Local helps lead the drive Adaptive Skateboarding for the 2028 Paralympic games

Adaptive Skateboarding for the 2028 Los Angeles games

No matter who you are, whatever your ability, skateboarding is something you can participate in and find utter joy in.

skateboarding is opening up more and more to everyone, and we are seeing some amazing Paralympic and adaptive athletes perform on their skateboards.

As skateboarding makes its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan, a Summit County of Colorado local is all in on helping to bring the sport to the Paralympics as well.

Daniel Gale, the co-founder of Adaptive Action Sports, is a member of the American contingent taking the initial steps to bring para skateboarding to, he hopes, the 2024 or 2028 Paralympics.

Gale, the husband of Adaptive Action Sports co-founder and Paralympic medalist Amy Purdy, has worked with the X Games and Dew Tour to host para skateboarding events. He is now a member of a 10-person USA Skateboarding Subcommittee dedicated to getting skateboarding into the Paralympic Games.

Gale said the sport of para skateboarding has a wider and deeper talent pool than adaptive snowboarding.

“It’s a little bit more accessible, and we have a fairly extensive circuit that we are using as our qualifying events, which, eventually, will be considered (the North American Cup series) as we start to get things sanctioned,” Gale said. “We have got a series of eight-to-nine competitions that mirror a Vans Park Series event or Grind for Life park-series event.”

Gale added that Adaptive Action Sports hopes to host a few competitions in Denver and/or Summit County next year.

“We are just currently building that competition base,” Gale said. “And then from there we fill in the pipeline; go back and fill in the recreational-based stuff, like lessons and introducing people into the sport.”

As for competition classifications, Gale said there’ll likely be a wheelchair class, two-to-three lower-limb classes, an upper limb class and potentially even a blind division.

And, just like for the able-bodied skaters at this year’s Olympics, there’d likely be both street and park contests.

“Given the opportunity to be in the Paralympics, skateboarding would add some excitement as snowboarding did to that charter,” Gale said. “It’s something I think everybody wants to see grow and be successful.”

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