GECKO Longboard & Skateboard Lab
This is the official website of the Longboard & Skateboard Lab at the GECKO Institute of Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences.
You can also find us on Instagram @hhn_gecko_longboardsk8boardlab where we post about our latest updates.
Our current main subject is the skateboarding discipline "Longboard Dancing & Freestyle" (LDF). We also do consider all other skateboarding disciplines and focus on making our work inclusive.
We are interested in joint projects and collaborations, whether you are an organisation, a researcher, or a student. If you have any ideas, we look forward to getting in touch with you.
Picture by Oliwia Jaglińska
Longboard Dancing & Freestyle (LDF) is a young and dynamically developing skateboarding discipline. Its current form likely originated in the early 2000s. LDF can be described as dancing on and with a longer skateboard. Dancing steps, "board walking" from surfing, as well as skateboard tricks are combined and reinterpreted.
The length and shape of the boards used for LDF can vary a lot depending on the manufacturer and personal preferences. Usually, boards are between 100 to 130cm long and the shape is symmetrical with two kicktails. Primarily reversed kingpin (RKP) trucks with soft bushings are used. Compared to other skateboarding disciplines the wheels are mostly larger and softer.
Numerous communities are existing worldwide. Most of them are informally organised and present on social media platforms such as Instagram. Competitions are primarily organised by these local communities.
written by David Buchmann, January 12, 2026
Overview of Our Projects
The LISS is a prospective cohort study regarding LDF-related injuries. The recruiting phase started on January 20, 2025 and the collection of data will be terminated on July 20, 2026. Athletes self-report their trainings and injuries via our Sport Injuries Reporting System (SIRS). The SIRS was developed as part of a student project. The training and injury reports are based on a consensus statement of the International Olympic Committee (Bahr et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2019-101969). The study is monitored with a Microsoft Power BI Dashboard that was developed within another student project.
Preliminary & Unadjusted Data Regarding the Year 2025:
Example of a SIRS Injury Report:
For more information you can visit the SIRS website via https://sirs.gecko.hs-heilbronn.de/ our our Instagram account where post the latest updates @hhn_gecko_longboardsk8boardlab.
The actual Longboard & Skateboard Lab of the GECKO Institute is located at the Karl-Heinz-Losch Rollsportstadion of the Rollschuh- und Eislaufverein Heilbronn von 1934 e.V. (REV). There, longboard and skateboard movements are recorded to generate a data base that enables further motion analysis. An AI-based motion analyses is currently in development.
We are collecting all kinds of knowledge and data regarding longboarding and skateboarding as a foundation for our projects. If you are aware of any kind of knowledge or data that might be valuable for us, please contact us.
Longboard & Skateboard Glossary of Important Terms
To enable a common understanding we are working on a glossary of the terminology used especially in LDF.
As part of the university sports program we offer a free longboard course for all students and employees of Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences.
Visit the AStA Hochschulsportportal for more information and to sign up.
In addition, we also have an open WhatsApp community where we organise unofficial sessions and exchange about everything longboard related. Click here to join the WhatsApp Community.
Since the winter term 2025/2026 we offer a 2 ECTS General Studies course called "Applied Artificial Intelligence in the Longboard Dancing KI-Vibes Living Lab". You can find the course description in the General Studies Program - Winter Term 2025/2026.
We have an open WhatsApp community for everyone where we organise unofficial longboarding/skateboarding sessions and exchange about everything longboarding/skateboarding related. Click here to join the WhatsApp Community.
As part of the "Sport im Park" initiative of the city of Heilbronn we offered free longboard courses in the years 2024 and 2025.
In the years 2024 and 2025 we presented our work at the "Heilbronner Nachhaltigkeits- und Mobilitätstag" and people could try longboarding as an alternative mode of transportation.
Picture by Ralph Seidel
Our research associate David Buchmann was part of a project of the "Rollsportjugend", the youth organisation of the "Deutscher Rollsport und Inline- Verband e.V." (DRIV). You can watch the full video and interview on Instagram.
We are collaborating with Spinnax GmbH regarding best practice use and added value proposition of their "Spinnax Freak" sensor for skateboarding.
In collaboration with the local brand Pogo Boards a special longboard for our university sports course and research projects was developed.
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