Skateboarding Between Subculture & The Olympics Academic Book Now In English
2020 Tokyo Olympics will debut skateboarding as an official event; but will the commercialism of the games change skateboarding culture and identity? Academic book Skateboarding Between Subculture and the Olympics explores the impact of Olympic inclusion through scientific essays from an array of international authors.
Skateboarding Between Subculture and the Olympics by Veith Kilberth and Jürgen Schwier
New Academic Book Examines Consequences of Skateboarding’s Olympics Debut
Now available in an English-language edition, ‘Skateboarding Between Subculture and the Olympics’ explores the debate between the deeper meaning of skateboarding and how its addition to the Olympics will affect the sport from here on. Compiled by former pro skateboarder Veith Kilberth (and one time SOURCE front cover star) together with Sports Sciences professor Jürgen Schwier, the book itself is a collection of essays by internationally renowned authors exploring sport and sub culture.
The Olympics need skateboarding more than skateboarding needs the Olympics!’ Such is the sentiment within entrenched parts of skateboarding’s core culture as the sport prepares to make its debut as an official Olympic discipline at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Is skateboarding’s tight-knit subculture in danger of losing its very identity?
For the first time, the tense relationship between skateboard culture and the Olympic Games is examined in academic book format: Skateboarding Between Subculture and the Olympics: A Youth Culture under Pressure from Commercialization and Sportification provides an analytical framework for understanding the fundamental conflict between skateboarding’s core ethos and the tenets of institutionalised sports.
Skateboarding Between Subculture and the Olympics by Veith Kilberth and Jürgen Schwier
Skateboarding Between Subculture and the Olympics features academic essays from eleven acclaimed international authors from the fields of architecture, philosophy, sociology, sports sciences and gender studies. These writers provide a unique perspective on the manifold manifestations of skateboarding previously ignored by academic discourse, including:
- Jürgen Schwier outlines the history of skateboarding’s long resistance against commercialisation and sportification
- Veith Kilberth traces implications for the design of public skateparks and identifies DIY-construction of unsanctioned skate spots as a countermovement
- Iain Borden examines skateparks constructing communities and building lives
- Becky Beal and Kristin Ebeling tackle the issue of gender inclusion in skateboarding
- Antoine Cantin-Brault shows skateboarding as a last bastion of existentialist freedom.
Edited by sports scientists Veith Kilberth and Jürgen Schwier, the 212-page, English-language volume will be published on August 27, 2019, by transcript independent publishers in print paperback and PDF eBook format at €39.99 recommended retail price.
Bibliographical Information
Veith Kilberth / Jürgen Schwier (eds.), Skateboarding Between Subculture and the Olympics: A Youth Culture under Pressure from Commercialization and Sportification, transcript Publishers, 212 pages, paperback, ISBN: 978-3-8376-4765-5.
For more information and to download the book cover and flyer, visit the official transcript publisher’s homepage. For more information, interview or photo requests contact Dirk Vogel at [email protected].
About the Editors
Veith Kilberth, born 1976, blends his Sports Sciences diploma from the University of Cologne with experience as a former professional skateboarder. Currently a doctoral candidate at the Europa University Flensburg, he plans and realizes skate park projects as a partner in agency Landskate. He specializes in the fields of youth marketing, trend sports, skateboarding and skateparks.
Jürgen Schwier (PhD), born 1959, is a Professor for Kinesiology as well as Vice President for Studies and Teaching at Europa University Flensburg. From 1998 to 2009, he served as Professor for the socio-scientific fundamentals of sports at Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen. His research focus includes sports communications, physical education at schools, as well as the development of trend sports.
