1977 - Finland's first skateboarding display at Stockmann's. The department store stocks skateboards for the first time.
1978 - The Finnish Skateboard Association is founded. The country's first dedidated skateboard shop opens in Helsinki's Katajanokka.
1979 - The first skateboarding hall opens at Kasarmitori in Helsinki. The first Finnish Championships are arranged.
1989 - The 2nd Finnish Championships.
1994 - Finland's first skateboarding magazine Flashback appears.
1999 - An international ProSkate invitation competition is arranged here for the first time.
2000 - A skateboarding hall opens in Kontula.
2001 - According to a survey, 18% of boys of lower secondary school age in Helsinki go skateboarding at least once a week. Finnish professional skateboarder Arto Saari is voted Skater of the Year in the much-read and highly respected Thrasher magazine.
2003 - There are more than 50,000 active skateboarding devotees in Finland. The present Finnish Skateboarding Federation is founded. Arto Saari is included as a playable character in the popular video game Tony Hawk's Underground.
2004 - Arto Saari, by now a demigod amongst skateboarders even though he is barely known to the general public, is voted in at No.26 on the list of Greatest Finns of All Time, ahead of the likes of architect Alvar Aalto and Formula One world champion Mika Häkkinen.
2009 - A jubilee year for Finnish skateboarding. The 30sk8 exhibition runs at the Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum until 30.8.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 1.8.2009
