During a recent conversation with John Hill, Mike Mo Capaldi shared his thoughts on Olympic skateboarding and why he believes it is actually very similar to Street League Skateboarding.
While talking about contest formats, Mike Mo admitted that he has some issues with how skateboarding is judged.
According to him, the system can sometimes reward skaters for mastering only a handful of difficult tricks rather than being well rounded.
He explained that the format can create a situation where a skater learns three or four extremely difficult tricks and, because those tricks score so highly, can be considered one of the best competitors in the world.
Meanwhile, other aspects of skateboarding such as consistency, style, and line selection can end up carrying less weight.
Mike Mo joked that a skater could barely kickflip up a curb, yet still be viewed as the best in the world if they had a few high scoring tricks locked in.
That raises questions about what contest skateboarding should actually reward.
At one point, he paused to reconsider part of his criticism and admitted he was not completely sure how the Olympic format currently handles line skating.
READ MORE: Ever Wonder How is Skateboarding Scored at The Olympics? Here’s How!
Because of that, he stopped short of fully criticizing the Olympics and said it is actually pretty similar to Street League Skateboarding anyway.
John then jumped into the conversation and pointed out that most skaters watching contests are not usually focused on judging criteria.
A lot of people simply want to know whether a trick was landed or not and enjoy seeing the biggest tricks go down.
The discussion later shifted to Mike Mo's Professional Skateboarding League, or PSL. According to Mike Mo, the PSL format is very different from traditional contest formats.
He said many skaters were confused by it when it was first introduced, but over time people began to understand what it was trying to accomplish.
The format has gained attention among core skateboard fans who were looking for something different from the contest structure they had become used to seeing over the years.
Mike Mo and John continued talking about PSL, contest judging, and several other skateboarding topics throughout the interview.
If you want to hear the full conversation and get the complete context behind Mike Mo's comments, the full video is worth checking out.
WATCH: John Hill Interviews Mike Mo Capaldi on Comebacks, Legacy & Life After the Spotlight
