Street League Skateboarding (SLS) is an international skateboarding tournament series. The league features professional street skateboarders competing for the largest monetary prize in the history of skateboarding, and was founded by professional skateboarder and entrepreneur Rob Dyrdek.
The idea for SLS first arose when Rob Dyrdek was dissatisfied with the state of professional street skateboarding competitions. Seeking to address the flaws of the existing system, Dyrdek developed the SLS. During its launch in 2010, Dyrdek said: "It has been a dream of mine to create a professional tour that bridges the gap between true street skateboarding and contest skating, which to date has been fragmented and misguided."[2]
The 2011 Super Crown World Champion was Sean Malto, who upset Nyjah Huston for his first Street League win and the US$200,000 first place prize. Huston went on to win the competition in 2012, in addition to a championship watch and ring set from Nixon Watches, and a Chevy Sonic vehicle.[4]
In May 2013, the GoPro camera company was announced as the official camera sponsor of the 2013 SLS international tour. GoPro, which sponsors SLS contestants Ryan Sheckler and Malto, was used to feature the broadcasts of the domestic American events, including course previews and real-time impact highlights.[5] As of May 19, 2013, Huston had won more prize money than any other skateboarder in history.[6]
The 2013 Super Crown World Champion, Chris Cole, also earned his first career SLS win earlier in 2013 at the Street League at X Games stop in Munich, Germany. Huston and Luan Oliveira placed second and third respectively.[7]Paul Rodriguez won his second SLS stop in Portland, Oregon in July 2013.[8]
In March 2014, SLS signed a broadcasting deal with Fox Sports 1.[9]
In 2018, SLS announced a partnership with World Skate, under which it became the body's official world tour series and world championship through 2020. The SLS World Tour also became the main qualifying path for skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The move was criticized by Tim McFerran, president of the World Skateboarding Grand Prix (who had been attempting to negotiate his own body, the World Skateboarding Federation, as the sanctioning body for Olympic skateboarding), citing the invitational nature of the events, and concerns that they would hold a near-monopoly over professional skateboarding and the athletes who compete at the Olympics.[10][11][12][13]
In May 2019, it was announced that skateboarding would be dropped from the 2019 Pan American Games, with Panam Sports citing SLS and World Skate's decision to schedule a World Tour event in direct conflict with the Games schedule, and not have the Pan American Games be a qualifying event for the Olympics. Panam Sports argued that these decisions diminished the quality of the field, and showed a "lack of respect" on behalf of the entities.[14]
In 2020, SLS merged with Nitro Circus and Superjacket Productions to form Thrill One Sports and Entertainment with The Raine Group.[15] It was in turn acquired by Lorenzo Fertitta's Fiume Capital and Juggernaut Capital Partners, with co-investment from Dana White. In 2023, as a consequence of the acquisition, broadcasts of SLS events moved to alt-tech video platform Rumble in 2023.[16][17][18]
Overview
The SLS contestants accumulate points at each pre-championship stop and only the top eight ranking contestants compete in the championship event. In the 2023 season, SLS adopted a new format featuring a single-elimination format during finals in order to help build rivalries.[16]
The SLS prize purse is the largest in the history of competitive professional skateboarding,[19] and was worth US$1.6 million in 2011.[20]
SLSF and SLSCSP
In 2013, the Street League Skateboarding Foundation (SLSF) was established with the goal of increasing global participation in skateboarding. The Foundation assists municipalities and non-profits with the design, development, and construction of legal Skate Plazas, as well as assisting with the creation of community and educational programs that promote skateboarding.[21]
An extension of SLS, "Street League Skateboarding Certified Skate Parks" (SLSCSP) built three plazas in 2013. The plazas will eventually become the locations for SLS amateur and televised qualifier contests. Locations include Erie, Colorado; the Kennesaw Skatepark in Kennesaw, Georgia; and Lake Havasu City, Arizona.[22]
SLS World Tours
[23][24]
2021 SLS World tour
Street League Skateboarding Super Crown, Men's: Jacksonville, FL, USA
2010: Overall Winner, Super Crown World Champion - Nyjah Huston[31]
References
^"Street League Skateboarding on Tour". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved 8 Feb 2012.
