Friday, April 22, 1977
University Daily Kansan
Skateboard craze starts rolling in Lawrence again
By DONALD WILSON
Staff Renorter
They have names like Fifteen Toes, Rainbow Rider and Banzi. They sell from $6 to more than $100 and are made from wood, fiberglass or aluminum. Some say they're a fad and others say they're a new sport. They're popular in many countries, including the United States, Australia and Japan.
They're commonly called skateboards. Local store owners can't get enough of the brightly colored descendants of the child's push scooter.
push scooter
Many stairs are out, and the rest have no lift. The left. The demand is so great that at Gibson Discount Center, 2525 Iowa St., where they're already sold out, even a damaged one is sold at a slightly reduced price in hopes of capitalizing on the rush. LLOYD MARTIN, assistant manager at Gibson Discount Center, St., said, "We've sold out and reordered several times. We've probably sold six or eight dozen in the past three weeks or so."
Woolworth's skateboard sales are conservative, however, if one considers the market in California, but so is skateboarding in Lawrence when compared with California—the accepted cradle of skateboarding.
In the land of beach music and big droughts, there are skateboard shops, skateboard parks, professional skateboard teams and a monthly magazine,
IN LAWRENNCE, usually only a lone rider is seen, but occultly groups form. More often, they are not in the same area.
watching two or three skateboarders flaunt their stuff.
Jack Dausman, San Diego, Calif., junior and experienced skateboarder, said that boardboarding was only a fad row in the city. California it was a unique and exciting sport.
"On the West Coast, it is a skiing and surfing climate, so when you can't ski or surf, there is a need for something else like these sports," he said. "Skateboarding like them."
"I mean there's nothing you can compare it to--nobody stands on their heads on snow skis," Dausman said, referring to some incredible skateboard stunts.
THE FEATS have names like kick turn, lifting the front wheels off the ground to change directions; pooling, skating on the walls of an empty room; moving a mismanchio or insanity—the speed circle, skating through a downslope drain tube, 12 feet in diameter, picking up more and more speed and then pushing the tires onto the ceiling and down the other side.
Terry Barker, Lawrence freshman and another veteran skateboarder, said the speed circle was the most dangerous stunt, and he did not recommend trying it.
Barker said he began skateboarding when he was, in the service in California.
"IGOT INTO surfing, and everyone who surfs rides a skateboard," he said. "The body movements in skateboarding and surfing are the same, so when the weather is too cold for surfing, it's a good way to keep in shape."
stateboarding's popularity in California
for open play space for
children there
Bearer said that another reason for
"What the children have done is advantage of what there is out there—a tok
The future of skateboarding in Kansas is uncertain at best, Barker said.
"I DON'T see very many people actually riding them," he said. "Mostly, I just see a few kids walking across campus carrying them. I hope it catches on, though it's fun."
Barker and Duasman said that the best equipment for skateboarding wasn't available in Lawrence, and that they had to buy their own gear. The best skateboards and skateboard parts.
It must be remembered, however, that these two do mean the best.
DAUSMAN SAID he paid $40 for his skateboard from the factory, and Barker, who made his, said it cost him about the same.
Why $80?
Daupper picked up his board proudly.
Tapped on the ladder. See these bolts?
The trumpet made for aircraft.
He also said the board was made from the same material that makes of fine archery
Barker said his board was expensive because it was made from birchwood, which he had shipped from Iowa. Also, the board included reethane and cost between $5 and $10 each.
POLYURETHANE WHEELS are a relatively new addition to skateboards and
Staff photo by MIKE CAMPBELL
Mark Gridely uses his skateboard to walk his dogs the lazy man's way.
But skateboarding has a confusing past. Like basketball, no one seems to know exactly how to do it.
are the key to the skateboard's renaissance during the past few years, both riders said.
Skateboarding is in its second surge of popularity. During the mid-60s children throughout the United States were skateboarding.
BUT THE INTRODUCTION of the new polyurethane wheels has caused boarding to increase in popularity since the early 1970s.
Barker said the old clay and steel wheels would slide out from under the rider on tight turns or catch on gravel and pavement cracks, throwing riders.
Most of the accidents apparently were caused by poor equipment—particularly
In fact, according to traffic regulations, skateboards can be ridden only on public sidewalks or on private property with permission.
Most agree that it probably originated when some kid nailed one of his old steel roller skates onto a two-by-four block of wood, stepped on it and after falling off a log, he found himself leaning on leansing one way or the other. Anything more precise than that is conjecture.
But the new wheels wouldn't catch, he said, and would adapt to any sur-
But, Dausman said, the police often don't enforce the law. He said police had stopped him only a few times, and that they only warned him to be careful.
Barker said similar laws in California resulted in the construction of skateboard
The best skateboarding surface is determined by personal preference.
Dausman said there was a $1 to $1.50 fee a day to use the parks.
Malls Olde English Village Apartments
Dauman said he preferred clean concrete, but Barker said he liked smooth concrete.
THEY AGREED, however, that two of the best places to ride in Lawrence were down Baumgardner Avenue, which connects Jayhawk Boulevard to Mississippi Street, and on Irving Street winding down Daisy Hill toward Allen Field House.
THE FIRST skateboards were manufactured in the early 1960s, the time of the first skateboarded. The craze peaked in the mid-1960s with ABG and Nike. Sports coverage of the first National Championships from Anabeim, Calif., in 1965.
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Skateboard parks can be not only in the United States, but also in Australia and
A SKATEBOARD park is an area about the size of a baseball field and has hills, rills, chutes, pools and other forms concluding in guarding. All the forms are made of concrete.
After that, skateboards hit the skids. Injuries became so frequent that national magazines such as "Life" and "Good Housekeeping" spoke out against the skateboard phenomenon, calling it exceedingly dangerous.
carr. in 1860.
After that, skateboards hit the skids.
Although these may be the two best places to ride in Lawrence, it's unlawful to ride in Lawrence.
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o goan your board and go sidewalk doin'
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Welcome to the 1977 Kansas Relays
Bank in Lawrence
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- The Lawrence Bank & Trust Co.
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Stuart not only Allen I varsity football
"The year," basebal time fo
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But 5 time. T crew p lane m barrier around
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Stuan awards put it on delay.
"The section they're or so,"