Latest news with #Pong
New York Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Get back-to-school essentials, aka the best beer pong tables for parties
New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change. Are you prepped with all your dorm room essentials? Because beer pong tables are one of them. POV: It's summer, and the sun is shining. You put on your new swimsuit and jump in the pool. You grab an ice-cold beer from your cooler. Something yummy is cooking on the grill. Life is good. It seems like nothing can make a classic summer day better, right? Well, think again. Top off the perfect sunny day with a classic game of Beer Pong. All you need is your choice pong table, some ping pong balls and some red solo cups — and your drink of choice, of course. Not into alcohol, try one of the mocktails we reviewed instead. Below, you can find various styles of beer pong tables, ranging from mini and floating options to portable and LED-lit ones. Best of all, the eight best beer pong tables are all available on Amazon, so you'll be serving up a game in no time, thanks to two-day Prime Shipping! Best Overall: GoPong 8 Foot Portable Beer Pong Amazon Pros: Official tournament size (8' x 2') for serious gameplay Folds briefcase-style for easy storage and transport Includes 6 pong balls Cons: Not designed for outdoor storage Unlike your typical, white fold-out beer pong table, this option features game lines and triangles to help you strategically shoot, aim and set up. It also breaks down to fit into a small briefcase. Product Dimensions: 96″L x 24″W x 27.5″H | Weight: 20.99 pounds Best for Basketball Lovers: PARTYPONG 8-Foot Folding Beer Pong Table Amazon Pros: Lightweight and folds into a carry case Built-in foam ball holder Playful basketball court design Best beer pong table size Cons: Not height-adjustable Turn up the fun with the Basketball Court Edition PartyPong Table, an official-size 8-foot setup built for game-day glory. With a durable frame, foldable design, six pong balls, and a built-in holder, it's easy to play anywhere. Trusted since 2006, PartyPong guarantees quality and party-ready performance. Product Dimensions:96″L x 96″W x 29″H | Weight: 26 pounds Amazon Pros: Customizable for events or special occasions Best custom beer pong tables Foldable beer pong table Cons: Custom costs more Customize your own 8-foot PartyPong Beer Pong Table by uploading a logo or graphic, perfect for parties, events, or game-day fun. It folds into a suitcase-style case with six custom balls and a built-in ball holder underneath. Product Dimensions: 96 x 19 x 29 inches | Weight: 19 pounds Best for Art History Majors: Red Cup Pong Folding Beer Pong Table Dimensions With Sistine Design Amazon Pros: Includes 6 pong balls in a foam holder, so you're ready to play right out of the box One of our favorite beer pong table designs Cons: Table length may vary slightly (1-inch–2-inch), which might be a concern for perfectionists Michelangelo may not have anticipated that his work would be displayed on a drinking game's surface, but here we are. If you ask us, we think it makes the game just a bit classier. Product Dimensions: 96″L x 24″W x 96″H | Weight: 22 pounds Best Glow-In-The-Dark Table: Novelty Meme Glowing Pong Table Mat Set Party Beverage Pong Game Amazon Pros: Comes with everything you need…mat, 32 cups, 36 LED lights, 12 glow pongs, and waterproof stickers LED-lit cups and glowing pong balls make it perfect for nighttime or blacklight events Budget friendly Cons: Needs a flat table underneath, doesn't stand on its own Light up the night with the Glowing Pong Table Mat Set, great for house parties, birthdays, weddings, and more. This 71″ x 23″ waterproof PVC mat rolls out anywhere and comes packed with 32 flashing cups, 12 glowing pongs, and 36 LED lights for a glow-in-the-dark game that brings serious vibes. Product Dimensions: 71 inches x 23.5 inches | Weight: N/A Best Pool Beer Pong Tables: GoPong Pool Lounge Floating Beer Pong Table Amazon Pros: Designed for floating in pools Inflates fast by mouth or with a pump Great floating beer pong table Cons: No air pump included Take the game to the pool with this floating option. With a one-way inflation valve, you'll be playing up a storm while keeping cool in no time. Product Dimensions: 6 feet | Weight: N/A Best for Patriots: Beer Pong Toss Store 2-in-1 Cornhole And Pong Table Amazon Pros: Handmade construction with U.S.