Charitable distance skating refers to long-distance travel on a longboard or

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboar ...

with an associated charitable fundraising effort. Perhaps one of the most famous boards in the world, Elsa (a rollsroll carbon longboard) has over 10,000 km under her wheels. Elsa was pushed from

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

between August 20, 2006, and January 22, 2007, by Dave Cornthwaite, of BoardFree, at a distance of 5,823 km, which broke American Jack Smith's previous distance record by 994 km. Cornthwaite was also the first person to skateboard the length of Britain, travelling from John o' Groats to

Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it i ...

between April 30, 2006, and June 2, 2006, a total distance of . During the same summer of 2006, four young

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

pushed their way across the second longest land mass in the world. Beginning on the waterfront in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

, the Push for the Cure pushed more than 7,000 km to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. The journey took just over five months and raised more than $80,000 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Many other charitable longboard journeys have taken place, including Nat Halliday et al.'s skate of the length of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in 2007, Sam Benson's Beatswalkin' journey from

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England, to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

, Spain, in 2007, and Ben Stiff's record-breaking length of Britain skate in 2008. Long Treks on Skate Decks comprises Paul Kent, Aaron Enevoldsen and Adam Colton. In 2009, the group skated 2,400 km through

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

, from

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. In 2010, they completed yet another 2,000 km journey through

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

, raising funds for Art à la Carte, a Canadian volunteer society that provides acute care cancer patients with a choice of art for their hospital rooms. The blogs from these skating teams and the video coverage of their epic trips on sites such as YouTube. In 2010 SkateAcrossUSA formed a team led by Ari Mannis that skated almost from

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, followed by a support vehicle, to raise money for at-risk youth. In 2012 they finished their second journey from Santa Cruz to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, California, totaling over with no support. Skate4Hope comprises members from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Skate4Hope completed a 120 km maiden round-island voyage in July 2010. In 2013

Longboard Japan A longboard generally designates a longer board variant in various board sports. * Longboard (skateboard) * Longboard (surfing) Longboard may also refer to * * Long spine board, a piece of pre-hospital emergency medical equipment * See also * ...

AKA Jack Courtenay pushed his way solo with no support over 1569 km across Japan from

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous ci ...

to Hiroshima in 33 days and raised $1000 for orphans in Japan that were effected by the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six m ...

References

{{Reflist Skateboarding