Maplewood

When I was younger, and had just started skateboarding, I learned that the veneers of skateboards are built and shaped with maplewood. Before then it had never occurred to me that such a specific wood was ideal in making a quality skateboard. That fact of construction stuck with me, and many years later I found that I was intrigued with a new question. If maplewood is what makes a skateboard, then what makes skateboarding?