Wiktionary
alt. (context skateboarding snowboarding etc. English) A structure used to perform tricks, approximately semicircular in cross-section, resembling the bottom half of a cylinder laying down. n. (context skateboarding snowboarding etc. English) A structure used to perform tricks, approximately semicircular in cross-section, resembling the bottom half of a cylinder laying down.
Wikipedia
A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skateboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, and skating. The structure is wood, concrete, metal, earth, or snow. It resembles a cross section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps (or quarter-pipes), topped by copings and decks, facing each other across a flat transition, also known as a tranny. Originally half-pipes were half sections of a large diameter pipe. Since the 1980s, half-pipes contain an extended flat bottom between the quarter-pipes; the original style half-pipes are no longer built. Flat ground provides time to regain balance after landing and more time to prepare for the next trick. Half-pipe applications include leisure recreation, skills development, competitive training, amateur and professional competition, demonstrations, and as an adjunct to other types of skills training. A skilled athlete can perform in a half-pipe for an extended period of time by pumping to attain extreme speeds with relatively little effort. Large (high amplitude) half-pipes make possible many of the aerial tricks in BMX, skating and skateboarding.
For winter sports such as freestyle skiing and snowboarding, a half-pipe can be dug out of the ground or snow perhaps combined with snow buildup. The plane of the transition is oriented downhill at a slight grade to allow riders to use gravity to develop speed and facilitate drainage of melt. In the absence of snow, dug out half-pipes can be used by dirtboarders, motorcyclists, and mountain bikers.
Performance in a half-pipe has been rapidly increasing over recent years. The current limit performed by a top-level athlete for a rotational trick in a half-pipe is 1440 degrees (four full 360 degree rotations). In top level competitions, rotation is generally limited to emphasize style and flow.
Usage examples of "half-pipe".
After a stiff exchange of pleasantries with the other cable layers on the beach, he goes to the brink of the trench and begins bossing around the man with the half-pipes, who, knowing what's good for him, just keeps his mouth shut while maintaining a certain bearing and dignity beside which the executive's suit and umbrella seem pathetic and vain.
The half-pipes have grooves and corresponding protrusions that fit together.
He’d represent the latest generation of hackers: athletic risk-takers, equally at home hacking together script at a keyboard and skateboarding half-pipes at extreme-sport competitions.
He'd represent the latest generation of hackers: athletic risk-takers, equally at home hacking together script at a keyboard and skateboarding half-pipes at extreme-sport competitions.
Unsurprisingly, the city of Millhaven offered no skateboarding venues with half-pipes, bowls, and purpose-built ramps.