Tokyo 2020: Hong Kong’s skateboarding scene hesitantly backs Olympic Games integration

The counterculture pastime will make its debut at the Olympics in Tokyo along with four other sports

Local skaters say they have hesitations about the sport’s inclusion, but ultimately think it is a good thing

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Warren Stuart, Hong Kong’s skateboarding “godfather” – a title he accepts reluctantly – said he is excited to see skateboarding make its debut at Tokyo 2020. Photos: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 12:00pm, 2 Jun 2021Updated: 9:12pm, 2 Jun 2021

This summer, one of the world’s most famous counterculture sports will make its debut in one of the most traditional sporting competitions.

Two skateboarding events – park and street courses for men and women – will debut along with four other new sports at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Skateboarding, which dates back to the 1940s in the US using crate scooters, has long been associated with modern society’s counterculture as its identity has roots in alternative lifestyle choices, from fashion and music to television and even political ideologies.

Hong Kong’s skateboarding “godfather”, Warren Stuart, who first hopped on a board while attending school as a teenager in the UK, has since relocated back to his home city and built an impressive resume of achievements.

Stuart, 52, said skateboarding’s Olympic inclusion is a debate that encompasses Tony Hawk, one of the modern pioneers of skateboarding who helped the sport gain mainstream appeal. Hawk famously said to CNN in 2016 that the Olympics need skateboarding more than skateboarding needs the Olympics, and the goal for the International Olympic Committee is to bring about a “cool factor” to the Games.

Warren Stuart said skateboarding’s inclusion in Tokyo 2020 will ultimately be a good thing for the sport.