Skatestopper
Skatestopper is a skate-deterrent device placed on urban terrain features such as benches and hand rails to discourage skating on the surfaces where they have been installed. The name Skatestopper is a registered trademark of Intellicept of El Cajon, California,[1] but in some skateboarding circles it has become a genericized term referring to any anti-skate device.[2]
The aim of skatestoppers is to stop skaters from practicing grinds on urban features such as curbs, benches, and ledges, which can damage those structures.
Criticism
Skatestoppers have been described as a mantrap by some skateboarders. Due to their nature, if a skater were unaware of their presence, they could run the risk of greater injury as these devices are designed to break the skater's slide, thus resulting in a probable, unexpected fall. However, these devices are intended to be installed along with notices warning skaters of the potential hazard.
Some skaters have viewed skatestoppers as a violation of their basic freedom to exercise their bodies, and therefore an entrenchment on basic human rights. More hardcore skaters have viewed skatestoppers as just another obstacle to be overcome and the presence of skatestoppers actually encourages them to stay in the location longer.[3]
See also
References
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- ↑ "Apply for a Trademark. Search a Trademark". trademarkia.com. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ↑ "Inclusive Cities Observatory, Skateboarding in Tacoma: Youth Reclaim Public Space through Dialogue and Cooperative Planning" (PDF). UCLG Committee on Social, Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights. Retrieved 19 April 2016. page 4: "...removal of skate stoppers on a popular ledge..." ("skate stoppers" written without capitals and as two words)
- ↑ Mersom, Daryl (2015-10-07). "Bristol skateboarders take on 'skatestopper' defensive architecture". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-11-03.