People race on skateboards.
They go to big arenas. They can win lots of money. This is a fun sport. Do you like to skate?
Skateboarders go to big arenas to compete.
They skate on special courses. These courses are built for the sport.
Skating in this league can win big prizes. Some winners even get a car!
One group helps build skate parks. This helps more people learn to skate.
It is a big world tour. It is a very exciting sport.
Street League Skateboarding is a big world tour.
Professional skaters compete in large arenas. They skate on special courses. These courses are made by a group called California Skateparks. A skater named Rob Dyrdek started the league in 2010. He wanted a better way to hold contests. This league has the largest prize money in skateboarding history. Some winners get very big prizes. In 2012, Nyjah Huston won a car and a watch!
Skaters earn points at many different stops. The top eight skaters go to the final event. This final event is called the Super Crown. In 2023, the rules changed to help build rivalries. Now, the finals use a single-elimination format. This means skaters must win to stay in the contest.
A group called the SLS Foundation helps people too. They work to make more skate plazas. These are safe places for people to skate. They have built plazas in places like Georgia and Arizona. This helps more people join the sport. The tour is growing fast. It will visit many cities around the world.
Street League Skateboarding, or SLS, is a huge international tournament series. Professional street skateboarders travel the world to compete in this league. It is very special because it offers the largest prize money in skateboarding history.
A professional skater named Rob Dyrdek started the league. He wanted to create a better way for skaters to compete. He hoped to bridge the gap between street skating and contest skating. This league brings the sport to big arenas for everyone to see.
Skating in the league works through a points system. Athletes earn points at different stops throughout the season. Only the top eight ranking skaters make it to the final event. This big championship is called the Super Crown. In 2023, the league added a single-elimination format for the finals. This new way of playing helps build exciting rivalries between the skaters. It makes every single move feel very important for the winner.
Rob Dyrdek founded the league in 2010 to fix flaws in old contests. The very first tour had four stops in different cities. It started at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on August 28, 2010. Other stops included Ontario, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2011, the prize purse was worth US$1.6 million. The league has grown much more since those early days in the arena.
Many famous skaters have won big prizes in the SLS. Sean Malto was the first Super Crown World Champion in 2011. He beat Nyjah Huston to win US$200,000. Huston won the competition again in 2012. He even won a Chevy Sonic vehicle and a Nixon watch.
By 2013, Huston had won more prize money than any other skater. Other winners include Chris Cole and Paul Rodriguez.
SLS does more than just host big competitions. The Street League Skateboarding Foundation was made in 2013. This group helps people all over the world join the sport. They work with cities to build legal Skate Plazas. They have already built plazas in Erie, Colorado, and Kennesaw, Georgia. These places help people learn and practice safely. The league continues to grow with new events in places like Brazil.
Street League Skateboarding, commonly known as SLS, is a major international tournament series for professional street skateboarders. It serves as a premier competitive platform that features the largest monetary prizes in the history of the sport. The league was founded by professional skateboarder and entrepreneur Rob Dyrdek. Dyrdek created the organization to address flaws he saw in existing professional skateboarding competitions. He aimed to bridge the gap between authentic street skateboarding and traditional contest skating.
Today, the league brings high-level skateboarding to large arenas and global audiences.
The competition functions through a structured points-based system designed to reward consistency and skill. Skaters compete at various pre-championship stops to accumulate points throughout the season. Only the top eight ranking contestants qualify for the final championship event. In 2023, the league introduced a single-elimination format for the finals. This specific change was intended to help build intense rivalries between the athletes. This format ensures that every move in the final rounds carries significant weight for the competitors.
SLS events involve specialized environments designed specifically for professional performance. California Skateparks is the company responsible for designing and building the SLS courses. These courses are engineered to provide the technical challenges required for elite street skating. The league's structure includes various types of events. Recent expansions for the 2025 season include three arena competitions and five "sport takeovers." The season concludes with the prestigious Super Crown competition, which is hosted in São Paulo, Brazil.
The history of the league began with its inaugural tour in 2010. That first year featured four stops at major arenas. The tour launched at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on August 28, 2010. Other early venues included the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, and the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since its inception, the league has undergone significant organizational changes. In 2020, SLS merged with Nitro Circus and Superjacket Productions to form Thrill One Sports and Entertainment. It was later acquired by Fiume Capital and Juggernaut Capital Partners.
The financial scale of SLS is a defining feature of the professional circuit. In 2011, the total prize purse was valued at US$1.6 million. Individual winners have earned life-changing amounts of money. For example, Sean Malto won US$200,000 after upsetting Nyjah Huston to become the 2011 Super Crown World Champion. Nyjah Huston became a dominant figure in the league, winning the 2012 competition. By May 2013, Huston had earned more prize money than any other skateboarder in history.
His 2012 victory also included a Chevy Sonic vehicle and a watch and ring set from Nixon Watches.
Beyond professional competition, the league works to expand the sport through the Street League Skateboarding Foundation (SLSF). Established in 2013, the SLSF aims to increase global participation in skateboarding. The foundation assists non-profits and municipalities with the design and construction of legal Skate Plazas. An extension of this work is the "Street League Skateboarding Certified Skate Parks" (SLSCSP) program. This program has built plazas in locations such as Erie, Colorado, and Kennesaw, Georgia. These plazas are intended to eventually host amateur contests and televised qualifiers.
SLS also plays a critical role in the broader landscape of organized sports. In 2018, SLS partnered with World Skate to become its official world tour series. This partnership made the SLS World Tour the primary qualifying path for skateboarding at the 2020 Summer Olympics. This connection to the Olympics brought both recognition and complexity to the league. While it solidified SLS as a central authority, it also faced criticism regarding its influence over the sport. Despite these complexities, the league remains a central pillar of the global skateboarding community.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (2)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.