X Games champ ramps up safety message

When skateboarder Bob Burnquist won the gold medal at the X Games he was on top of the world. But this Christmas morning, thousands of happy youngsters will be riding their new skateboards and scooters and falling off. That's why Burnquist is taking time during the holiday shopping season to help educate parents about skateboard, scooter and in-line skate safety and to remind them to add protective gear to every wheeled purchase.

"Wearing a helmet is a 24/7 thing. Your head is the main box so you'd better take care of it," says Burnquist. "No matter how good you are you can hit your head very hard when riding and that can be very bad."

"My advice is that parents should think of safety gear and the skateboard as a single purchase. Don't just buy the board."

In fact, professional riders like Burnquist and skateboard instructor Steve Badillo stress that safety gear allows younger, more inexperienced skaters to become better skilled, safer riders.

"When you're protected you can skate more and worry less about getting hurt," says Badillo, a former pro skater who co-authored Skateboarder's Start-Up: A Beginner's Guide to Skateboarding. "The biggest mistake is kids think it's cool not to wear safety gear because they see that a lot of pros don't wear it. But the fact is, these kids are not at the skill level of the pros and they get slammed."

But many pros do wear protective gear.

Skateboard legend Tony Hawk religiously wears his gear. And Burnquist says he won't skate without hip pads because he's gotten so many 'hippers.'

"I tuck and roll out of a lot of my falls or slide on my hip, but I found it really difficult to find good hip pads," says Burnquist, who was born in Brazil and relocated to Leucadia, Calif. "I'm actually trying to develop a line of hip pads with my sponsor Hurley."

"Skateboarding can be dangerous. I've broken 19 bones," adds Burnquist. "I've got a pin in my right wrist and I've been knocked out totally once. I had short-term memory loss and kept repeating questions."

Taking the fall

Badillo actually teaches kids how to fall in his classes. "We go over how to run out of a fall or how to slide onto your knees if you're working a ramp," says Badillo. "It's really important to know how to fall properly because if you're a skater, you're going to fall every day."

For knee-slides, riders have to wear knee pads. And riders should wear proper shoes at all times when skateboarding or scootering. For kids, long pants that provide some added protection are also recommended.

"If you're really serious about skateboarding, you might as well get used to wearing safety gear because you have to wear it in competition and at all the skate parks," advises Badillo.

"We require all skaters to wear safety gear — period," says Todd Huber, owner of Skatelab, an indoor skateboard facility in Simi Valley, Calif. "There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to young kids and safety gear."

Studies have shown that safety gear reduces injury and often prevents it. Protective padding, clothing, and helmets disperse the impact of falls.

"There is bio-mechanical and clinical evidence that wrist guards do work," says Dr. Flaura Koplin Winston, director of the TraumaLink Pediatric Injury Research Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Parents have to hold the line and make wearing safety gear non-negotiable. It's easier to reinforce when you do it from day one."

And that's important because wheeled toys such as in-line skates, scooters, and skateboards cause more injuries to children than any other category of toy — over 65,000 in 2000. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), scooter injuries alone jumped from 3,281 in 1999 to over 42,500 in 2000.

When it comes to skateboards, approximately 26,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms every year. Sprains and fractures are the most common injuries. And parents shopping for skateboards should understand that 60% of skateboarding injuries are to children under 15 years of age. And fully one-third of all injuries are suffered by kids who have been skateboarding less than a week.

An important consideration for parents shopping for Christmas skateboards is the age of the child. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against children under five skateboarding, for several reasons:

Their center of gravity is higher, making falls more likely. Their neuromuscular system is not well developed. Their judgment is poor. They are less able to protect themselves when falling. Skate parks

One of the best arguments for taking your kids to indoor skate parks is the fact that irregular riding surfaces cause over half of all skateboard falls.

"Skate parks are great because the ramps are engineered for doing tricks, the riding surface is smooth, and the kids are supervised," says Huber. "We even offer skateboard camps and lessons so kids can learn proper techniques."

Huber says his facility caters to approximately 1000 skaters a week yet he sees on average "maybe one serious injury a month — usually a broken wrist or ankle."

"You can't eliminate all the dangers," notes Huber. "Just being a kid is a danger."

Another excellent reason to go to a skate park is the vast majority of skateboard fatalities occurred in traffic when the rider was struck by a motor vehicle. The CPSC advises that skateboarders NEVER ride in traffic.

