How to Skate in a Skatepark

Once you start skating, any place full of advanced skateboarders can look intimidating. A skatepark is such a place (earlier, we wrote about different types of skateparks).

The truth is, there’s nothing to be afraid of in skateparks. Skateboarders there are ordinary people. But if you want to get the most fun out of your visit to a skatepark, you need to know how to behave there. Knowing the rules will also let you avoid getting injured and causing injuries to others. Explaining such rules will be the subject of this post.

Understanding the Park’s Arrangement

When you find yourself in some skatepark you’ve never been before, you should bother spending a little bit of your time looking around and observing other skateboarders. Make sure you notice how the skaters ride and where their routes go. Locate the places where people are most crowded. With all these precautions, you’ll avoid being in the way of others. Otherwise, you may harsh the buzz and endanger other people.

Normally, there will be several spots where skaters are waiting for their turn. You should figure out where people start from and go there to reserve your place in the line.

Hint: if you want to avoid crowds, try to skate early in the morning — usually, that’s the time when skateparks are empty.

Communicating with Others

It’s important to interact with other people in the park. This is not about chit-chatting; this is about communicating your intentions — where and when people are heading off. It can be pointing in the direction you are going to, nodding, or even making some sound to signal others that you are around. So, wait for your turn and let other people know when you are about to move.

Look Around

When skateboarding, people are usually focused on their body movements. But it’s also critical to look around now and then to avoid possible clashes. Please don’t just assume others understand which way you intend to move. So lift your head from time to time, and try to figure out and anticipate where others are heading to. And if you are going to ride into the area you currently can not fully scan, please be extremely cautious and make sure there’s definitely no one there.

If You Lost Your Board

Watch out for your board when you fall down. Oftentimes it can fly away super fast, which can be awfully dangerous for others. So if you see a board flying at someone or if the board can be an obstacle, just shout “BOARD!”. And hurry up to pick it up.

Don’t Steal Someone Else’s Tricks

Tricks are certainly no one’s property. But this is no friendly behavior to land a trick right in front of someone who’s been trying to skate it for a white. You may first have a little chat and ask if they mind you trying this trick too. This way you can even make new friends.

Places for Having a Rest

Technically, a coping or a deck of the ramp can be a place to sit. But someone must want to perform a trick right over there. Most skateparks have benches specially designed for rest, where you can chill out and not interfere with others skating.

Being an Ambassador of Good Manners

If you see someone behaving the wrong way and endangering others, make sure you confront the wrongdoer. Don’t be rude though, express yourself in a friendly way. Tell this person they can be interfering with others and that there are tacit rules of conduct in the skatepark. This way, you’ll make the park safer for yourself and other skaters.

Being Confident and Respecting Others

Everyone has a right to skate anywhere in the skatepark, no matter their proficiency level. It doesn’t matter whether you are learning to skate in radius wedges or trying to perform the frontside air — everybody was a beginner once. So, just be confident and move on to progress and to have fun!

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