-based customer support and fast order turnaround Cons: At 35 lbs each, these aren't ideal for on-the-go Take summer days to new heights with this two-in-one beer pong and cornhole set. Complete with xornhole bags, pong balls, cups and pong racks, you'll be the talk of the evening. Product Dimensions: 8 feet | Weight: N/A Best for Middle-Aged Adults: Grown Man Games Mini Beer Pong Amazon Pros: Easy to store and pack up Skid-resistant legs keep it from sliding around Cons: Miniature format is more novelty than competitive Sometimes a mini version is all you need. This wooden beer pong set features two catapults and a tethered ball for some top-notch fun. Product Dimensions: N/A | Weight: 3.2 pounds Best Portable: Versaspong Store Portable Beer Pong Table Amazon Pros: Easy to personalize for events, teams or gifting Comes ready to play with pong balls included Cons: Much smaller than standard 8-foot beer pong tables This portable beer pong set is perfect for the beach, park and anywhere life takes you. This set includes two pong racks and one carrying bag and can be customized. Product Dimensions: 15 x 6 x 15 inches | Weight: N/A For over 200 years, the New York Post has been America's go-to source for bold news, engaging stories, in-depth reporting, and now, insightful shopping guidance. We're not just thorough reporters – we sift through mountains of information, test and compare products, and consult experts on any topics we aren't already schooled specialists in to deliver useful, realistic product recommendations based on our extensive and hands-on analysis. Here at The Post, we're known for being brutally honest – we clearly label partnership content, and whether we receive anything from affiliate links, so you always know where we stand. We routinely update content to reflect current research and expert advice, provide context (and wit) and ensure our links work. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Retro Gaming Week 2025: Rediscover Classic Video Games With How-To Geek
The video game industry has come a long way from the likes of Pong and Space Invaders, with modern games boasting photorealistic graphics and complex narratives. But while the games of today are brilliant, that doesn't mean we should overlook the past. At How-To Geek, we're dedicating an entire week to retro gaming, from July 21 to 27. Whether you prefer the pixelated charms of retro consoles or just want a burst of nostalgia, join us as we dive into the joys of old-school gaming. Retro Gaming Is More Popular Than Ever You might have grown up with classic video games, or perhaps you're discovering them for the first time. Whatever the case, retro gaming is more popular than it has ever been. Here's why: Low entry requirements: With big-name new releases costing $70 and requiring high-end hardware, turning to older games is an affordable way to have a great time. That doesn't just mean the arcade classics—the 2010s were longer ago than you think, and many of those games are still amazing. Arguably, the best games aren't new. Emulators aren't necessary: You don't need to fiddle around with emulators to play retro games. Many subscription services, like Xbox Game Pass and Nintendo Switch Online, have classics available. They don't have everything, though; there are plenty of GameCube games that should be added to NSO, for example. Remasters lead to rediscovery: Many games are being remastered and remade. Sometimes they let you switch to the classic experience on the fly, so you can compare the before and after. Unfortunately, not every game remake is worthwhile, but that can push people towards digging out the original. Retro Gaming Week on How-To Geek We have guides, recommendations, and retrospectives coming up in Retro Gaming Week. We'll be rounding up the best classic point-and-click games, showing you how to turn NES games 3D, documenting our experience replacing old controllers, and much more. To stay on top of our coverage, visit our Retro Gaming hub. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to get updates delivered straight to your inbox, alongside our usual expert reporting year-round.
