World Skate leaders promise improvements for skateboarding along the road to Paris 2024

Rolling forward from skateboarding’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, World Skate president Sabatino Aracu and colleagues unveil their future vision, intended improvements and a new qualification system for Paris 2024.

“In Tokyo, we were on the main stage – we showed the world what skateboarding is and this fills us with joy because we are now stronger,” Aracu tells media, during a video conference call on Thursday. “Now, everyone is looking at us and I’m pleased to see that our other disciplines are all supporting skateboarding.”

Gary Ream, the chairman of World Skate skateboarding, emphasized the magnitude and impact of the youth-oriented, lifestyle sport’s Olympic debut in Tokyo, addressing approximately 100 members of the media and other stakeholders on the call.

“Because of our success in Tokyo and what the IOC and Paris now know for sure – the relevance that skateboarding has around the world, was somewhat a historical moment for the International Olympic Committee,” Ream said.

“Now it’s time for us to be more inclusive, more transparent in our journey to Paris knowing that all eyes are on us, the elevation of this has been raised, they now know that skateboarding is unique and different, and Paris is looking forward to us taking it to the next level,” he added.

The revised qualification system for skaters to punch their ticket to Paris 2024 will be determined through results from a new World Skateboarding Pro Tour, showcasing the best of the sport in city centers of iconic international destinations. The plan is to stage events in three or more cities per season, separately for both the street and park disciplines, beginning in June 2022. The World Skateboarding rankings will also be considered.

“We are organizing a high-level tour and our Olympic qualification will probably start next June and we are now complying with what Thomas Bach said – we have to look towards the future of the sport, which is young, urban and sustainable,” Aracu said.

“We will introduce a big change and skateboarding is a young sport - we have to share ideas, proposals, we need professional judges and we cannot make mistakes in the future.

“I promise we will have the most beautiful tour and also as compared to other federations organizing extraordinary events – we will be as least as good as they are. We will be visible and we will be the protagonists,” said the World Skate leader.

World Skate skateboarding manager Luca Basilico provided additional details about the new tour in the works and how it will ultimately benefit and enhance the athlete experience, especially for those aspiring towards Paris 2024.

“It will be truly global – we’re looking to have events spread out on all of the continents,” Basilico said. “We’re aiming to get straight into the heart of the main global cities, making it visible without compromises. It will be produced by either World Skate or World Skate partners, so we are open to working with new and old partners.

“We realize, no matter how beautiful events are, even the big ones across the globe, is that what skaters expect is to have predictable experience from the many sides from communication to the competition system,” Basilico said. “We are working to create this global tour and have the same high quality standard at every stop.”

November Congress and new World Skate projects

World Skate and members of its 135 national federations will convene at the next Congress in Rome, on November 27, as new statutes, elections, disciplines and further plans for Paris 2024 will be among business on the agenda.

“There will be a new approach and we will present how we will react over the next few months and on the road to Paris,” said Aracu, who has served as president of World Skate since 2005, formerly the International Federation of Roller Sports.

Aracu believes that the sport’s newfound Olympic status and continuing growth must lead to the construction of additional, better designed, and higher-level skate parks in major international cities around the world. The Italian president of World Skate referred specifically to Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney.

Another vision of the World Skate president is the establishment of skateboarding schools that will create new opportunities for skateboard teachers, mentoring and teaching school children, and further developing the sport on multiple levels.

Aracu said creating opportunities for teachers of the sport will be a “huge investment” in skateboarding. “We will promote our sport and also give opportunities for young people to work and earn their living this way,” he said.

Aracu said his door is open and he looks forward to helping and cooperating with World Skate’s respective national federations to make the ambitious project a reality.

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