You might not make it to the top, but if you doing what you love, there is more to happiness there than being rich and famous.
Tony Hawk
If American skateboarding legend Tony Hawk is someone you admire, then skateboarding is more than just a sport for you. Skateboarding could be a way for you to express your creativity on four wheels. While you may not be based in Florida or Tampa, where the skateboarding scene is quite a vibe, one of the best ways to become fully immersed in the skateboarding scene is to soak up the skating culture at local skateboarding events. Skateboarding sessions at your local skateparks are best for beginner skaters looking to improve their skills, as well as for experienced skaters embracing new challenges and learning tricks from more sophisticated skaters.
In South Africa, local skateboarding events could mean casual meetups at outdoor skateparks, but they could also refer to the more structured competitions, skateboarding festivals, and skating workshops that take place from time to time. Attending a series of skateboarding events can assist you in gaining the thrill of skating and feeling more motivated as you catch a glimpse of talented skaters trying out new tricks. By attending local skateboarding events, you can set your own skating goals or learn a few new skating tricks.
Local Skateboarding Events for Skaters of All Skill Levels
Street League Skateboarding (SLS) is an international skateboarding tournament series.
While we might not have skating events as elaborate as the SLS event, skating events in South Africa can be just as fun, while helping you to become a better skater. By participating in these events, you become part of the local skateboarding community. At these events, all enthusiastic skaters feel welcomed, and skaters tend to gain some confidence. Skaters can also learn some important lessons regarding teamwork and the art of perseverance.
This blog post is meant to encourage enthusiastic skaters to participate in skateboarding competitions that they may be interested in. It is also meant to motivate skaters to be part of a group platform where they can have fun and embrace the skating culture at the same time. The best way to start is by finding some of the best skateparks in South Africa.
Partaking in Skateboarding Competitions in South Africa
major skateboarding events
With four major skateboarding competitions having taken place in 2025 in South Africa, it is clear that the skateboarding culture has evolved steadily over the past decade. The competitions show just how vibrant the skateboarding culture can be.
This year, four skateboarding competitions were most memorable:
Entering a skateboarding competition can be a way to test your skateboarding skills in the most structured way. As opposed to a more casual skating session, competitions will entail judging criteria and the need to perform various trick challenges. It also gives skateboarders a more professional challenge, the chance to perform under pressure, and to learn to skate irrespective of the park layout. While the competition may seem like it is all about winning, it is a way to ensure personal progress and dedication.
In South Africa, you can enter local competitions at Eyethu Skate Park in Hout Bay, or competitions in Durban and Johannesburg as well. All these competitions would welcome beginner and intermediate skaters, offering the most supportive environment for skaters of all levels and ages to gain confidence. While local events are more suited for skaters of all ages, the national events can attract the attention of advanced skaters with international competitions, allowing South African local talent to shine.
From skateboarding events and competitions, there can be many benefits, including:
- Building community and culture: These events bring skaters of all ages and backgrounds together, fostering friendships and collaboration. Spectators and other skateboarders can witness wonderful skating tricks firsthand.
- Encouraging discipline, perseverance, and sportsmanship: Through skateboarding competitions, skaters are taught how to handle victories and deal rather gracefully with losses. Competitions can also help you to develop your focus and confidence.
- Providing you with a platform for growth: Competing in such events means learning to become more passionate and creative as you tackle skateboarding challenges in the country. These competitions will ensure that you continue pushing yourself beyond your limits.
A skateboarding contest can have many advantages for all enthusiastic skaters who wish to advance and improve on their skateboarding skills annually.
Different Types of Skateboarding Competitions
If you are interested in joining a skateboarding contest, you must note that there are various formats of skateboarding competitions that will help skaters like you find the right events to suit your interests, strengths, and goals.
Some types of skateboarding competitions include:
- Street competitions: These competitions tend to replicate urban environments where there are stairs, rails, and benches. Skaters can try out sophisticated tricks where judges will assess the smoothness of the trick based on style, consistency, and creativity. Street competitions are best for skaters who like complicated tricks.
- Park competitions: These competitions happen in purposely built skateparks where there are mini ramps, bowls, and pipes. Skaters tend to get judged on their flow, speed, height, and the execution of such tricks, where the skaters who are agile and fluid tend to win the prize.