^"Drydek's street league and million $ contest". skateboarding.transworld.net. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
^"Street League & 2010 DC Pro Tour". skateboarding.transworld.net. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
^"Nyjah Huston does it again". espn.com. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
^TWS (24 May 2013). "GOPRO SIGNS AS OFFICIAL CAMERA SPONSOR OF 2013 SLS NIKE SB WORLD TOUR". Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
^TWS (19 May 2013). "NYJAH HUSTON WINS STREET LEAGUE BARCELONA". Transworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
^TWS (25 August 2013). "Street League 2013 Super Crown Finals Video". TransWorld Skateboarding. GrindMedia. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
^Blair Alley (14 July 2013). "PAUL RODRIGUEZ WINS STREET LEAGUE PORTLAND". Tranworld Skateboarding. Bonnier Corporation. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
^"SLS is now on FOX Sports 1". 5 March 2014.
^"London debut for World Skate's Olympic-era Tour keenly awaited - but controversy still has wheels". Inside the Games. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
^"Street League Skateboarding partnership with World Skate criticised by head of rival body". Inside the Games. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
^"Street League Skateboarding season to continue in Los Angeles". Inside the Games. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
^"Exclusive: WSF President criticises Tokyo 2020 skateboarding qualifiers as "marketing gimmick"". nside the Games. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
^"Skateboarding axed from Lima 2019 Pan American Games programme". Inside the Games. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
^Long, Michael (2021-10-08). "Thrill One: Nitro Circus, Street League Skateboarding and the licence to entertain". SportsPro. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
^ a bBarrasso, Justin (2023-04-28). "Lorenzo Fertitta Sees Business Parallels Between UFC and Skateboarding League". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
^Zidan, Karim (2023-05-10). "UFC-backed skateboarding tour leans into right-wing media ties". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
^Armental, Maria. "Fiume and Juggernaut Capital Buy Thrill One Sports in $300 Million Deal". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
^"Prudential Center Newark". Prudential Center Newark. Archived from the original on 2014-02-03. Retrieved 8 Feb 2012.
^"Rob Dyrdek Expands Entrepreneurial Reach To Present Largest Winning Purse In Skateboarding History". forbes.com. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
^"Street League Skateboarding Foundation". Street League Skateboarding. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
^"Street League Skateboarding Certified Plazas". Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
^"Street league competition results". theboardr.com.
^"Results". www.streetleague.com/. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
^"Stop 1: Brazil - 2016 Street League Skateboarding Nike SB World Tour".
^"Stop 2: Barcelona - 2016 Street League Skateboarding Nike SB World Tour".
^"Stop 3: Kansas City - 2016 Street League Skateboarding Nike SB World Tour".
^"Stop 4: Munich - 2016 Street League Skateboarding Nike SB World Tour".
^"Stop 5: Portland - 2016 Street League Skateboarding Nike SB World Tour".
^ a b"Stop 6: Los Angeles - 2016 Street League Skateboarding Nike SB World Tour".
^ a b"Nyjah Huston interview". ESPN. Retrieved 8 Feb 2012.
^"Huston takes top spot in Kansas City". ESPN. ESPN Action Sports. Retrieved 8 Feb 2012.
^"Huston wins Street League Arizona". ESPN. ESPN Action Sports. Retrieved 8 Feb 2012.
^"Sean Malto wins the 2011 street league championship". espn.com. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
^"Nyjah Wins First Street League". Transworld Skateboarding. Retrieved 8 Feb 2012.
^"Street League Results". BC Blog. The BC Blog. Retrieved 8 Feb 2012.
^"Shane O'Neill wins final Street League stop". ESPN. ESPN Action Sports. Retrieved 8 Feb 2012.