Not since a group of anarchists first started holding meetings has there been such a crisis of faith for a community. Recently, the men in suits of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) proposed turning skateboarding into an Olympic sport for the London Olympics of 2012. The dudes in beanies are wondering what to make of it. Will the projected boost to facilities and popularity come at the cost of skateboarding's soul?

"I have mixed feelings about it," says 28-year-old pro-skater Pete King. "To put us in the Olympics where it's all super structured will be strange, to say the least. "There are no rules in skateboarding, there's no order to learning tricks, it's not a structured thing. In the British scene, competitions are just an excuse to have a bit of a get-together and have fun."

There is a feeling that the Olympics need skateboarding more than skateboarding needs the Olympics. Most people don't care how far someone can throw a stick or run around a circle," says King. Skateboarding is much more exciting." The only discipline up for recognition is ''vert'', where skaters perform aerial tricks off a half pipe. But already there's an online petition calling on the IOC not to recognise it, fearing it will "change the face of skateboarding and its individuality".

The fear is heightened by the controversy following snowboarding's elevation to an Olympic sport 10 years ago. Competitors complained they were judged on Olympic ideals such as height and speed, not on the most important element for anyone on a board - individual style.

And style is something King is worried about. "We must ensure the Olympic Committee doesn't make us wear matching leotards." Pro-skater Ross McGouran who, at 19, would be one of Britain's hopefuls, admits he has mixed feelings too, but thinks it could be good for the sport. "I saw something about antisocial behaviour on the news the other day and the first thing they showed was a skateboarder on the South Bank. That's so wrong." He says the Olympics might elevate skateboarding in people's eyes. At present, he thinks that skateboarders are perceived as 15-year-old hoodies when many are professionals in their 30s and 40s.

From: Skateboarding as an Olympic sport, Tarquin Cooper, Telegraph.co.uk, 14/07/2007

More at: Skateboarding

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