| “Kindness
Prevails” in Competitive Skateboarding
By Tom Kertes
 Baseball?
Football? Basketball? Soccer? No (and no, and no, and no.) Not
one of these enormously popular American and/or world sports could
claim to be the number one participatory athletic activity for
young people under 25 in the United States last year. Shockingly,
the list was topped by skateboarding (and its close relative,
in-line skating) with an indeed impressive number of 26 million.
Unfortunately, injuries serious enough to require professional
medical care–are almost equally prevalent in the sport (more than
a 100,000 a year). “It is very important to emphasize that these
sports can be dangerous if the proper safety precautions are not
taken,” said Alan M. Muney, chief medical officer at Oxford Health
Plans. “And also the fact that wearing the appropriate safety
gear and using proper skating techniques can go a long way in
preventing serious injuries.”
In order to promote this concept, Oxford has created the Lid-Zone,
a  grassroots
program in the Tri-State area where kids 10-18 years of age can
skate, compete with each other in “best trick” contests, see demonstrations
by the best in the sport–and also hear the superstars talk about
the essence of safety. “Hearing (8-time X-Games gold medallist)
Andy McDonald, (visiting pro at the famed in-line training facility
Camp Woodward) Matt Lindemuth, and other top-notch guys talk about
safe skating gives our message the needed ‘star appeal’ to truly
influence young people,” Dr. Muney said.
Indeed, the quintet of Lid-Zone events, held over a two-week period
in September, have been a rousing success. “We’ve had over 1,000
people at Rampage Park on Long Island yesterday,” elated organizer
Shea Sweeney said. “And another 1,000-plus today in New York City.
That’s more attention and enthusiasm that we ever could hope for.”
Kids like 11-year-old Giorgio Villone attended on both days. “I
don’t know what I love about skateboarding,” he pondered. “But
it just makes me feel so-o-o-o-o good.”
“It’s
an individual sport where you can be as creative as you want to
be,” mom, Maureen, chimed in. “It’s a fantastic exercise to use
your energies on–and it’s also a great way for kids to make friends.”
“You
don’t have to deal with the pettiness, violence, and all the other
extracurricular stuff that team sports are unfortunately so filled
with these days,” Mrs.Villone added. “As a matter of fact, while
kids of the same age are certainly competitive in this sport,
I’ve been extremely impressed by how the older kids tend to take
the younger ones under their wings as kind of mentors.”
“It’s
really nice to watch. In this sport, kindness prevails.”
And creativity, too. The participants at Riverside Park–the only
outdoor court on the Lid-Zone Tour–doing all kinds of flips (ollies),
somersaults, and a myriad of other tricks over the pipes, half-pipes,
boxes, and various other metallic equipment, were somewhere north
of spectacular. “I predict that this might become an Olympic sport
one day soon,” Mr. Villone said. “This sport, the skills it requires,
is actually very similar to gymnastics. And if snowboarding is
in the Winter Olympics, making skateboarding a Summer Olympic
sport would be the logical next step.”
As it appears right now, the U. S. has an excellent chance to
host the 2012 Games. If it ever happens–and seeing the enthusiasm
and athleticism of the competitors, it just might–that would be
the time to look for skateboarding as a first-time Olympic event.#
Education
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