Skateboarding is not the younger brother anymore
While the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) play-offs remain the highlights of American sports during this time of the year, pro-skateboarding is slowly and steadily is stealing some of the
spotlight.
It seems that skateboarding has had enough of playing the role of a younger brother and is looking to get recognition as one of the major sports in America. The recent news of big money on offer in the Street League Skateboarding and Maloof Money Cup is
a clear indication of just how much the sport has grown and spread.
Just a couple of months ago, Street League Skateboarding’s founder and a 20-year professional skateboarder, Rob Dyrdek, announced the prize purse of the event to be US$1.6 million this year. There was an addition of a winner-take-all championship in Newark,
New Jersey, on August 28, 2011, which would offer a prize of US$200,000 to the skateboarder, who manages to prevail on that day. Winners of first three contests will take home a prize cheque of US$150,000.
According to Dyrdek, the prize purse reflects the growth of the sport. He added, “It's more a clear indication of the power of what street skating is. It's the premier athletic alternative to organized sports. If you don't fit into that team mold, like most
kids, they become skateboarders. That's why it has so much potential and future growth.”
Maloof Money Cup went one step ahead of Dyrdek’s Street League Skateboarding event and announced that the prize purse this year would possibly exceed US$2 million for its four events. However, it does not end here.
Joe Maloof, one of the brothers who own the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, made an announcement last year that he will be rewarding a US$1 million bonus to the skater, who manages to clinch victory in four consecutive Maloof Cup contests.
Though money is just one indication of how far the sport has grown, Dyrdek further elaborated on skateboarding’s growth in America today. According to him, street skateboarding makes up 80 percent of action sports. While there are nearly 15 million participants
in action sports, 10 million of them happen to be street-skaters. As the sport has such a strong market due to its popularity, it never had to rely on some mainstream contest to grab a major chunk of the spotlight.
The Street League Skateboarding will be kicking off with its first contest in Seattle on May 7-8, 2011. The second stop will be in Kansas City from June 11-12, 2011, while the third stop will be in Glendale, Arizona, on July 16-17, 2011. Dyrdek has decided
to tighten the exclusivity rules so the skaters will only be able to compete in Street League and at the X Games.
However, an exception is being made in the case of one of the Street League skater, Chris Cole. Cole has won three Maloof contests consecutively and is well set to take his fourth win to get his hands on the coveted US$1 million bonus. However, due to the
exclusivity rules, it was not clear whether he’ll be allowed to enter the Maloof Money Cup, which runs from June 4-5, 2011 in New York. In order to let him take a shot at the bonus, the owner of Street League has allowed Cole to participate in the upcoming
contest.
“We're not going to stop Chris Cole from getting a million dollars, and then he's right back in Street League, and all the other skaters are for it,” Dyrdek said.
With so much money on offer, skateboarding is all set to become a class of its’ own. While the sport may not enjoy as many fans as that of NBA, NHL and MLB at this time, judging from the pace at which it is growing, it seems only a matter of time before
it manages to join their ranks.
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