But skateboarding also provides many positive experiences. Along with helping kids develop balance and coordination, skateboarding is excellent aerobic exercise.

"With so many kids overweight, it's important to find activities that kids like," says Winston. "Skateboarding fits that bill — they can do it whenever they want, it's fun and it's great exercise. But we shouldn't risk any child's safety."

"Unless they're playing Tony Hawk Pro-skater 3, skateboarding gets kids off the couch and outside," jokes Huber.

"Just remember, you get to enjoy skateboarding a lot more and a lot longer if you don't get hurt," advises Burnquist. "And with safety gear, moms and dads won't have to worry nearly as much when their kids start getting air."

Original Source: USAToday, By John Morgan, Spotlight HealthWith medical adviser Stephen A. Shoop, M.D.

The basics of skateboarding

The basics of skateboarding.

After years of falling and much hard work, we have decided to try and break down the basics so that almost anyone can understand and land tricks. Unfortunately we cannot promise that you’ll be landing any tricks quickly, or every time. We intended this document to only be a guide to assist you while you are learning.

First and foremost you will not land any thing without proper balance. Forget sitting on the carpet or grass; it’s completely different when you begin to roll. If you have ever ridden a bicycle, ice skated, or snowboard you will know this. Proper balanced is ultimately achieved while you are in motion. Learning to roll around comfortably on your deck is the key and will ultimately lead to unlocking accomplished tricks. Through out an entire trick, you should be relaxed, knees slightly bent, balanced and most of all feel comfortable.

Once you feel comfortable and you can roll around with relative ease, it is time to have some fun. Try performing some tricks! All tricks stem from the Ollie. The more proficient you become with performing ollies, the easier tricks will become. The second most important aspect to skating is the pop you get when ollieing. When you are performing a trick, the worst thing you can do is pop with your foot flat. This diminishes the height you will receive and make your trick more difficult to pull off. In other words you do not just stomp down your entire foot, you snap with the ankle downwards to the balls of your foot for lift. Just work on maintaining balance while lifting off and snapping that ankle downwards. Getting a crisp pop will lead increased height and better tricks.

After mastering both balance and ollies, it is now time for a bit more advanced tricks. This primarily applies to learning flip tricks. It works something like this, if you want to do a kick flip, your right foot will be on the far side of the tail, while the heel of your left foot would be entirely off and ready to flick outwards. The same will apply for a heel flip but this time you’re popping foot would be on the other side of the tail. In other words, if you are going to flick off the right side, your popping foot would be primarily on the left side of the decks tail. Putting them on opposite sides creates better leverage making the board flip better.

Lastly, you’ll need to learn how to stop the rotation of the board. This only applies to flip and shuv-it type tricks. Depending on the trick you are performing, different feet will stop the rotation of the board. If your board flips, you are going to catch it with your popping foot in order to stop the flip. If you are doing a shuv-it trick, your front foot or non- popping foot will stop the rotation of the board.

If you are having troubles with any tricks, refer back to these basics and they should help. Practice is the only thing that will make you a better so keep at it and don’t get discouraged.

Choosing Your Skateboard Wheels and Roll with Four

Choosing skateboard wheels are easy but there are several things to take into account. You’ll need to decide what brand, graphic, size and durometer is right for you.

Your selection of size is the most important factor to consider. Smaller wheels are generally used for more technical and street skating; where as larger wheels will ride better when skateboarding in parks and bowls or heavy terrain with transitions.

The next this you need to know is durometer of the wheel, this is a numerical value allowing you to determine whether the wheel is softer or harder. Most wheels are in the range of 97a to 99a. Basically the way it works is that the smaller the number, the softer the wheel, the larger, the harder. Larger wheels are generally a bit softer.

Dual durometer is just what it means. There are two durometers for the wheel. The core is harder, while the outside surface area is softer. There are a few reasons for this; first of all, the internal area is called the "bearing seat" and by making this area harder, it protects the bearing from crushing or losing its shield. Bearings don't usually crush, but it is an option that some wheel manufacturers pass along to skateboarders.

It's also worth pointing out that softer urethane is generally slower than harder urethane. So depending on the durometer, it may make a huge difference. Cored wheels can also be lighter than a standard urethane wheel depending on the core construction.