Freestyle Scootering described

Freestyle scootering or sports riding on trick scooters

What kind of sport is it, what tricks can be done on a scooter and which scooter is suitable for this?

Performing tricks on a scooter has grown from a teenage hobby into a serious sport. This discipline received a name - "Freestyle scootering", or just scootering. This sport is classified as extreme, as it involves performing a large number of tricks and stunts, including jumping. A person involved in extreme scootering is called a rider or scooter rider. In this article we will tell you more about the types and features of this sport, and most importantly, about how to choose a scooter model suitable for freestyle scootering.

How freestyle scootering started

Kick scootering is a fairly young sport that originated in the early 2000s in America. The first thrill-seekers learned to perform tricks on light children's models of scooters and posted their experiments on the net. Soon stunt videos became popular and the number of riders around the world began to grow.

In 2010, scootering received the status of a professional sports discipline, and in 2011, ISA, the International Scooter Association, appeared. Today, scooter manufacturers produce special stunt models that are resistant to mechanical stress and have other design features.

Although stunt scooter riding is not an Olympic sport, there are international competitions in this discipline. Professional athletes actively take part in competitions and various shows. One of them is the World Scooter Championship, which has been held annually by the ISA association since 2011. In Europe, competitions are held in Denmark in autumn. Another significant festival for riders is X-Games. This sporting event takes place annually and is divided into two seasons: winter (Colorado, USA) and summer games (Texas, USA).

Various types of scootering disciplines

Riding on stunt scooters is divided into several sports areas, each of which is characterized by its own riding style and scooter types. Let's look at each of them in more detail

1. Park (from English park). This is riding in skate parks, where special areas are equipped with various objects for performing tricks.

2. Flat, flatland. This refers to the execution of elements on a flat surface. As a rule, such tricks are based on balance: these are all kinds of spins, stands on one wheel, jumps. Many elements are borrowed from BMX.

3. Big air. Not so common, but spectacular discipline, in which the rider performs a trick (or several) in a jump from a large springboard. After preliminary acceleration, the athlete flies 5-15 meters. Having performed a combination of tricks, he should also land "smoothly".

4. Street. It is a technique of riding on the streets, where the rider uses elements of the urban environment as obstacles: stairs, railings, ramps, curbs, walls, etc.

5. Dirt, or dirt jumping. Here, places with natural soil are used as a platform for riding, from which all kinds of obstacles and springboards are built. For off-road riding, special models of scooters with large offroad wheels are needed, ordinary city models are not suitable here: small and narrow wheels will simply get stuck.

It is not necessary to limit yourself to only one type of scootering: many riders master several styles. Each of these directions gives a special experience and allows the rider to improve certain techniques.

What tricks can you do on a scooter?

Stunts on a kick scooter look very impressive - from the side it seems that the rider overcomes the laws of gravity and does the impossible! If you classify scooter stunts according to the degree of difficulty, you can divide them into three groups: easy to do, medium level stunts and difficult ones. Let's talk about each category.

Easy scooter tricks:

● Hop is a jump on a scooter without any turns. Both wheels should be off the ground.

● X-up - jump with a handlebar rotation 180 degrees.

● Fakie - riding forward backwards. The skills of moving in reverse on a scooter help in the future to master a 180-degree jump turn and other tricks.

● Manual - ride on the rear wheel. It looks easy from the outside, but requires training to learn how to balance and control the behavior of the scooter (if you press harder than necessary, the wheel moves forward too quickly).

● Barspin - rotating the handlebar 360 degrees while jumping. This simple trick looks spectacular in combination with others. When performing, the main thing is to decide in advance which hand will turn and which will catch the handlebar.

Easy tricks allow the novice rider to feel confident in the control of the scooter and prepare for the performance of maneuvers of medium difficulty:

● Hop 180 and Hop 360 - 180 or 360 degree jump turn. A more difficult version of the trick is a jump with a turn over an obstacle. Another variation is to make this element by removing your feet from the deck in the air.

● Grab - the rider grabs the deck of the scooter with his hand during the jump and holds it for as long as possible.

● TailWhip - when jumping, the athlete turns the deck around the steering wheel.

● WallRide - Ride on a wall or other incline.

● Boneless - while jumping, the rider takes one foot off the deck and pushes off the horizontal surface.

Difficult scooter stunts:

● Tail Tap - A stunt in which the rider jumps onto an obstacle (such as a skatepark quarter), landing with the rear wheel, and then comes back. Easily obtained after learning how to jump on the back wheel on the ground.

● Wrap Around - Wrap your foot around the handlebars while riding at high speed.

● Superman - a spectacular trick in which the rider takes his legs back while jumping, and the scooter lowers down and leans forward. The goal is to stretch the whole body in one line and come back.

● Backflip, Frontflip. This trick is within the power of the most professional riders.

This is just a small list of tricks - in fact, there are many more. But, as you can see from the names, all elements can be divided into grabs (grabbing your board with your hand in the air), flips (all kinds of rotations of the board in different directions), manuals (balance tricks), slides (sliding on pegs (Hungarian - Roller Pegek) or a decks).

What is the hardest scooter trick?

Ever since the advent of scootering, talented riders have been raising the bar on trick difficulty, surprising audiences with amazing riding skills.

One of the most technically difficult elements is the “900” trick - a 2.5-turn twist in a jump. In the summer of 1999, American Tony Hawk performed it on a skateboard. And in 2004, this element was repeated on a stunt scooter.

This and many other elements came to scootering from skateboarding, but over time, freestyle scootering is becoming more and more an independent discipline. It has its own champions and celebrities that beginners are guided by.

Extreme sportsman Jarret Reed got into the Guinness Book of Records at the age of 19 after he made a backflip on a scooter. This happened in 2001. And another famous rider, Terry Price, was the first to do a double backflip on a scooter.

Among the stars of extreme sports is the Australian Ryan Williams, who surprised the world by performing a reverse front flip on a scooter at the age of fifteen. Later, he managed to do a double front flip, and a while later, a trick called "Stupid Willie." This name was given to a double flip, also twisted 360 degrees. There is something to strive for!

At what age can you ride a stunt scooter

Stunt scooters are finding more and more fans among children and teenagers. This is a very young sport - often the main prizes in competitions go to riders 14-16 years old. A young rider from the UK, Charley Dyson, for example, became a professional at the age of 11. He started riding a scooter in the park at the age of seven.

The earlier a child starts training, the more chances he has to succeed in performing tricks. Many well-known brands offer models of stunt scooters that are suitable for riders from four-year-old.

From this age, you can begin to master this type of vehicle and try to perform simple maneuvers. The main thing is to purchase protection for the elbows and knees, as well as a helmet. Children's models of stunt scooters are equipped with such necessary elements as a straight non-foldable handlebar, solid deck, strong fork, small and hard wheels.

Prior to this, already from the age of three or even two, a child can master the three-wheeled model of a children's scooter.

Check out our wide selection of stunt scooters HERE. We can always offer something at great prices!