Skateboard slalom racing is very different from the acrobatic events commonly seen on TV. Racers compete against each other and the clock as they maneuver through a downhill course of pre-set gates or cones. Judging is unnecessary. As with ski or snowboard racing, viewers are able to understand and enjoy the sport with no introduction or confusion.

 

Slalom was one of skateboarding's original disciplines, taking obvious inspiration from slalom skiing. Virtually all major competitions in the 1960s and mid-70s featured a slalom event, including a famous show-down between Henry Hester and Tony Alva televised on ABC “Wide World of Sports” as part of the 1976 Carlsbad Hang Ten World Championships.

 

Slalom was prime fodder for network sports television as late as 1978, when CBS Sports Spectacular broadcast the FreeFormer World Championships in Akron, Ohio. But momentum in the late 70s shifted decisively to aggressive styles, and by the early 80s the U.S. slalom scene had mostly dissipated.

 

A remarkable international slalom renaissance began in 2000, and by now skateboard racing attracts a growing number of participants and spectators across a broader age range than any other skateboarding discipline. The average elite professional is 32, but top competitors range from early 20s to mid-40s.

 

Recent editions of the U.S. Nationals have been broadcast on the Fox network and profiled in various TV news and lifestyle programs, newspaper sports pages, and specialty skateboard magazines.