Buzz Feed
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
21 Things Kids These Days Will Never Understand
Recently, u/Hidden_lust__ asked r/AskReddit, "What's something kids today will never understand?" And we thought we'd share some of the top responses. "Going into a phone booth, especially when you're a kid, just to jiggle the coin return in hopes of scoring a nickel or dime so you can buy some candy. My cousin Brenda beat me to a phone booth at the beach & got $1.15. She was the first rich person I ever knew." "Spending hours curating the perfect mix CD — carefully choosing the songs, getting the order just right, and writing the track list in Sharpie like it was a love letter. If someone made you a burned CD… That was real love." "Limewire. God, I gave one of my laptops a wild amount of viruses with it but I got to listen to Simple Plan on my mp3 player, so it was all worth it." "Renting a VHS from Blockbuster." "Performing surgery on a cassette tape to get it working again." "Dial-up internet: The screechy connection tones, and being kicked off the internet because someone picked up the landline phone." "That weird, magical era where you made plans, kept them, and just showed up — no texts, no tracking, no group chats. Just: 'See you at four' and somehow… everyone did." "Needing to have a quarter (or a dime if you're THAT old) on you just in case you needed to call home with a payphone." "The desperation to get snacks from the kitchen quickly or going to the bathroom fast during a commercial break while watching an episode you waited all week for. Bonus points if your sibling screamed, 'it's back!' when you were still out of the room and you had to run back, lol. "Getting a new phone number every time you moved." "The peace of not having a cell phone." "Actually knowing phone numbers. Like your parents number, the numbers of several friends... Shit, I still know some of those numbers even today." "That sacred moment when your favourite song came on the radio, and you had to run to hit 'record' on the cassette player, hoping no one spoke over the intro." "How before Google you had to look through an encyclopedia in the library or in a large home collection and possibly spend hours looking, only to still not find what you're searching for. Yes, back then, if your parents and/or teachers didn't know the answer to something, and you couldn't find it in the library, then you really had no idea how to figure it out then." "The Dewey decimal system and the physical card catalogue at the library." "How exciting it was when Pong was invented. We could interact with the square ball on the TV! It was incredible! Being able to control the paddle (in that ever exciting up and down thing it did, lol) just seemed to be so futuristic." "We were really poor growing up and couldn't afford to buy VHS tapes so my parents would tape Wonderful World of Disney every Saturday night." "Playing outside all day and inventing your own games, using your imagination and without needing money." "People smoking literally everywhere. Airplanes, restaurants, hotels, even hospitals. So much that old technology like typewriters or radios are still often covered in nicotine residue when you find them. It's so rare now that when I come across a smoker, I can't get past the stench." "Blowing into a game cartridge like your life depended on it, praying it would finally load so you could play Mario before your sibling claimed the TV." "When I was a kid, if one of my parents was expecting an important phone call, it meant I wasn't allowed to use the internet." H/T to u/Hidden_lust__ and r/AskReddit for having the discussion! Any more to add? Let us know in the comments below!
National Geographic
17-07-2025
- Science
- National Geographic
Scientists want to build 'living' computers—powered by live brain cells
The potential for these kinds of machines to reshape computer processing, increase energy efficiency, and revolutionize medical testing has scientists excited. But when do we consider these cells to be conscious? Scientists are experimenting with ways to integrate brain cells into computer processors. The technology could help conserve energy. FinalSpark's Multi-Electrode Arrays (MEAs) incorporate four human brain organoids, each interfacing with eight electrodes. Photograph Courtesy FinalSpark In 2022, a group of Australian researchers ran a rudimentary simulation of the arcade game, Pong. None of them were controlling the virtual paddle, and yet, after a few misses, the paddle moved up and down the screen on its own to meet the returning ball and hit it back. The 2D game was wired to a cluster of lab-grown human and mouse brain cells growing on a petri dish. Through a multi-electrode array, the researchers taught the 'mini-brain' where the ball was and rewarded it with electrical stimulation when there was a hit. In about five minutes, the cells learned the drill and played short rallies without human intervention. 'The recent success of LLMs [Large Language Models] has risen from trying to model processes that happen in the brain,' says Brett Kagan, the chief scientific officer at Cortical Labs, a startup spun out of the Pong research. 