Tony Alva (right) is one of the earliest pioneers of skating on vertical surfaces, and is widely credited with landing the sport's first ever aerial maneuver.

This week, the International Association of Skateboarding Companies threw their first-ever Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.  Pro skaters Danny Way, Tony Hawk, Tony Alva, and Bruce Logan were the first four inductees to what seems like the skate industry's most esteemed and elite inner circle.

The men inducted to the Hall this week are all pioneers who deserve to be recognized for their contribution to the advancement of creative, high-flying skate styles, popularizing aerial maneuvers in the 1980's that were unfathomable at the time, yet became almost standard over the past couple decades.  

Since every other sport I can think of has a Hall Of Fame, it seems only fair that we recognize those who push skateboarding forward into the future.

There's a difference between the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Skate Hall of Fame, though.  Most professional athletes are a part of a league, and they can be evaluated according to statistics, compared against their peers.  Skateboarding is different.

 

Like Nando wrote last week, skateboarding is a sport without teams and without coaches.  So while I think its important to recognize the contributions of the few internationally known innovators, it's also really important that we all recognize our local pioneers.  Like the skaters who put in time to wax your local ledge, or the ones who lobbied to get your local skate park built, or the ones who run your local skate shop.

East-Coasters like Harold Hunter and Gino Iannucci did a ton to advance street skateboarding in the past 20 years... so I hope they get the props they deserve from the Skate Hall of Fame!

So do your homework, learn about the IASC's Hall of Famers, because they changed the face of sports and youth culture at large... then look into your own community to see who's made waves more locally.