Requirement · part of 2. One of four options, and it decides the rest of the badge
2(D). Option D, Skateboarding
Optional May not apply Often forgotten
Fourteen steps and then a choice of three trick families out of five, which makes this THE ONLY OPTION WITH A DECISION INSIDE IT. It is also the only option that asks you to assemble the equipment, and the only one with a step that needs coping, meaning a built skatepark.
Notes and warnings
Warning. THIS OPTION ASKS YOU TO BUILD THE EQUIPMENT AND THEN TO USE A FACILITY, AND BOTH NEED ARRANGING BEFORE IT IS CHOSEN. 2(D)(7) is "build a board by assembling all pieces (deck, wheels, trucks, hardware, and grip tape) in the proper order", and it is THE ONLY STEP ON THE WHOLE BADGE THAT ASKS FOR ANYTHING TO BE BUILT. A complete board bought ready to ride has already had this done to it by somebody in a factory, so this requirement decides what gets purchased: parts, or a board that will be taken apart. 2(D)(13) IS THE OTHER ARRANGEMENT: dropping in from coping needs the steel lip along the top of a ramp or a bowl, which means a built skatepark and not a driveway, a car park or a kerb. IT IS ALSO THE ONLY OPTION WITH A CHOICE INSIDE IT, three trick families out of five, and two of those five need a rail, a ledge, a ramp or a bowl as well.
What this is made of
- 2(D)(1). The history of skateboarding
- 2(D)(2). What skateboarding is good for
- 2(D)(3). Right of way, signals and warnings
- 2(D)(4). The gear, and wearing it correctly
- 2(D)(5). Street and vert, and what is in a skatepark
- 2(D)(6). The anatomy of a board
- 2(D)(7). Build the board yourself
- 2(D)(8). Keeping a board running
- 2(D)(9). Regular or goofy, and which you are
- 2(D)(10). Push, cruise and carve
- 2(D)(11). Two ways to stop
- 2(D)(12). An ollie, and a variation on it
- 2(D)(13). Drop in from the coping
- 2(D)(14). Three tricks, from five families
Where this step comes from
- Skating Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31), Requirement 2(D)