SKATE A-Z
Do you want to know everything about skating? Then you've come to the right place! On Nijdam.com you will find everything about skating, skateboarding, stunt scooters, sledding, skating and much more. Whether you want to know which bearings should be in your skates or you wonder what a kickflip is; we will explain it all!
Being in 2022 there are many types of skating. Think roller skating, inline skating, aggressive skating (also called blading or stunt skating), stunt scootering, longboarding and skateboarding. The last one has even become an Olympic Sport.
There are also more types such as: off-road skating, downhill speed skating, figure skating, fitness skating, roller hockey, inline hockey, street hockey, inline basketball, roller soccer, roller derby and roller skiing.
Within stunt skating and skateboarding there are all kinds of subcategories: cruising, street style, downhill, parallel, big slalom, freestyle, bowl, ramp, hollywood ramp, high jump/high jump and long jump.
The terms are used differently in different parts of the world. In some countries, skating always means something on the ice, while other countries mean stunt skating and skateboarding. In some countries, such as in the Netherlands, skating is more like inline skating or it is also called ‘skeeleren’.
DROP-IN
What is a drop-in? A drop-in is a way to get off the halfpipe with your skateboard, you 'drop' your body into the halfpipe!
BARSPIN
What is a bar spin? A bar spin involves jumping your scooter in the air and turning your handlebars 360 degrees while still in the air. You can simply perform the trick on the ground or do it while riding a ramp or halfpipe. The bar spin is a fun trick for beginners and you can extend it to endless variations, such as the double bar spin or a bar spin rewind!
ICE HOCKEY STICK BLADE
What is an ice hockey stick blade? The ice hockey blade is the part of the ice hockey stick with which you hit the puck. There are different types of stick blades and you can easily replace them yourself when they are worn out.
A
A
the A is for skate wheels an indication of the hardness of the wheels e.g. 95A
AERIAL
an aerial is a trick or jump where you get off the ground
AGRESSIVE SKATING
also called stunt skating or blading, is stunting on skates on the street or skating rinks
AIR
if you grab or have 'air' you hang in the air with your skates or skateboard
ARTS
figure skating can be done on roller skates as well as inline skates, emphasis is on dance, music and expression. In addition, figure skating is of course also known from the ice; figure skating is an Olympic speed skating sport
B
BACKSIDE
backside is the back side of the deck of your skateboard: if you are regular, meaning you stand normally on your board then that is the side of your right foot
BACKSIDE 180
a backside 180 is a half turn back jump
BAIL
if you bail then you decide not to finish a trick
(BALL) BEARINGS
part of a skateboard wheel that uses small balls to allow the wheel to rotate on its axis
BASEPLATE
a baseplate is the part on which the hanger of a truck hangs
BLOCK BRAKE
a block brake is a brake that’s on the end of the right inline skate and has a block-like shape
BOARD
a board is the wooden or steel plank you stand on when you skate, this is sometimes called a deck
BONELESS
boneless is a trick where you grab your board and push off with one foot on the ground. You have endless variations of, for example, the boneless 180, boneless 360, boneless kickflip etc.
BOWL
A bowl is originally a round deflated pool in which you can skate. Nowadays they are also specially constructed in skate parks.
C
CANYON
a canyon in skating is the entry piece of a bowl or pipe.
