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Skateboarding is riding and doing tricks using a skateboard. A person who skateboards is most often referred to as a skateboarder, or just skater. Skateboarding is several things in one: recreational sport, art form, transportation and professional sport.

By one estimate there are over 18 million skaters worldwide. 85% of all skaters are under 18 year old and about 25% of all skaters are girls. The origins of skating goes back to early 1950's in California. The surfers needed something to surf when there ara no waves.

See below flatland freestyle skateboarding.

There is no record of who made the first skateboard. The first skateboards were just wooden boxes or boards with roller skate wheels attached. The boards evolved into planks and than into decks made of pressed layers of wood. In those days skateboarding was known as 'Sidewalk Surfing'.

Several surfboard manufacturers started to build and sell skateboards, a national magazine 'Skateboarder' was created. Between 1963 and 1965 the popularity of skateboarding peaked, however by 1966 it dropped down considerably and remain low until early 1970's.

Skateboard wheels made of polyurethane, renewed the popularity of skateboarding. The decks became wider and improved axles contributed to better handling. Decks were made from fibreglass and aluminium, but the most were made of maple plywood. Improved handling helped skaters inventing new tricks.

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Things were going good until beginning of the 1980s, when skateboarding declined in popularity once more.

In the late 1980s street skating gained in popularity.
Today, most boards are about 21cm to 23cm wide and 75cm to 80cm long. The wheels are made of hard polyurethane Board styles have been changing continuously in the 1970s, 1980's and early 1990's. From the mid 1990s no big changes in the design of the skateboards were made.

Today, the image of skateboarding is not associated with crime and drugs. Even the military in the United States experimented with skateboards in Urban Warrior '99' combat military exercise.