MADRID – 5 May 2020 – In Norway, skateboarding was banned for 11 years during the 1970’s and 1980’s. A few hardcore devotees defied the law and skated in secret keeping the sport alive. In Norway’s Skate Ban, a new documentary from the Olympic Channel, skateboarders of the era who have witnessed of the transition from the prohibition of skateboarding to it being a nationally funded sport and now on the programme for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Featured as part of the award-winning series “Foul Play”, Norway’s Skate Ban is now available worldwide olympicchannel.com, and its apps for mobile and connected TV devices.
Sharing anecdotes of how their underground resistance and passion kept skating alive throughout the ban until today, Norway’s Skate Ban features rebel skateboarders including Cedric Cornell, (Norwegian Downhill Skateboard Federation), Joakim Wang, (Norwegian National Organization for Skateboarding) and Anders Wittusen (creator of the famous Utopia board) along with pro Henning Braaten (Norwegian National Skateboarding Team coach).
“Getting your board confiscated was the end, you would never see that skateboard again, so that was like taking your soul really,” said Cornell about taking risks during the ban.
“I didn’t expect to become a pro skater when a was smaller, it was kind of like a dream. Skateboarding means a lot for me, but at that point in my life it was the only thing that mattered,” said Braaten.
The film also features the current Norwegian National Skateboarding Team and the new generation of skateboarders whose ambitions now include competing at the Olympic Games.
Norway’s Skate Ban is the fourth film in the award-winning Olympic Channel original series Foul Play, a far-reaching documentary series that explores controversial subjects including religion, gender, and race within the context of sports and the Olympic Movement.
Previous films include The Margaret Lambert Story, the story of a German-Jewish elite athlete who was banned from taking part in the 1936 Berlin Games by the Nazi regime; Dutee, featuring the Indian sprinter Dutee Chand who challenged gender testing policies after being disqualified for natural hormone levels; and APART, about the role of sports in the abolishment of Apartheid through the personal journey of Wayde van Niekirk. Foul Play is produced exclusively for the Olympic Channel global platform by VICE Media.
Offering year-round coverage of Olympic sports and elite athletes in their quest for success, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Channel over-the-top (OTT) streaming service is available worldwide and subscription-free at olympicchannel.com, its mobile apps and on connected TV devices.