'I often like to say, 'any sufficiently advanced machine is indistinguishable from biology', so what if we used biology in our attempts to harness intelligence?' The Pong experiment proved neurons can learn and respond to feedback in real time, even in a petri dish, says Lena Smirnova, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A year later in 2023, Smirnova, alongside other researchers, laid out the vision for 'organoid intelligence,' an emerging scientific field that leverages the strengths of living human and animal brain cell cultures — learning from fewer examples, adapting in real-time, and efficiently using energy—as a new type of biological computer. Using brain cells as the processing hub of a computer has far-reaching implications. It could significantly reduce the amount of energy needed to power artificial intelligence and revolutionize medicine. The technology is already creating a lucrative new industry that scientists are leveraging for major breakthroughs. But with this booming sector come complicated questions about when consciousness begins and the ethical implications of using living tissue that can feel pain. A forebrain organoid as seen under a scanning electron microscope. This clump of brain matter, developed from Human iPSC-derived Neural Stem Cells, is at the heart of new research on "living computers." Micrograph Courtesy FinalSpark The devices we use today, from computers to phones, run on chips, where billions of little components called transistors are neatly etched in silicon and arranged into logic gates. Each chip can take up to a couple of bits as input and then shuttle forward a single-bit output. Combining numerous such gates makes it possible to execute complex operations, such as those used in modern AI chatbots. However, units of brain organoids, known as bioprocessors, function in tandem with a traditional silicon chip. Inside each organoid, endless neurons grow in three dimensions, forming connections through synapses. Because there's no fixed wiring to limit them, the network constantly self-organizes and evolves as it learns. Neurons can simultaneously transfer information by electrical pulses and chemical signals, as opposed to the rigid, step-by-step logic of a normal computer. 'It's more like an ever-adapting web than a tidy circuit board,' adds Smirnova. Not only is the human brain naturally adaptive, but it's also incredibly energy efficient. Training a Generative AI model like OpenAI's GPT-3, for example, is estimated to consume just under 1,300 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, as much power as used by 130 U.S. homes. The brain needs a fraction of that and requires no more energy than a common lightbulb to perform a comparable task. Data from the Johns Hopkins research suggests biocomputing could cut down AI energy consumption by "1 million to 10 billion times.' 'The development of large organoids for power-efficient neural networks could help with running complex deep learning models without significantly impacting climate change,' Ben Ward-Cherrier, a computational neuroscience researcher at the University of Bristol, told National Geographic. How bioprocessers are already being used It's no longer an experimental pipedream either: a cottage industry of startups has raced to commercially build what some colloquially call a 'living computer.' Swiss-based FinalSpark's Neuroplatform, for example, lets anyone remotely run experiments on a cluster of organoids for $1,000 per month. Its facility incubates thousands of processing units, where each organoid is connected to eight electrodes plugged into a conventional computer. Using FinalSpark's software, researchers can code programs to electrically stimulate the neurons, monitor their response, and expose them to the feel-good neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin to train them to perform computing tasks. In addition to renting out its biological computers over the cloud, Cortical Labs also began selling its bioprocessing units earlier this year for $35,000 each. The units look like devices out of a sci-fi movie: a large glass and metal container houses all the support systems—from waste filtration to temperature control—needed to keep human brain cells alive for up to six months. Over the last couple of years, researchers have taken advantage of these privately-run biological computers to test breakthroughs. The University of Bristol's Ward-Cherrier, for instance, integrates organoids into robots as their 'brain,' so they can learn on the go. His team used Neuroplatform's organoids to develop a system that reads Braille characters at 83 percent accuracy. Each letter's spatial information is encoded into specific electrical pulses, which the neurons can identify. Soon, Ward-Cherrier's team plans to use organoids to teach robots to execute motor commands based on specific events and situations, such as feeling an object and following its contour with a robotic arm. The skill