Why Are Skateboarding Contests on the Decline?

We wanted to share this presentation on skateboarding contest participation stats by The Boardr as it touches on some interesting shifts in the skateboarding contest world.

Jack Olson's comment, “Now, there is a bigger gap between the contest skater and the street skater,” stood out to us. He’s not wrong. Years ago, the average street skater still skated contests as well. Skating contests felt essential. They were the main avenue for exposure and to get noticed by brands. Social media wasn't a major factor yet, so to make an impact or attract sponsors, competing in contests was also a priority. They were also a vibe and built a sense of community we all cherished (and many of us made lifelong friends through them). It’s almost like the roles have reversed. The contests now seem to need the next generation of skaters more than the skaters need the contests.

Andrew Singh Nollie Bigspin over the LES skatepark apple during a Boardr contest - Photo by Rob Meronek.

It’s undeniable that the skateboarding contest landscape has shifted. The community is now diversifying across digital platforms, creating new avenues for skaters to share their skating and reach global audiences almost effortlessly (a reality we couldn’t have imagined back then.) These days, all it takes is a phone and some solid clips for skaters to get millions of views and noticed. Most skaters even launch their own brands and gain sponsorships through their own digital platforms.

We also don’t have the exact answers as to why skateboarding contest participation is on the decline and know there's more to it, but we enjoyed The Boardr’s presentation and the conversations it opened up.

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Side Note: We also want to shoutout The Boardr for letting us skate the HQ while we were in town. We had an epic session, and you can check out the clip here.