When most people think of skateboarding, they tend to think of California kids cutting up the concrete on sidewalks and in empty swimming pools.  They certainly don’t tend to think of the East Coast, and New York City, as a skateboarding mecca.  But it is – the East Coast, and in particular New York City, offers awesome skate parks and side streets, and has been home to some of the best and most passionate skateboarders around.

New York City skateboarders have always been about breaking new ground – especially since the original skateboarders in the 1970’s didn’t have the same skate parks nor did they get the same attention as their West Coast comrades.  So East Coast skateboarders took to the streets and the local parks, and were jumping on handrails, skating park benches and ledges, and having urban, “guerilla-style” skate competitions before it was cool to do so.  Some of the early pioneers, as we call them here at Triple 8, were folks like Rodney Smith and Bruno Musso, who founded SHUT NYC skateboards (http://www.shutnyc.com/), Steve Rodriguez of 5Boro (http://www.5boro.com/), and Andy Kessler/Soul Artists of Zoo York (http://www.zooyork.com/). 

Some favorite NYC skate spots – add your own by clicking on the map below:
Astor Place
Battery Park
Fed Ex
Brooklyn Banks
Brooks Brothers
CBS
Chase
Chinatown manual pad
Court House Drop
Dag Park
DLJ
Fuji Building
Houston Park
Newport
Paine Webber
Red Benches
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral
South Street Seaport
Time & Life building
Tompkins Square Park (aka The TF)
Union Square
Veterans Memorial
Ziegfield Movie Theatre

View NYC Skateboard Hot Spots in a larger map

For more on the history of NYC skateboarding, check out the sick documentary Deathbowl to Downtown (http://www.deathbowltodowntown.com/).

Learn to Skateboard in NYC: http://www.uptownskateschool.com/

UPDATE: the fine folks at Skatepark Directory just launched a new version of their site. Help them get the details on your local spot. 

So, of course the answer to the question what is longboarding is mind-bogglingly obvious – longboarding is skateboarding, but with a longer board (duh).  Longboarding is believed to have emerged in the 1950’s alongside the California surfing culture, although a number of Hawaiian longboarders also claim the sport as their own.  Some people consider it to be closer to “concrete surfing,” and unlike skateboarding, where most riders are performing tricks on their board at some point, longboarding is often used as a mode of transportation since the boards are heavier and more stable than the shorter, classic skateboards.  As well, a longboard is meant to do things your average skateboard cannot – high speeds, hard carves, cut backs on concrete hills, long distances, “sliding,” board walking and more.  There are a ton of unique styles of longboarding – check out Silver Fish Longboarding for more information on the different types.

Although longboarding equipment (helmets, knee pads and elbow pads) is similar to standard skateboarding equipment, longboarders often wear special gloves, Slider Gloves, for making turns while riding (carving or sliding).  Check out some of this video of folks carving up the streets on their longboards – carving on a longboard means making an “S”-type path down a street while on your board.  It can be an effective way to control your speed while longboarding, but riders also enjoy it for the “surfing” feeling that it creates.

Finally, a number of longboarders love it for the speed you can achieve while on your board – upwards of 30MPH.  This almost “slalom-style longboarding” is becoming very popular – it is an aggressive style of longboarding, and definitely one for thrill-seekers.  Watch this awesome video of a guy in a blue suit nonetheless cutting up some serious concrete and even overtaking some cars on his downhill ride.

Additional sites we like on longboarding:

Brooklyn’s own Bustin Boards Longboard blog

Naphte Longboarding Digital Magazine

Find and submit longboard maps

Skurfboard

First of all – what is roller derby?  Many of us recall the roller derby days of the ‘70s as well as the crazy musical Xanadu, and it would be too easy to dismiss roller derby as a frivolous sport.  However, for roller derby participants and the sports loyal fans, it’s much more than this.  Roller Derby is a sport for warriors.

History of Roller Derby
Roller Derby first started as a marathon style race for both male and female skaters in 1935.  Soon after, the sport changed format to two teams of five players with one “jammer” or scorer on each team trying to complete as many laps around the pack as possible.  Spectators were thrilled with roller derby, and the sport hit TV sets in the 1940’s and 1950’s.  Live tracks games sold out across the country, and in the 1960’s, roller derby became one of the few sports that offered a possible career to women.  However, by the early 1970’s, roller derby operations and TV broadcasts had died off, and the sport depended on a small group of dedicated players and loyal fans to keep it alive.
Now, roller derby has enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity.  There are now hundreds of mostly female amateur leagues throughout the U.S. (and indeed the world) that represent cities and rinks, and there is even a professional league that draws excited and rowdy crowds to its matches.  Find out more at the Women's Flat Track Derby Association site.

Awesome documentary clip:

How do you play?
As you may know, roller derby competitions take place on a circular track.  Two teams of five players compete against each other playing both offense and defense at the same time.  One player, the jammer, attempts to score for her respective team by passing the pack and lapping the track as many times as possible.  The other players (opposing and team members) attempt to block or aid the jammer’s progress, and may engage with opposing team players using body parts above the mid-thigh, excluding forearms, hands, and head.  Games last for two 30-minute periods or three 20-minutes periods.
Competitions get wild, and many participants walk away with war wounds including broken noses and massive bruises after each match.  All players wear protective gear including helmets, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards.  Despite this chaos and seeming brutality, penalties are given by the referees to any skaters who block illegally, fight or act in an unsporting manner. 

Little Librarian is hell on wheels …
Are you kidding me? A story about a 53 year-old librarian named Beth Hollis who participates in roller derby was one of the most popular stories recently on CNN.com.  Her derby name – Megabeth, a play on the heavy metal band Megadeth – reflects the amazing transformation that this mild-mannered woman undergoes when she laces up her skates and straps on her roller derby helmet.  Watching the video of Beth is amazing – she rocks, and has no qualms about throwing some elbows around in the roller derby rink.  She even broke another player’s nose.  For many women, roller derby is both liberating and exhilarating, and to see someone like Beth Hollis rocking the derby rink is inspiring. 

Also, don’t forget to check out the new Drew Barrymore movie starring Ellen Page (of Juno fame) – Whip It:

Triple Eight Sponsored Roller Derby Teams:

Gotham Girls Roller Derby

Long Island Roller Rebels

Garden State Roller Girls