could one day help a robot understand what it's interacting with. For now, living brain-cell computers are far from replacing your laptop's processor. For one, the brain cells deployed in computer circuits are in their infancy and remain immature—fetal-like in both biological structure and behavior. They lack the structured architecture of a mature human brain, which prevents them from performing advanced cognitive feats. In their current state, organoids can be taught in simpler ways, such as learning rudimentary tasks when stimulated and exhibiting rudimentary memory functions. Plus, no two organoids behave the same way, and keeping them alive for extended periods remains a challenge. Smirnova agrees that cellular computers aren't close to the level of reliability or scale needed for mainstream computing tasks. Yet being immature allows these networks to be flexible, which is ideal for research. A safer and more humane way to test drugs For the foreseeable future, Smirnova says, she and her research team will continue using organoids to better understand and treat neurological conditions. While organoids may not be advanced enough to compute complex information, they're becoming a more feasible and humane way to test drugs. Researchers may soon be able to grow an organoid from a patient's stem cells and test how a particular drug affects their specific neurons or screen a library of chemicals to check for neurotoxic effects—all without involving animals. Kyle Wedgwood, a professor at the University of Exeter's Living Systems Institute is doing just that. He's leveraging FinalSpark's Neuroplatform to figure out ways to restore the brain's memory after it's disrupted by diseases such as Alzheimer's. 'This work will lay down foundations for smart, implantable biotechnology to help mitigate neurodegenerative conditions,' adds Wedgwood. When do organoids become organs? As these lab-grown 'mini-brains' become more complex, scientists are also probing questions about when they enter the realm of consciousness and the ethics of activating their pain receptors. Smirnova isn't waiting for an organoid to show even a hint of consciousness and has begun work to place frameworks—similar to those enforced in animal research—in place, with review boards and protocols to prevent suffering. In practice, this could mean setting limits on an organoid's age, what kind of experiments can be conducted on them, how cells are sourced and produced, and in case they come from a human, using them more responsibly and with donor consent. 'The bottom line is that we're proceeding with a lot of care and thoughtfulness, well before anything like a 'sentient' brain tissue could ever become a reality,' adds Smirnova.
USA Today
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Tony Hawk talks THPS 3 + 4 remake, skateboarding at the Olympics
Tony Hawk had an idea: what if he could bring skateboarding to video games? Hawk had grown up a fan of gaming, he told USA TODAY Sports in a one-on-one interview. He grew up as they rose to prominence with games like "Pong," "Pac-Man" and "Donkey Kong." His first home console was an Intellivision, originally manufactured by Mattel and released in 1979. As he got older, Hawk bought other consoles – he named the Commodore 64, Super NES and PlayStation – and continued playing video games. So by the time the late '90s rolled around and video games were becoming more mainstream, Hawk was ready to capitalize on the moment to make a skateboarding game. But for a while, his idea wasn't going anywhere. "I had been in talks with a few different developers and console manufacturers about doing a possible game, but none of them were agreed upon. None of them were actually green lit," Hawk said. "In fact, it was it was kind of a uphill battle convincing anyone. "I had given up, to be honest, probably sometime in 1997." The birth of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater That's around the time video game publisher Activision called Hawk, saying that they had heard the X Games gold medalist was trying to make a game. When Hawk told them that he had been unable to get anything going, Activision told him they had been working on a game and invited him to see it. "And so I went to Activision," Hawk said. "I saw a very early build of what became THPS (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater) and immediately, I knew this was the game. I could tell instinctively that this would be the most fun, that this would be the best one to be involved with, and with my connections and resources and experience, we could make this something truly authentic." So, on Sept. 29, 1999, the world got its first taste of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, the first of five games in the series and what has gone on to become 21 games in the Tony Hawk's skateboarding video game franchise. The first game released to rave reviews from critics and players alike, winning Game Informer magazine's 1999 Game of the Year award. The legacy of the first game and its three sequels – released in each of the