Fra presentasjon til prestasjon? Sportifisering av skateboard i Norge

From self-expression to competition? The sportification of Norwegian skateboarding
Skateboarding has gained increasing popularity in Norway and Northern Europe. With increasing popularity, the traditions and identities traditionally associated with skateboarding are challenged. In this article, we utilize Guttmann’s seven characteristics of modern sport to discuss the ongoing sportification process of skateboarding. Empirically, the article builds on the inclusion of skateboarding in the Olympic program for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, and explores how this event has caused increased bureaucratization of skateboarding in Norway. Methodologically, the paper is based on a qualitative content analysis of 25 texts, strategically chosen to examine the development of skateboarding in Norway since the 1970s. The analysis demonstrates how skateboarding has gone from being an alternative youth culture, to becoming an illegal activity (1978-1989), to being subjected to large commercialized events such as the X-Games and the Olympics. Furthermore, we illustrate how the inclusion of skateboarding in the Olympics has brought substantial changes for Norwegian skateboarding, including new organizational models through the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF), and the establishment of Norway’s first national skateboarding team. Lastly, the article points to how the sportification of skateboarding creates a divide between skateboarders, between those who accept the sportification processes and those who reject it.