BEIJING, Oct. 22 -- Skateboarding was once considered offensive, rowdy and uncivilized, a snub to old-fashioned people by China's bumptious youth. Now, however, the sport has its own skatepark in Shanghai, online communities and international competitions. Parents even want skateboarding lessons for their kids.

    City skateboard enthusiasts are getting ready for the 2007 Coca-Cola Shanghai Showdown on Saturday at SMP Jiangwan Skatepark, the world's biggest skating park, according to Guiness World Records. The annual extravaganza features international extreme sports celebrities and top domestic skaters and bikers.

    The event in Yangpu District will feature a live concert and a graffiti show - quite fitting since skateboarding is an urban sport that leads the way in art (at least street art), culture, music and fashion among the young generation.

    In the "Showdown," the world's top professionals in skateboarding, BMX bike riding and half-pipe inline skating will perform and compete. Japan's Yasutoko Brothers will again be the headliners. Other elite players include Greg Lutzka, Dayne Brummet and Dennis McCoy; skaters come from more than seven countries and regions.

    No Chinese athletes have yet made the world's A-list for international competition. But Chinese amateurs will stage a demonstration before the competition, as a warm-up.

    Skateboarding can be an extreme sport, its players surfing on the concrete, or surfing on dangerous surfaces. It is gaining popularity among city youths, and drawing more public attention.

    SMP Jiangwan Skatepark, recently certified as the world's largest, provides skateboard-training courses and hosts skateboard competitions and festivals. It has around 1,000 members, aged 12 to 25, and the number is rising.

    The Shanghai Extreme Sport Association also plans to introduce small skate parks in international enclaves, as part of its promotion of public sports.     

    Parents, who have always worried about the safety and the stereotype of skateboard "bad kids," are becoming more accepting. One couple even requested a training course for their five-year-old son, according to Bai Chenchao, an official of the Shanghai Extreme Sports Association.

    Instead of taking part in team drills, solitary skateboarders spend days trying the same trick over and over again, generally without success. Bai, an amateur skateboarder, sees a strong and persistent spirit in skateboarders. "You find them repeating a simple movement for hours until it is a success," he says.

    According to Dave Mckay, an American extreme sports athletic equipment exporter, there are thousands of skateboard parks across the United States. Any New Yorker whose window opens out onto a long stretch of open sidewalk can see street skaters showing off, he says.

    Today in Shanghai, it is not usual to see passers-by stopping to enjoy the practice and performances by teenage skateboarders in front of the Shanghai Concert Hall, at People's Square or Xuhui Park.

    Skateboarding is banned from virtually all public areas because of the danger posed by spills and collisions, especially with people, and because it's generally disruptive and can damage property - like shiny marble surfaces.

    But since skateboarding is relatively new in China, security guards haven't quite figured out how to deal with it. In most cases, skateboarders will just be kicked out.

    "It's not like in America, where you can spot street skaters easily everywhere," says Bai. "There are a lot of restrictions in China."

    However, the city's young people are undaunted.

    "Skateboarding in Shanghai is growing faster than any other region in Asia, and that has a lot to do with the SMP Skatepark and events like the Shanghai Showdown," says Jonathan Wu, manager of the SMP Jiangwan Skatepark.    

    The SMP Jiangwan Skatepark is a natural attraction for those who are tired of playing a cat-and-mouse game with security guards. Covering 12,000 square meters, the skatepark has a unique Vert Ramp, Mondo Bowl and huge half-pipe.

    The park opened in October 2005 and more and more skateboarders, BMX and inline riders are using it. "Growth will continue as awareness grows and more people begin to understand the healthy lifestyle of action sport," says Wu. "The great thing about skateboarding is that it will always progress and change as an industry, however, at its core it has always remained true to its roots."

    Four years ago, Leon Xu was inspired in his sophomore year by his New Zealand classmate in university. They trained every day on the university grounds. "At that time, skateboarding was not popular and there was no such skatepark in town," recalls Xu, now a 25-year-old white-collar worker. "I really enjoyed the freedom and passion skateboard gave me at that time."

    Xu gave up practice right after graduation mainly due to work pressure. "I don't have time to play skateboard now, my work is too busy."

    This is a common phenomenon among skateboard enthusiasts: If they can't be professional, they give up. So far no skateboard league has been established, though small amateur groups emerge here and there, but they never last long.

    Given the rise of the sport in the past five years, and the manufacture of quality boards and shoes in China, enthusiasts hope that the country will become a real skateboard power in a few years' time.

    And who knows? Maybe skateboarding will be recognized one of these days as an Olympic sport.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)