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Elisa Ronigk
NBA free agent Gary Pater II A professional skateboard league is launching, which is joining the growing movement of athlete -led leagues with the aim of providing Olympic and action sports a year -long relevance.
The Skate Board Association, a coaid, six-team street skateboard league, Big Bear Lake, California plans to inaugurate the 10-game season in the next summer. Petan who played the last time Golden State WarriorsESPN reported that he established the league with Partners Royce Campbell and Sheldon Lewis due to childhood love for skateboarding.
“Growing up, I always wanted to be a skateboarder. Skate Park was next to the basketball court,” he said. “I will skate there with my friends and they will skate the park and I will be circle.”
When his colleagues proposed the league, “I liked, ‘Why didn’t professional league like NFL, NBA or NHL not be done for skateboarding?” “Pater said.” Let’s change sports games and skateboard games. “”
The petan will be the director of VIP Relations and one of the six teams in the league, each with six athletes – three females and three men – plus reserves and coaches. Men and women will get equal pay.
The League has signed 18 athletes including the 2020 Olympic silver medalist Kelvin Hofler, SLS select series champion Manny Santiago, X Games Skateboard Street Gold Medalist Ryan Deccanzo and Pamela Rosa and Pamela Rosa and Pamela Rosa and Silver Medal winner Samaria Brevard.
Braward stated that the league structure will currently reduce stress and uncertainty athletes and help them focus on competition. “This is a game changer and will make avenues for us that were not there before,” he said.
Unlike most skate competitions, which pay an award purse to athletes how they finish, SBA will pay the salary and bonus of athletes and will share them in revenue from the sale of goods. The top draft pics will receive six-hearted salary, and the lowest pics will earn salary in mid-five figures.
Pater II said the League plans to sign at least 18 more athletes before its draft in Los Angeles later this year.
SBA is the latest in a series of new leagues that are trying to address the fragmentation of competition in sports such as skateboarding and better support top athletes.
In March, Snowboard Star Sean White launched Snow leagueA multi-stop international halfpipe series for snowboarders and freesers. The following month, four -time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track League met in Kingston, Jamaica, but it was folded after three months. Due to financial troublesInaugurated weather X Games LeagueWhich will see skateboardrs and BMX Riders competing together on teams, ready to start in the next summer.
“I want the skaters to be given importance, and to achieve the right sponsorship so that they can take care of their body, take care of their families, buy their own cradle,” Petan said. “If I can change the game for them, this is a win.”
The League plans to hold a mountain city two hours before the LA in its inauguration six -month season in Big Beer, with a plan to expand additional cities in the future.
“Big Beer has always been a natural home for height training and action sports,” Big Beer CEO Travis Scott told ESPN, and we are excited to welcome SBA as they set their places on our mountain community. “
Patan said he wanted to see SBA extended into the NBA-style league with many places, training facilities and an annual draft alliance across the country. “Apart from football, the skaters placed their body on line compared to athletes in most sports apart from football,” he said. “When they do not receive the same treatment as NBA players, when they are taking more risk than us?”
Patan said he believes that other supporters athletes will include him as team owners in the new league. “Football, a lot of athletes in basketball, they grew up and had to keep their boards down to play their game as a professional,” he said. “But they still want to be a skater.
“To be the owner of an SBA skate team, we are bringing back to play the role of Tony Hawk Pro Skater, picking up people, choosing to skate brands. So many people are related to skateboarding.”