next three years – lives on. Many writers and analysts have credited THPS with pushing skateboarding into the global mainstream and introducing more young people to skateboarding. The soundtrack from the games – full of punk rock and ska punk music – is also celebrated for its influence in spreading those music genres. Hawk is well aware of the lasting impact the games have had on its audience, and he referenced memes that he continues to see on social media platforms. He said, "A lot of them always use our game to explain some of the best times in their lives. And that's something I don't take for granted. I'm very proud of it, and when I get recognized in public, (the THPS games are) usually the first thing people want to talk about." Remastering a classic Flash forward to 2019, 20 years after the release of the original "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater." Hawk wanted to put on a 20th anniversary concert to raise money for his foundation, The Skatepark Project, then known as the Tony Hawk Foundation. Hawk reached out to Activision for permission to use the THPS IP for the event. Bobby Kotick, then-CEO of the publisher, both consented to the use of the IP and had Activision sponsor the fundraiser. That, Hawk says, was the catalyst for the idea to remake the THPS series, upgrading the visuals and technology behind the games to make them suitable for new hardware and potentially bring in a new audience. Kotick told Hawk at the time that he had an idea of which video game development studios would be up to the task of remaking the, at this point, classic games and doing right by their fans. Within a year, Kotick Activision had indeed found the studio – Vicarious Visions, now known as Blizzard Albany – and greenlit the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 remake game. Hawk said when he played the remade versions of the first two iterations of the video game series named after him, he felt similarly to how he did the first time he played the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. "I think (I had) even a deeper appreciation for it because it it was utilizing the newest technology and so it looked much more real, it felt much more real," Hawk said. On Sept. 4, 2020, nearly 20 years to the day of the release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 debuted. It was the first new Tony Hawk's skateboarding game for consoles since 2015's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5. The game sold one million copies in the first two weeks after release. Its reviews were similarly positive to the original iterations of the series, receiving a 90 score (out of 100) for the PlayStation 5 version on review aggregator site Metacritic. Remaking more sequels Less than five years later – and earlier this month – Activision released the follow-up fans have been waiting for: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4. Like its predecessor, the game combines remakes of two games in the original, four-game THPS series – this time, the latter two games – and received generally favorable reviews from critics, per Metacritic. The newest game includes new music, new levels and new skaters in addition to bringing back old soundtrack hits, original levels in their upgraded format and many of the original skaters as well. Hawk said he had a good amount of say in the songs that were in the updated soundtrack, an important thing to get right given how much of a staple music was in the original games. He said almost every song suggestion he made was included in the new soundtrack. "Including my stepson's band T.C.M.F. with the song 'Result,'" Hawk said. "It totally fits. And if you didn't know I was related to him, you would think, 'Oh yeah, that song belongs there.'" If he had to pick favorites from the new soundtrack, Hawks says they'd be "Damaged Goods" by Gang of Four and "Gift Horse" by Idles. For the new levels, Hawk said he didn't have as much of a say, but he has a feeling he knows where at least one of the ideas came from. One of the new levels, "Water Park," draws inspiration from a 2019 video from Thrasher Magazine showing Hawk and other skaters doing tricks around a drained water park. "A few years ago, I did skate a water park and that was well documented, and then suddenly that was an idea for the game," Hawk said. "I'm not saying that that's exactly the chronology, but I think it had a lot to do with it." Another level addition, "Pinball," allows the player to skate through a giant pinball machine that a larger-than-life-sized version of Hawk is playing. When it came to the skaters, Hawk loved being able to include many of the same original skaters from the original games. Said Hawk: "The idea that we had all the same cast of characters – in that 1 + 2 remaster and now in 3 + 4 – and they all still skate! You know what I mean? Like that's an amazing legacy, and we can make them age appropriate. "Someone asked me recently like, 'Is your character your age?' I'm like, 'He is, because I'm still skating!'" There are also plenty of new additions to the