Exploring Perceptions of Success in Olympic Competitive and Amateur Street and Park Skateboarding and Implications for Training

Abstract

In competitive street and park skateboarding, judges determine success based on an ‘overall impression’ of each skater's performance, guided by World Skate criteria. Despite different competition formats, the judging criteria for both street and park disciplines are the same, developed on the values, principles, and virtues held within the skateboarding community. Given skating's recent Olympic debut, understanding what specifically constitutes success would seem paramount for skaters to target progression in the sport. To assess if the skateboarding community understands and aligns on judging competitive success criteria, and train accordingly, 33 skaters of various skill levels and disciplines completed a 35-question online survey. Participants included elite (i.e., sponsored, n = 4), regional (New Zealand) amateur (n = 10), and recreational (n = 19) skaters. A mixed-methods, cross-sectional approach revealed that community perspectives on competitive and recreational performance generally aligned with World Skate judging criteria, emphasizing ‘flow’ and ‘style’. Competitive skaters appeared to adjust their training accordingly, however, views on the scale and order of importance of judging criteria vary by involvement, skill level, and discipline, suggesting that an overall impression of skateboarding performance is highly individualistic and ambiguous. This likely leaves coaches and athletes speculating about what constitutes a winning performance and compromises targeted training. The survey's findings, though limited in their scope, emphasize the need for clarity in subjective judging criteria and application. Future research should implement objective explorations of street and park competitive skateboarding performances, respectively.