GLOSSARY OF SKATEBOARDING TERMS

Air—riding off a ramp or jump and boosting into the air. Examples: He
shot out of the ramp and got huge air.

Bank Ramp—a ramp shaped like a triangle with a sloped surface

Coping—a round, raised lip, usually made out of pipe, that is attached
to the top edge of skateboard ramps and along the edges of bowls.

Gaps—spaces between two surfaces that skaters air or jump over. The
skater skates along one surface, launches over a gap and then lands on the
other side of the gap on the second surface.
Grind—riding or scraping along an edge, such as coping, a rail, curb or
bench, using the trucks of the skateboard instead of the wheels.
Grind Rails—rails made for skateboarders to grind on.
Half Pipe—a ramp shaped like the bottom half of a pipe that has been
cut in half horizontally.
Indy—while in the air, the skater reaches his/her back hand down and
grabs the middle of the board, between the feet, on the side of the board
where his/her toes are pointing.
Kick Flip—the skateboarder pops the board into the air, then flicks the
board with his/her front foot. The board spins underneath the skater
once, before he/she catches the board, deck side up with his/her feet and
lands wheels down continuing to skate. Note: the board doesn’t rotate underneath
the skater horizontally, like the blade of a helicopter, but spins
like a hotdog on one of those roller grill things at convenience stores.
Mini ramp—usually a small version of a half pipe. Mini ramps are usually
shorter than the rider and there is no vertical drop.
Nollie—the skateboarder slaps the nose of the skateboard against the
pavement and pops the board into the air keeping his/her feet on the
deck of the board while flying through the air. A nollie is an ollie, but the
skater gets his/her board into the air by using the nose of the skateboard
instead of using the tail.
Nollie Big Spin—the skateboarder nollies, shoving the skateboard with
his/her foot so that the board rotates 360 degrees, like the blade of a helicopter
underneath him/her and rotates his/her body 180 degrees backside
all at the same time. Because the rider has roated his/her body 180
degrees while in the air, when he/she lands, the back foot is now at the
nose of the board and the front foot is at the tail of the board.
Ollie—while riding along, the skateboarder pops the tail of the skateboard
against the ground, jumps up and slides his/her front foot forward
against the deck of the board. The skateboard is propelled into the air and
floats directly underneath the skater.
Rock to Fakie—the skateboarder pops the nose of the skateboard over
the coping, rocks onto the underside of the board for a split second, pops
the trucks back over the lip and rolls back down the ramp.
Tailslide—sliding along an edge, such as coping, a rail, curb or bench,
using the underside of the tail end of the board, instead of the wheels.
Trucks—the front and rear axle assemblies that are mounted to the
underside of the skateboard, connecting the wheels to the deck of the
board and allowing the rider to turn.
Vert Ramp—a giant half pipe ramp, usually at least 12 feet tall, with
steep vertical sides at the top. A vert ramp is kind of shaped like the
letter “U”.
50-50—the skateboarder grinds along an edge, such as coping, a rail,
curb or bench, with weight distributed equally on both the trucks of the
skateboard instead of the wheels.