Skatepark lingo
AGGRESIVE | AG-RESS-SIVE
“Look at all those aggressive roller skaters.”
A term used to describe roller skating in skate parks. As alternatives, you can use Vertical Roller Skater or Park Skater to the same end.
Bowl | bowl
“Look at how they dropped into that bowl”
A skating obstacle that has no open ends creating a bowl type structure. Skate bowls are constructed with any number of materials and varying shapes, sizes, and transition angles.
Shred | shred
“One does not simply shred the gnar”
A term to describe what we do in the skatepark! Shred the gnar specifically refers to skating the park to the maximum of your ability. Skating with reckless abandon and giving everything 110%!
Bail | bail
“Epic bail!”
Failure to land or ‘make’ a trick, especially when someone chooses to fall rather than commit to sticking the landing.
Gnarly | gnarl·y
“That was a gnarly trick.”
A difficult, dangerous, or challenging maneuver
Newb | newb
“I’m a newb, show me"
A term to describe a newcomer/newbie. Also applicable, noob.
Chapter | chap·ter
“Our Chapter meets on the first Friday of every month.”
A crew of quad skaters set up to spread the stoke and nourish their local skate community!
Meet-up | meet·up
“CIB Meet-up this weekend!”
An informal meeting or gathering. Our Chapters host meet-ups as a way to gather skaters from local and surrounding areas to skate together.
Sketchy | sketch·y
“That landing looked sketchy.”
A description for when a trick is barely landed or the landing was a little rough. It can also function as a descriptor for the feeling of the obstacle, surface, or transition.
Snake | snake
“They snaked my turn.”
Snaking is the act of ‘cutting in line’ at the skatepark. Try not to be the snake in the park; it’s not a good thing.
Sick | sick
“Sick lines.”
A way of emphasizing how awesome you think someone’s skating style or tricks are!
Trick | trick
“Tricks for days!”
A skillful act performed for entertainment or amusement. ‘Trick’ is the overarching umbrella name that houses all movements performed on the coping, air, and even flat ground on skates.
Session | ses·sion
"Sick skating sesh.”
Often used when devoting time to a particular activity, in this instance, we use to describe time dedicated to skating. Also abbreviated to sesh.
Stance | stance
“That skater is shredding in side stance!”
How someone skates. There are multiple stances; most commonly, you see ‘prone’ however, the origins of this sport often use side stance.
Transition | tran·si·tion
“Did you see that sick 180 transitions.”
The act of rotating/turning or the curved section of a ramp or bowl.