roster of skaters in the new game, including two-time street gold medalist Yuto Horigome, two-time street medalist Rayssa Leal and even a few fictional characters: Michelangelo of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Doom Slayer from the Doom video game series are both playable characters. Hawk says he'll usually play as himself in the games but occasionally branches out to use other skaters to explore their unique tricks. One other skater, in particular, often gets some extra play above the others. "I would say if I'm not playing my character, then I'm playing my son Riley," he said. Tony Hawk on skateboarding at the Olympics Outside of helping in the development of remaking the video games he lent his name to, Hawk has been something of a global ambassador to the sport of skateboarding. He was an early part of the push to get it included in the Olympics in the first place. "I was advocating for it from the get-go when I knew that it was even in the realm of possibility and in conversations with the IOC (International Olympic Committee)," he said. "I attended plenty of meetings. I actually flew to Lausanne (the IOC's home in Switzerland) at one point. I went to the youth games. I was trying everything I could to raise the profile and to show that it would be a great addition. "And then when it finally did get added as as a sport and as a medal category, that's when I backed out honestly. Once I knew it was in, I didn't want to be part of the machine. I just wanted to help it guide it there in the in the early days." The International Olympic Committee (IOC) first voted to include skateboarding in the Summer Olympic Games in the 2020 iteration in Tokyo. Skateboarding was also an event in the 2024 Paris Games and is set to take place once again in 2028 in Los Angeles. In each of the first two editions of Olympic skateboarding, Hawk was there each time not only as a witness, but as a participant. "It's the coolest. It's like the best of all worlds, because I get to go see it, I get to participate," he said. "Like I got to ride the course both in Tokyo and Paris before the skaters. "I get to to watch from the sidelines and I don't have to judge. It's been amazing to see and to see the the amount of interest and growth and hype that it has received." Hawk noted that a large part of that interest and growth has been most noticeable with young women and girl skaters in recent years. He told an anecdote about his own vertical ramp contest – Tony Hawk's Vert Alert – struggling to get girls to sign up to fill up their side of a bracket just for the first iteration of the event four years ago. "It was kind of like, 'Any girl that even could skate ramps at all, you're in,'" Hawk said. "And now the field is huge and we have to hold qualifying way beforehand. "And I mean just in the case of like someone like Arisa Trew, she she did a 900 (Tony Hawk's signature trick consisting of two full, 360-degree rotations with an additional 180) last year. It's amazing. It's amazing that how just in that five years, how exponentially it's grown." In addition to helping bridge the gender divide in skating, Hawk said the Olympics have also been a massive part in bringing the sport to a more global audience. He pointed to countries like China and Uganda, places where skating was not as popular or didn't even really exist in decades past. "There was never skating in China before the Olympics, and now they have training facilities and actual skaters and places where kids can go and learn," Hawk said. "And that's huge." Uganda now has a "thriving skating scene" as well, says Hawk. And even though the country didn't participate in the skating event for the Olympics, there's still more attention on skateboarding there because of the recent iterations of Summer Games. If there's one thing Hawk would change about the Olympic skateboarding events, it's that he wishes they included a vert event: competitions with halfpipes and large, vertical ramps. Hawk specialized in those events during his career – a vert competition at the fifth X Games is where he pulled off the first-ever 900 in 1999. Instead, the only two skateboarding events at the quadrennial Games are "street" and "park" skating, which feature small courses with obstacles for the skaters to use for various tricks. Hawk called himself the "gnat in their (the IOC's) ear" while trying to push for a vert event in the Olympics. Though he understood the reasoning it wasn't included in the original, 2020 Tokyo Games – a lack of vertical ramps worldwide would have made holding qualifying events a challenge – he's still hoping – and pushing – for its inclusion in a future iteration. Hawk said he hasn't been contacted (yet) about helping set up any of the events for the 2028 Games, which will take place in Los Angeles, not far from Hawk's hometown of San Diego. But he has already offered help with setting up a vert event. "I have offered up my ramp and my presence. If they want to put vert in in any context, here's a free vert ramp," he said. "Put it wherever you want and I'll be there."
