Research Paper On Skateboard

My most courageous moment that I can recall occurred when I used to skateboard. There was a skate park on Main Street in Sultan which had several obstacles that allowed skateboarders to perform a variety of tricks. There were three main types of tricks you could do at the local skate park; The Drop, The Grind, and The Jump. In The Drop, riders climb to the top of a steep ramp then ride down, quickly picking up speed. In The Grind, you would gain enough speed and balance on a steel beam as you skid across it quickly. The final and most difficult trick was The Jump; during The Jump riders accelerate rapidly down a ramp and then jump off a ramp and into the air.

After several weeks I had mastered all but one of the tricks; The Drop.

Most of them knew of my leg injury and my devastating wipeout. They began to pressure me to perform the trick and again and taking bets on whether or not I can land it or not. I climbed the ramp feeling the gaze of a thousand eyes on my back and broke out in a cold sweat. At a snail's pace I put the edge of my new skateboard on the steel rim and turned around to stare down the ramp. As I gazed down the ramp it appeared massive and daunting. My stomach began to feel sick and I felt paralyzed with nerve-racking fear. I just sat there and froze for a couple moments. “Am I going to do this?” I thought to myself. I took one last glance around at all the bystanders and one long intent look down the ramp and slowly put pressure on the front of my board and dived down. I felt the wind rush through my hair as I crouched down on my skateboard and streaked down the ramp. My stomach lurched violently upwards as I hit the steepest part of The Drop and reflexively closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened my eyes again a moment later, I realized that I had made it all the way down the ramp and had picked up so much momentum that I was about to hit the wall next to the ramp! Keeping my wits about me I turned quickly manipulating the wheels of my board and then I slowed gently to a stop. I looked around to see the bystanders were cheering and giving me thumbs up’s. My emotions