Form of recreation, popular among youths, in which a person rides standing balanced on a small board mounted on wheels.
The skateboard first appeared in the early 1960s on paved areas along California beaches as a makeshift diversion for surfers when the ocean was flat. In the 1970s a faster, polyurethane wheel was developed. Eventually skateboard parks were built, providing a variety of slopes and banked surfaces for sudden turns and flamboyant stunts. The skateboarding craze contributed to the emergence of snowboarding as a winter youth sport.