Skateboarding on CBC TV in 1965

Sidewalk Skurfing

That’s right, “Skurfing.” This is a short clip from a 1965 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation piece on skateboarding. The reporter interviews a gal who says she had to form a “Sidewalk Skurfing Association” to keep from getting kicked off campus. It’s got lots of Peanuts-esque light jazz piano and the soon to be archetypal reporter flailing on a skateboard. Best line, hands down:

Do you think this will be obsolete in time, like the hula hoop?

There a short excerpt on YouTube, but to see the whole thing you have to go to the CBC Digital Archives. At the end there is a gratuitous shot of the original skateboarding dog with a dire voiceover about the current skateboard sales trends in major Canadian cities. Love the visual quality of that vintage video tape. It looks like it’s ready to catch fire.

– Thanks to Curtis for the tip.

Discussion

3 thoughts on “Sidewalk Skurfing

  1. Prickly Pete on March 13, 2009 - Reply

    Cardinal rule of local broadcast journalists: talk to interviewees under 30 like they’re some kind of muppet.

  2. Zed-word on March 19, 2009 - Reply

    I know she is probably a grandma by now, but what the hell, I would hit this like the fist of an angry god!!!

    1. Gai Brown on August 8, 2011 - Reply

      I am a Grandma now…try and catch me on my skateboard…good luck.

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