The Wonderful World Of Adaptive Skateboarding
Skateboarding is known to be a widely inclusive sport, with a community that doesn’t discriminate against any of its participants irrespective of age, race or gender etc. For years one group in particular that saw skating as an impossibility in a world of possibility was those with certain physical disabilities.
That’s where adaptive skateboarding came in. Adaptive skateboarding is exactly what it sounds like! A truly inclusive version of our beloved sport, with skaters making adaptations to their boards and equipment that allow them to enjoy the things many of us take for granted.
Adaptive skateboarding has already made its debut in some major skating events, namely the X Games and Dew Tour with the latter introducing adaptive park events last summer whilst the X Games has included adaptive park events since 2019.
Widely regarded as the 'godfather of adaptive skateboarding' the late Jon Comer really set the precedent for the adaptive skaters of today. Jon embodied what it is to be a skater and played the hand he was dealt like no other.
Skateboarding was officially recognized as an Olympic sport in 2021, and with that in mind, the national governing body for skateboarding in the US wants to push for its inclusion in the 2028 Paralympics set to be held in Los Angeles.
One of the athletes leading the charge is California native Oscar Loreto Jr who was born without either of his hands or left leg from the knee down, but Oscar has made no excuses, he skates gracefully on a prosthetic ‘venture foot’ and is one of the catalysts of adaptive skateboarding not just on the west coast but in the country.
Adaptive skaters are some of the most determined and talented athletes involved in skateboarding and with the inroads made by the likes of Loreto Jr and co. it’s becoming all the more likely we’ll be seeing a 2028 Paralympic adaptive skateboarding event, held at the birthplace of skateboarding, California - poetic.