CARVING
carving is making turns by leaning on your skateboard
CHIP
chipping happens when a piece of wood comes loose from the tail or nose of your skateboard deck. This happens when your skateboard is a bit older and the wood dries out
COMP
short for competition
CONCAVE
the concave is the bulging shape in the length of the skateboard deck. With a low concave the board has less curvature than with a high concave
COPING
the coping is the metal tube at the two ends of a halfpipe. So at the tops or at the edge of a job
CRUISE
cruising is riding skates, skateboards or longboards in surf-like style
CURBS
curbs are also known as (pavement) edges in the skateboarding world
D
DECK
a deck is the wooden or steel plank you stand on when you skate, this is sometimes called a board
DOWNHILL
downhill is riding down a mountain as quickly as possible with a skateboard or other rolling means of transport, for example with a mountain bike or on skis
DOWNHILLSPEEDSKATING
in downhill speedskating you descend at a high speed (up to 130 km/h!) on asphalt. Protection is of course mandatory and braking is done through a special technique
DRAG STOP
drag one leg behind you at 90 degrees to brake
DRIVE
a drive consists of two ramps with a middle section that you can jump over
DROP-IN
a drop-in is a way to get off the halfpipe with your skateboard, you 'drop' down!
E
ELBOW PADS
the protectors for your elbows
F
FAKIE
standing with your front foot on the nose of your skateboard (sort of riding backwards)
FALSE START STOP
put one leg in front of you at 90 degrees to brake (slow speed)
FITNESS SKATING
in fitness skating you skate to improve your fitness, often this is longer distances and you do this on special fitness skates with larger wheels and a comfortable shoe
FLAT(LAND)
doing tricks on flat terrain.
FLIP
with a flip you let your skateboard board rotate on its axis (flip), which can be done in different ways, for example with the kickflip or the heelflip
FOCUS
when your deck breaks into two or more pieces.
FRONTSIDE
the side you are looking at so your front.
FRONTSIDE 180
a frontside 180 is a half turn jump forward
FRONTSIDE SHOVE IT
skateboard vertically and horizontally in a jump
FUNBOX
a funbox is usually the highlight in a park; often a funbox platform with slanting sides and a flat top part with possibly rails
G
GOOFY (foot)
you are goofy when you stand with your right foot in front, so backwards
GRAB
you do a grab when you grab your deck during an air of ollie
GRAPHICS
the design at the bottom of your deck
GRIND
a gravel is sliding over something with one or two trucks, for example a pipe
GRIPTAPE
is the sandpaper-like surface that sits on your deck for grip
H
HALFPIPE
a halfpipe is a large tube cut in half in which you can skate, often found on the larger skating rinks
HAND PLANT
when you put your hand on the coping in a half or quarterpipe you do a hand plant, a kind of handstand
HANDRAIL
a handrail is a handrail
HANGER
part of the truck where the wheels are attached, the hanger is attached to the baseplate and it is attached to the deck
HEELFLIP
make skateboard horizontal in a jump
HIGHJUMP
high and long jump with skates or a board
HIP TRANSFER
two quarterpipes side by side at a 90 degree angle
HOCKEY STOP
two legs at 90 degrees simultaneously to slow down and brake, this term comes from the ice hockey world
HOLLYWOOD RAMP
bowl with a flat spacer
HUBBA
wide railing for skateboarders/skaters to grind on
I
INLINE BASKETBALL
basketball on skates
INLINE HOCKEY
hockey on inline skates with ice hockey sticks and a puck on an indoor track and in competition
K
KICKER
a kicker is a skate ramp without curves
KICKFLIP
jump where your board spins
KINGPIN
the screw holds the hanger and baseplate of your skateboard together.
KNEE PADS
protectors for your knees
L
LAUNCHER
bulging skate ramp you can launch yourself on
M
MINIRAMP
a skateboard track consisting of a half tube with a flat intermediate piece; also known as two quarter pipes facing each other
N
NOSE
the front of your skateboard deck
O
OFF-ROAD KATING
off-road skates often have 3 wheels and pneumatic tires, you usually use them on a mountain bike trail or other non-flat surface such as grass or sand
OLLIE
a jump with your skateboard by pushing off on your tail
P
PIVOTCUP
the rubber particle in the base plate that contains the pin
POLE STOP
holding onto a pole to brake (not recommended!)
