This is Skateboarding

Hannah Wilson

Peter Phobia

Farshore, 2024

48pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9780008614102

While the name Tony Hawk may be familiar to some, the name Arisa Trew will be well-known to many of our students as this young Australian has just been named the action sportsperson of the year at the prestigious Laureues Awards, up there alongside the likes of tennis player Novak Djokovic and footballer Aitana Bonmatí. At the age of 13, Arisa became the first female to land the notorious 720 trick in skateboarding competition, a feat first performed by skating great Tony Hawk in 1985.

And with the Paris Olympics in view, she will be among the topline skaters displaying their craft for a generation of young athletes who are embracing those non-traditional sports and inspired by them, setting their own goals to make their dreams come true. So this new book that is a guide to all things skateboarding celebrating celebrate the rise of the global skateboarding scene, from the streets of LA to its first Olympic Games and including iconic skateparks ,gravity-defying tricks,  trailblazers, activists and medal-winning champions, and how skateboarding has influenced everything from shoes to art and urban design will be a perfectly timed addition to the collection.

With bite-sized pieces of information in amongst the many illustrations, the text speaks directly to the reader encouraging them to express their individuality in so many ways.

With COVID restrictions keeping us indoors in 2020-2021, many were introduced to skateboarding as an Olympic sport as we watched it at the Tokyo Olympics, and marvelled at how young some of the leading competitors were, as well as their athletic ability..  Since then the sport has grown in both stature and followers, particularly for women, and with Australian names sure to be at the forefront in the Paris competition, skateboarding is going to be an in-demand subject as studies of the Olympics generally, step up.