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Dozens of people gathered behind D.C.’s Howard Theater on Tuesday afternoon, skating on a ramp, on obstacles or through nearby alleys.
As part of a two-day block party organized by the group , rookies participated in clinics while more experienced skateboarders had the chance to be a part of competitions.
Tuesday鈥檚 events started with a viewing party for the Paris Olympics which mark the second time skateboarding has been featured as an Olympic sport. It first appeared in the Olympics during the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Many attendees said they鈥檙e expecting skateboarding to become more popular
鈥淎t the end of the day, to have a little girl or boy see skateboarding around the world for the first time and give them their first spark in life, it鈥檚 a beautiful thing,鈥� said Jimmy Pelletier, founder of The DC Wheels skateboard team.
Meanwhile, Maryland skateboarder Matt Verdell said, 鈥淚t expands the sport. It gets it exposed to more people. You have a lot more communities that will probably embrace skateboarding now that probably wouldn鈥檛 before.鈥�
Tress Jacobs said that skateboarding 鈥渋s a sport. I鈥檓 really glad that it鈥檚 in the Olympics, because that鈥檚 what they deserve.鈥�
The is scheduled to continue Wednesday.
