Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.
Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue with 11.08 million active skateboarders in the world. Also known as the deck, this is the infamous wooden platform on which trucks are mounted to the bottom and griptape is applied to the top. The nose and tail of the board are, typically, concaved and raised slightly to provide a more functional kicktail for the rider. Industry standard boards typically consist of 7 or 9 plies of hard maple wood laminated together and pressed into whatever concavous shape makes skateboarders happy. Most technical decks are in the range of 7.25 to 8.5 inches wide and between 29" and 33" inches long (longboards and the increasingly popular 'old school' board shapes vary much greater in width and length). Being made of wood and stomped on ruthlessly by aggressive human beings, decks do break frequently. Despite this, wood is continully used due to it's comfortable, responsive nature. We do kill a lot of trees, but it's for a good cause...
