Emily Himmelwright can make it from her dorm room to the academic side of campus in five minutes if she rides her longboard, saving her more than 10 minutes if she were to walk to class instead.

Longboarding has had to struggle for its moment in the sun since its richer cousin of shortboarding was incepted back in the late ‘60s. The first men’s Longboard World Champion was crowned in 1987 and ...