POP SHUVE IT
turning skateboard vertically in a jump
POWERSLIDE
one leg behind at 90 degrees stop backward
PRO
a professional skater
PUMPING
a way of gaining speed on a miniramp, halfpipe or bowl/pool
PUSHING
pushing yourself forward with your foot while skateboarding
PUSH-STOP
on a push-stop, place one leg in front of you at 90 degrees to slow down and brake
Q
QUARTERPIPE
half of a halfpipe.
R
RAIL
metal tube you can grind on
RAMP
a ramp is a ramp you can skate down
REGULAR
you stand regular on your skateboard if you stand with your left leg in front and your right leg behind, if you stand the other way around you are ‘goofy’
RISER PADS
rise pads are rubber plates that you put between the baseplate and deck so that your deck is less likely to tear
ROADSIDESTOP
when you’re going for a roadside stop, you drive into the roadside to stop (not recommended!)
ROLLER DERBY
skating competition with scoring on roller skates on an indoor track (roller-rink). The sport was only for women for a long time and is a full contact sport
ROLLER HOCKEY
hockey on roller skates with a field hockey stick and ball
ROLLERSKIING (also: NORDIC SKATING)
a kind of cross-country skiing/Nordic walking on skates with ski poles. Is done on roller skis or Nordic skates
ROLLERSOCCER
football on skates
ROTARY STOP
In a spin stop, you rotate your body to slow down and brake, this can be done on skates and on skates or roller skates.
RUBBERS
are the rubber things in the truck that are attached to the kingpin that make steering much easier
S
SESSION
on a contest you skate in sessions of one and a half minutes or more or less
SHUVE IT
turning skateboard vertically
SKATEBOARD
nobody knows exactly what that is!
SLALOM
drive through gates (cones, cans) as quickly as possible with a skateboard or skates
SLAM
another word for a trap (fall)
SLICK
wax under your board for better slides
SLIDER BAR
a mostly metal and sometimes beveled edge on which the skateboarder can do tricks, such as slides.
SNAKERUN
a concrete or asphalt track in the shape of a snake, with the sides up. "Straight" snake runs also exist.
SPACER
a ring that is situated between the two ball bearings, in a skate wheel
SPINE
two quarter pipes in a row, with different height. Usually connected
SPINE
when two ramps are against each other and in the middle of the two ramps there is no platform to stand on but a "v-shape" that is the spine
STANCE
your stance indicates the way you stand on your board
STEPPING (skateboard)
stepping on a skateboard is just like stepping with a scooter, push off with one foot and stay on the board with the other foot and we know it of course as scootering on your stunt scooter or folding scooter
STOKED
being super happy after landing a trick or doing something fun
STREET HOCKEY
hockey on inline skates with ice hockey sticks and a ball, mostly outdoors and recreationally
STREETSKATEN
doing tricks on the street and/or using artificial or non-artificial street furniture
STREETSTYLE SKATING
skating (board of skates) on the street, fences, stairs etc.
T
TAIL
the back of the deck
TAILPAD and NOSEPAD or brake pad
wooden or plastic block that is sometimes attached to the bottom/back of a board.
TRANSITION
the curved portion of a ramp.
TRICKS
stunts while skating, skateboarding or scootering
TRUCK
the truck is an iron block with the wheels attached to the deck. A truck consists of: a hanger, baseplate, kingpin, rubbers, spacer and a lot of screws
TRUCKBOLTS
the screws just mentioned that secure the truck to your deck
T-STOP
turn one leg at 90 degrees and brake
TWEAK
changing direction with your board in one go
V
VERT
a ramp with the ends vertical
VERT SKATING
skating on a large halfpipe (vertical)
W
WALL
a very large quarter pipe
WALLRIDE
skate against a wall so skate vertically
WAX
grease you use when you grind
WHEEL
a wheel for a skateboard
WHEELIE
riding on one side of the skateboard
WHEELIEBOX
a wheeliebox is a box to do tricks
WRIST
PADS
wrist guards
0-9
180
one hundred eighty degrees turn
360
three hundred and sixty degree turn