Relation to activity

• Activity is primary

• At skate competitions you’ll find many of the skaters skating rather than watching, skate areas are set up for non-competitors.

• “Do it for the love” – a phrase often used when a skater has not been able to accomplish a trick during the official competition and is encouraged to keep trying. Skaters encourage one another and continually raise the bar on what is possible as they try new things.

• Passivity and being an observer is replaced by a choice to watch or to participate, and it is easy to get close to the action

• Activity is also generative in that it creates a community and culture

Orientation to process/outcome

• Balance of present and future

• Process is outcome

• Winning is nice, but it isn’t what is most important. Skating, expanding what you are able to do, and developing your style are most important.

• Skaters who consistently win competitions quit competing and often begin doing other things that build the community.

• Skaters are admired for trying new things and it is taken for granted that trying new things means failing/falling. Coming to love falling is part of what it means to learn to skate.

• Skate videos often show people falling – even though they are edited to show mostly completed tricks

• There are whole videos of people falling – called “bailing” videos

• Knowing how to bail is important. Bailing becomes fun.

Relation to self/other

• Individuality surrounded by community

• The presence of others is helpful

• Skate competitions often take the form of “jams” – everyone is skating at the same time and doing whatever tricks they choose.

• Skaters rejoice when another skater succeeds at a difficult trick – even when it means that they have just been beaten. Succeeding at a trick expands the possibilities for the community of skaters.

• There is no one metric for judging skating. Individual style is important, but there is no dominant style.

• Performing for oneself is primary. Performing for the audience is not the main point.

Relation to context

Claiming & reclaiming

• Urban built environment is reclaimed as a playground