it is perceived as something cool, and kind of underground, the goal being to bring in a very specific target public. With this addition, not only is the IOC distancing skateboarding from its core, but adding a discipline that may not live up to its expectations.

The supporters of the addition of skateboarding to the Olympic Games always cite the benefits that this exposure will give back to the skateboarding community. Although, none of those benefits are guaranteed, those are all based on speculation. One of the most cited benefits that the Olympics would bring is more funding for newer skateparks. As more attention and legitimacy is given to skateboarding, probably municipalities and communities will invest more on skateparks, building new skateparks or maintaining the ones already existing. Also, probably with the addition of skateboarding in the Olympics, more institutions and organizations will pay more attention to it. Thus, it is likely that since it is an Olympic sport, schools will start to invest in training facilities and have their own skateboard teams. This is completely based on speculation. Continuing on this logic, skateboard teams could become a part of the competitive teams currently found at colleges and universities. Just like there are football, track and field and baseball teams, there could be skateboarding teams. This could lead to possible scholarship opportunities. During my interview with David Toole, he addressed this topic. He believes that it is very unlikely that schools would embrace this idea. This is mainly because of all of the liabilities and concerns involved with skateboarding. Schools would have to build skateparks at the schools or let kids skate at the school, which would either be a large investment or concern about their property. It would be imperative to have supervisors all the time to watch for anyone who is not wearing their protective gear because skateboarding is perceived as dangerous. Adding up all those expenses and risks, Toole believes that it is unlikely that many schools would even consider adding skateboarding to their athletic program, although there are some possibilities. 

Whether skaters like it or not, skateboarding was added to the Olympic Summer Games of Tokyo 2020. It is very unlikely that any decision will be made to take skateboarding out of the Olympic agenda, since it is an important move for the Olympics. It is imperative to point out, once again, that the Olympics do not have legitimacy with a good portion of the skateboarding community. This is primarily because the Olympics go against the “core” of skateboarding to an extent that it may hurt it. Hurt it not only for now, but for all of the future generations of skateboarders that are to come. Skateboarding has no business in the Olympics, and should be removed from it, for its own good. The IOC is using skateboarding as a way to promote and enhance the Olympic Games, and has no intention of truly promoting skateboarding or its “core”. Respected skateboarders such as David Toole and Jeff Grosso see this whole event as detrimental not only for the essence of skating, but for the “core” businesses that are going to face serious competitions from big chain stores. Skateboarders should remain firm in their opposition of their inclusion in the Olympic Games, unite as a community, and work to save the authenticity of a very special subculture.
