What is a Skate Ramp?

What is a skate ramp? It seems obvious enough. It's a ramp skate boarders use to perform tricks. But what's interesting is that there are now several dozen models of skate ramp—all of which have evolved since the inception of skate parks in the 1970s.

Before the mid-1970s, no one really knew what skate boarding was. It wasn't until the mid-1970s, when several entrepreneurs starting building skate parks that people become relatively aware of skate boarding. Initially, skate park owners created minimalistic models and were unsure of what boarders wanted in a park. As the sport grew in popularity and as boarders became more proficient in their craft, they demanded better facilities with more challenging obstacles, including an improved skate ramp.

Skate boarding has never really been considered a “legitimate sport” for whatever reason, even though similar, but more expensive sports, such as snowboarding, gained almost instant notoriety after inception. It wasn't until the 1990s when it become somewhat accepted; and this accelerated the pace of ramp-development.

To name only a few ramps, there are now half-pipes, quarter-pipes, full-pipes, banked ramps, vert ramps, and pyramid ramps at major skate parks.

One of the most popular ramps today is the “vert” ramp, which is noted for its steep transition between horizontal and vertical planes. This makes for a very challenging skate ramp, regardless of a boarder's skill level.

Another popular model of skate ramp is the quarter-pipe, which is considerably easier to use for tricks than a vert ramp, half-pipe, or full-pipe. The quarter-pipe model has that namesake because it appears to be one quarter of a pipe. Most skaters will build momentum, skate up a quarter-pipe, perform a trick at the top, and then skate back to the bottom.