Park etiquette — the unwritten rules

Nobody hands you a rulebook when you walk into a skatepark for the first time. The rules are real, they're enforced socially, and getting them wrong is the fastest way to have a bad day. Here's what every regular wishes every newcomer knew.

01Why etiquette exists

A busy skatepark has thirty people, three lines, one bowl and maybe a hip or a ledge. Without shared rules about who goes when, nobody gets a clean run. Etiquette isn't snobbery — it's traffic control. The faster you learn it, the faster you become useful at the park instead of a liability.

Nobody cares how good you are. They care if you're predictable. Predictable skaters get nods; unpredictable ones get told to sit down.

02Don't snake

Snaking is taking someone else's turn. It happens when you push into a feature while another rider is already lining up for it, or when you drop into a bowl while someone is still riding their line inside. It's the single worst thing you can do at a park.

• Wait at the top of a bowl or ramp until the previous rider lands or bails.
• When approaching a ledge or rail, check upstream — if someone is lining up for it, hold.
• If you accidentally snake: apologise immediately and give up the next turn.

03Read the lines

Every park has invisible "lines" — paths that riders trace through features. Once you've watched a park for ten minutes, you'll see them. Stand in a line and you're a problem. Stand outside the lines and you're invisible — which is what you want as a newcomer.

• Stand at the edges, not the middle.
• Don't walk across the bowl / bank / rollin path even when nobody's riding — a rider appears faster than you think.
• If you need to cross a feature to get to your spot, wait for a clear moment.

04Bail properly

You will fall. How you fall matters. A falling skateboard is a heat-seeking missile — aim it away from crowds. When you bail, immediately make your board still with a foot, never chase it into a line you'd have to interrupt.

• If you're about to crash, make eye contact with the direction your board is going — shout if someone's there.
• Pick your board up quickly and clear the feature. Don't sit and sulk in the line.
• Bail in the flat where possible — land on feet, not on back.

05Sharing a trick spot

At a ledge or rail with a small crowd: take one attempt per turn. Land or bail, roll back to the queue, wait your turn again. Trying a trick fifteen times in a row is acceptable if you're alone; it's selfish if three people are waiting.

If you're working on something hard and holding up a line, step away and try it when the spot quiets down.

06How to be the new regular

• Show up at the same times each week — locals will start recognising you.
• Hoot when someone lands something hard — acknowledge progress, yours and theirs.
• Pick up trash, close gates, respect lights-out times. Park maintenance is everyone's job.
• Don't play your phone speaker. There's always one person doing it, and they're always disliked.
• When asked for help (a tool, a bolt, a spare bearing), give it. Karma is real at a park.