- Vert competitions: While these types of contests do not happen too often, they entail focusing on skating on vertical ramps, including halfpipes and fullpipes. For this type of competition, precision and timing are everything. Skaters are expected to be fearless when attempting air and technical maneuvers.
- Bowl competitions: These competitions are park events that focus on bowl-style ramps where skaters get noticed for their speed, tricks, and overall creativity. These competitions would require full balance and control.
- Best trick contest: These contests are meant to get skateboarders to try a variety of tricks, where judges are then given points based on the level of difficulty of the trick.
- Jam sessions: These sessions tend to be time-limited events where many skaters can take turns skating a course. Judges judge skaters informally or collectively, making this a good fit for beginner skaters.
- Freestyle competitions: These types of competitions focus on flat-ground tricks as well as technical footwork. Skateboarders must incorporate spins, flips, and creativity. The competitions are best for teaching skateboarders to be precise and to balance well.
The different competition types require skaters to focus on different key technical skills. The more motivated skaters tend to choose to participate in a variety of skateboard competition forms and do not just stick to one skateboarding competition form. Before participating in a competition, you need to take some tips on how to skateboard.
International Skateboarding Competitions
While local skateboarding competitions can be a blast, more professional skateboarders must consider joining international skateboarding competitions. Such competition brings some of the best skaters from all around the world together. For skaters who are not too competitive, international competitions can be a way to learn more about the international skating culture.
The prestigious Street League Skateboarding (SLS) contest was founded in 2010 and set the standard for professional skateboarding competitions by offering carefully designed courses and ensuring a strict judging criteria. The core focus of this competition is on street-style skateboarding, where technical tricks and creativity are assessed by some of the best judges in the game.
Another international contest to consider is the X Games, where street park and vert competitions become a core focus. These games have become popular, and thus winning an X Games medal is regarded as being rather prestigious for all skaters.
In 2020, in Tokyo, Olympic skateboarding competitions showed just how valuable precision, style, and execution in skateboarding really are.
Other major international skateboarding events include the Dew Tour, Vans Park Series, and several other regional championships. All these skateboarding events help skateboarders earn recognition and ensure skaters learn from the best. Through international skateboarding competitions, cross-cultural exchanges can be fostered. Competition fans can benefit from watching skaters in motion. For all skateboarding competition participants and those just interested in the skating culture, watching skaters skate and perform tricks in competitions can be positively rewarding. Anyone can participate in skating competitions, as it sets the benchmarks for skills development. Many international competitions also encourage creativity and innovation.
Has Skateboarding Ever Been in the Olympics?
I won't quit skating until I'm physically unable.
Tony Hawk
While skateboarding is often appreciated in the streets and at skateparks throughout South Africa, there is no harm in purposefully joining skateparks and skate communities. With the inclusion of skateboarding in the Olympic Games, skateboarding has become a well-known sport. With skateboarding being in the Olympic Games, this sport form is seen as being far more transformative and more openly embraced.
In 2021, skateboarding made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Including skateboarding was the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) effort to appeal to a younger audience and incorporate sports that reflect contemporary youth culture. Skateboarding is one of several new sports that have been aded to the Olympic Games, alongside surfing, sport climbing, and karate. The addition of skateboarding to the Olympic Games was much welcomed and appreciated.
This moment was historic as it allowed skaters to have the chance to represent different countries on a global scale. The mainstream audience had a chance to admire the precision and the creativity that went into skating for competition purposes. The stereotype that skateboarding is just a hobby was broken. Athletes like Nyjah Huston and Japan’s Momiji Nishiya reflected skateboarders' accessibility and showed skateboarding to be a sport for all ages. There is so much significance when it comes to learn how to skateboard and joining the skating culture, and entering skating competitions.
If you wish to learn how to skate, reach out to one of our amazing Superprof tutors:
Superprof tutors offering skateboarding lessons
Once you find the right skateboarding tutor for you, you can start skating, join the local skateboarding scene, and decide whether you wish to participate in local and international skateboarding competitions and contests. If you are ready to skate away, click on the right Superprof tutor's profile and sign up for a free skateboarding lesson.
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