What is ollie a channel gap?
Ollie a channel gap is a skateboarding trick in which the skater jumps on to a ledge while they are below the gap of an 8- to 10-foot wide channel. It’s a great way to land tricks and frontside slides onto ledges, but it presents a big risk because you can easily hit your skateboard and your head on the hard ground. However, with practice, you can learn how to ollie safely.
Ollie a channel gaps is just one maneuver from thousands of moves that skateboarders use to make their lives easier and get down obstacles that might not be quite tall enough for them in order for them to perform other tricks. Ollie a channel gap is performed by jumping above the gap of an approximately 8- to 10-foot wide channel. Once the skater has landed on the other side, they must ride further down to complete it. This requires great timing and balance but can be very rewarding once achieved.
How may types are there?
There are three types of ollies that can be used to jump over a channel: an airwalk, a switch bigspin and a pop shove-it backside flip. To pull off any of these tricks, the skater must jump over the channel at different heights so that they land on the other side. The trick is done by jumping above a channel, then turning and “pops” or “shoves” backwards along the skater’s path until they look like a human helicopter, or an astronaut trying to land in space without gravity. This literally spins them back over the 8-10 ft wide gap.
Some people have taken this trick further and are now skating far below a gap to reach certain spots in skateparks: ollieing a ramp that is located far below ground level, around 40 feet (12 metres) below the surface. Skateboarders such as Chris Cole, Chad Muska, Eric Koston and many others have done this to perform bigger stunts.
What are the apparent risks?
The main obvious risk of ollieing a channel is to break your neck or your skateboard. However, there is some evidence to suggest that you can get hurt from hitting the railings that are on both sides of the channel. Nick Garcia was a pro skater who fell one time trying to jump over a gap and broke his hip bone in twenty-one different places. Many other people have been badly hurt over time by doing this trick, especially street skaters who have no safety equipment on when they do it.
What are the main tricks used?
Trick number one which is ollieing a channel is first and foremost a requirement of learning how to skateboard. Then, there are two more tricks which are the switch bigspin and the pop shove-it backside flip. The airwalk trick can be very dangerous; you need to make sure that you don’t jump above the gap too high or else you might hit your head on the cement edge of the channel. You also have to be very careful not to jump too low or else you might hurt yourself on the railing or your skateboard might hit it as well.
How can you improve the trick?
Ollieing a channel requires practice. You have to wait for the right time, and then when it’s right, you must skate down quickly, then ollie as high as you can over the channel. When you’re up in the air, twist your body so that your tail or back is facing the direction where your frontside will be landing. Then land with your back foot flat on the ground, then roll forward onto it and finally put down the kicktail of your skateboard onto its edge so that you won’t slide out from under. If all this happens too quickly for you to process, then it may take a while before you can do this difficult trick safely.
Is there any experience or age requirement?
Ollieing a channel is an advanced move which requires a great deal of balance and control over your deck. It also requires you to be able to pay close attention to what you’re doing in order for you to land the trick on the other side. If you can do all this, then, yes you can do this trick, but not just anyone should try it. It’s recommended that adults who are experienced skaters and teenagers start working on this move as they can handle it far better than younger children who may hurt themselves while trying to learn how to ollie a channel gap.
What’s the best way to understand it?
The best way to understand a trick like ollieing a channel is not to jump over your local 8-10 foot wide channel, but instead go out and practice with real obstacles. This will give you an idea of what you’re getting yourself into, and you may even find new tricks that suit your style better than ollieing a channel does.
What else should I know about this trick?
Ollieing a channel is considered as one of the hardest tricks to learn as it requires an understanding of how balance works on skateboards. It’s also a very cool trick to watch the pros ollie over a channel, but you should watch out for those who try it but then look back at their skateboard too quickly after they’ve land on the other side.
