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Skateboarding Glossary

Types of Skateboarding

Street skating: skating on streets, curbs, benches, handrails and other elements of urban and suburban landscapes.

Half pipe: a U-shaped ramp of any size, usually with a flat section in the middle.

Vert ramp: a half-pipe, usually at least 8 feet tall, with steep sides that are perfectly vertical near the top.

Vert skating: skating on ramps and other vertical structures specifically designed for skating.

Skateboard Glossary

Deck: the flat standing surface of a skateboard, usually laminated maple.

Grip tape: sandpaper affixed to the top of the deck with adhesive, used to increase the friction between the deck and the skater's feet.

Nose: the front of the skateboard, from the front truck bolts to the end.

Rail: the edge of the skateboard, also, plastic strips attached to the board's underside.

Tail: the rear of the skateboard, from the back truck bolts to the end.

Trucks: the front and rear axle assemblies that connect the wheels to the deck and provide the turning capabilities for the board.

Wheels: usually made of polyurethane and sized between 39 and 66 millimeters in diameter; their hardness is measured by durometer, a number ranging from 0 to 100—soft wheels have a durometer of about 85, hard wheels have a durometer of 97 or higher.

Wheelbase: the distance between the front and back wheels, measured between the two sets of innermost truck holes.

Skateboarding Glossary

Air: riding with all four wheels off the ground; short for aerial.

Backside: when a trick or turn is executed with the skater's back facing the ramp or obstacle.

Caballerial: a 360-degree turn performed on a ramp while riding fakie (backwards), named after skater Steve Caballero.

Carve: to skate in a long, curving arc.

Fakie: skating backwards—the skater is standing in his or her normal stance, but the board is moving backward (not to be confused with "switch stance")

Frontside: when a trick or turn is executed with the front of the skater's body facing the ramp or obstacle.

Goofyfoot: riding with the right foot forward, the opposite of "regular foot".

Grind: scraping one or both axles on a curb, railing, or other surface, such as:

• Crooked grind: grinding on only the front truck while sliding.
• 50-50 grind: grinding on both trucks equally.
• Nosegrind: grinding on only the front truck.
• 5-0 grind: grinding on only the back truck.

kick flip: a variation on the ollie in which the skater kicks the board into a spin before landing back on it.

McTwist: a 540-degree turn performed on a ramp, named after Mike McGill.

Mongo-foot: a style of pushing where the back foot is kept on the board and pushing is done with the front foot.

Nollie: an ollie performed by tapping the nose of the board instead of the tail.

Noseslide: sliding the underside of the nose end of a board on a ledge or lip.

Ollie: a jump performed by tapping the tail of the board on the ground; the basis of most skating tricks.

Railslide: a trick in which the skater slides the underside of the deck along an object, such as a curb or handrail.

Regular foot: riding with the left foot forward, the opposite of "goofyfoot".

Shove-it: a trick performed by spinning the board 180 degrees beneath the feet while travelling forward.

Switch stance: riding the board with the opposite footing than usual, i.e., "goofyfoot" instead of "regular foot".

Tailslide: sliding the underside of the tail end of a board on a ledge or lip.