Skateboarding Takes Centre Stage: A Look at Recent Championships and Future Events

Skateboarding Takes Centre Stage: A Look at Recent Championships and Future Events

2023 Jiangsu Provincial Youth Skateboarding Championship

The 2023 Jiangsu Provincial Youth Skateboarding Championship, which concluded on September 10th, was hosted at the Longjiang Sports School in Nanjing. The championship comprised two events: street and U-pool, and was divided into two age groups: 7-9 years and 10-12 years. The competition saw participation from dozens of athletes from various cities such as Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou, Nantong, and Huai’an.

The Huai’an city skateboard team, trained by the Huaiyin District Education and Sports Bureau, secured one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal. The athletes showcased their exceptional skills, smooth movements, and soaring figures, attracting many eyes and demonstrating the youthful vitality of children along with the infinite charm of skateboarding.

2022 Skateboarding Street World Championships

In the Skateboarding Street World Championships of 2022, held in 2023 at the Aljada Skate Park in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Rayssa Leal of Brazil and Aurelien Giraud of France were crowned as winners. The competition saw more than 270 skaters battling for the title of street world champion and ranking points for Paris 2024 Olympic qualification.

The competition started with a women’s and men’s open qualifier where the top 27 advanced. The skaters that were pre-seeded due to their Olympic World Skate Ranking (OWSR), joined the competition phase to make a field of 32. After the quarter-finals, 16 skaters progressed to the semi-finals, with eight making the final cut for the final on February 5th.

2022 Park Skateboarding World Championships

At the 2022 Park Skateboarding World Championships, also held in 2023, Sky Brown of Great Britain and Jagger Eaton of the United States were declared world champions. A record number of skaters arrived at Sharjah’s Aljada Skate Park to compete for the title of park world champion as well as ranking points for Paris 2024 Olympic qualification.

The competition started with a women’s and men’s open qualifier where the top 28 advanced to the quarterfinals to join four athletes pre-seeded due to their Olympic World Skate Ranking (OWSR). The 32 quarter-finalists were narrowed down to 16 in the semi-finals, with eight progressing to the finals on February 12th.

2023 SLS Championship Tour

Street League Skateboarding (SLS) has unveiled more information regarding its new format for the upcoming 2023 SLS Championship Tour. The 2023 tour will feature a mix of hand-picked skaters and rotating roster spots all season long, offering more ways to qualify than ever before.

The one-day format will start with the Men’s Knock Out Round with five skaters in each heat and the top skater from the heat advancing to the Finals. The pre-seeded Women’s Final will feature six of the best women battling for SLS glory. The one-day format concludes with the Men’s final, where the top skaters from each knock-out round will compete against the reigning SLS Champion. The upcoming three stops in the 2023 SLS Championship tour are scheduled for April 29 in Chicago, IL, August 12 in Tokyo, JP, and October 7 in Sydney, AUS.

Skateboarding at the Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG)

The second Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) concluded with a dramatic Closing Ceremony at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Nanjing, China. These games marked the end of 12 days of high-level sporting competition and cultural and educational activities enjoyed by thousands of spectators and the 3,800 participating athletes.

For the second edition of the Summer YOG, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced the Nanjing 2014 Sports Lab, where daily 3,000 visitors came to watch and try showcased sports like roller sports, skateboarding, sport climbing, and wushu. This concept is already being considered for future Youth Olympic Games.