The results of the 2020 edition of the Survey of Social Skateboarding Projects Worldwide by Skateistan and Pushing Boarders are now published!
In 2020 we received answers from 117 skateboarding projects working in 61 countries worldwide – who reach a combined 21,000 participants each week.
The purpose of this annual survey (running since 2018) is to better understand and document the aims, impact and activities of the social skateboarding world.
This year’s report is special, however, because it provides a snapshot into how COVID-19 has impacted the social skateboarding sector. Unsurprisingly, 97% of projects surveyed were negatively affected by the pandemic. However many noted positive effects as well, with nearly one quarter of projects expanding their scope to support the basic needs of their participants.
Skateboarding has long been an alternative to more structured team sports or other after-school activities. With COVID-19 affecting organized sports, however, we are seeing a massive growth in skateboarding’s popularity worldwide, due to the ability for people to socially distance while skating – needing only some flat ground and a skateboard.
These 2020 survey results show many different examples of how skateboarding can be leveraged to create positive change for individuals and their communities.
Overview of Key Results:
Participants:
- The 117 projects combined work with approximately 21,000 participants weekly (up from 18,300 participants in the 2019 survey)
- 50% of these participants are girls!
- 42% of projects in 2020 work with the LGBTQI community (up from 27% in 2019)
Staff diversity:
- 67% of the projects have at least one woman as staff (increase from 40% in 2019).
- 42% of projects have at least one person of color in their staff
- 31% of projects have at least on LGBTQ+ person staffed
- 12% of projects have at least one person with a disability on staff
We also gathered data for the first time in 2020 on what the staff and volunteer make-up is, which demonstrates that the vast majority (80%) of people involved in social skateboarding projects are volunteers (see chart below).
Budget:
In 2020 there was also a considerable decrease in the total combined budget for social skateboarding projects, from $9.9m in 2019 to $6.7m in 2020. This could be partly due to fewer projects responding to the 2020 survey (117 projects down from 124 in 2019), as well as fundraising challenges related to COVID-19.
How were projects affected by COVID-19?
Only 3% of projects said that they were not affected by the pandemic. The other projects were affected in the following ways:
How did projects adapt?
Many social skateboarding projects developed COVID-19 safety measures for programs, shifted to online programming, revised their income model, or expanded support for basic needs (i.e. food security).
On a brighter note, some responders also shared some positive effects from the COVID-19 restrictions such as noting that more and more people were interested in skateboarding, or projects having more time to work on organizational and curriculum development, quick adapting to online programs and advocacy as well as distribution of a greater number of skateboards to children in need.
A massive THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to fill out the 2020 survey. These survey results will help to shape how the Goodpush Alliance serves and supports the social skateboarding community worldwide in 2021 and beyond.