The Sioux City Skateboard Association was formed to raise the bar for skateboarding in the midwest. Our efforts will grow skills and provide places to skate. Get some!

Skateboard Clinic to be held at the Longlines Family Recreational Center. (Old Auditorium- Sioux City).

Skateboarder at Sioux City's Cook Skatepark

Bring Respect Back to Cook Skatepark:
There was once a time when skateboarders would fight for what was their own. They would fend off unwanted behavior and allow no-one to jeopardize their space. Unfortunately the public has come to take over what was built for skateboarders and skateboarders have given up on what is rightfully theirs. This is an opportunity to join us in bringing respect back to the skatepark.

The Clinic:
The clinic will consist of 2 categories – Beginner and Intermediate. There will be instructors on hand to teach beginner and intermediate skateboarders the fundamentals and techniques to improve their current skateboarding abilities. We encourage parents to join in and offer assistance in this program if they wish. We hope to make this a successful clinic and look forward to more clinics to offer a safe place for the youth of Siouxland to expand their skills during the winter months.

Important:
- Under 18 need parent present to sign waiver
- Helmets required (rentals available for $5)
- No Skateboarding outside of clinic area

Clinic Location:
Longlines Family Rec. Center
401 Gordon Dr.
Sioux City, IA 51101
712.224.5124
Monday, November 22 6pm-8pm
Cost: FREE

For more information contact the Sioux City Skateboard Association at 712-898-0601 , True Skateboard Shop at 712-204-3845 or Sioux City Parks and Rec. at 712-279-6126

[ Cook Street Skateboard Contest Photos ]

[ Skate Sioux City ]

With an indoor skate park, video arcade, indoor cafe and a paintball course, “The Naz” has also taken an unconventional approach to connecting with area youth, making it one of several Livingston County churches that reach out by rolling out recreational opportunities.

“It’s 22,000 square feet, and we have just about everything you can think of including vert walls and half-pipes,” Wessel said of the skating area. “We recently added a configurable center with rails and stairs.”

The skate park opened about seven years ago after throngs of teenagers began skating on church property. Skaters began interacting with pastors and soon, ramps were brought in to turn the parking lot into a concrete playground.

“It grew into a Friday night skateboard ministry with lots of noise,” Wessel said.

Neighbors were not pleased with the skate park commotion, and eventually the park was moved indoors.

Brighton resident Mark Anderson, 19, flashes across a jump at the Brighton Nazarene Church skate park. More than 8,000 students have used the skate park, which is free for anyone who attends a weekly skate ministry. (Photo by ALAN WARD/DAILY PRESS & ARGUS)

More than 8,000 students have taken advantage of the skate park, which is free for anyone who attends a weekly skate ministry. Otherwise, it costs $5 per day to skate.

“Our goal isn’t to push God or preach to them,” Wessel said. “The goal is to teach them life skills.”

Wessel said it can be hard for some members of the congregation to understand the importance of skate parks and their youth programs, which involve lasers and fog machines.

“What I’ve seen is a lot of churches neglecting the kids,” Wessel said. “But there is value in what we are doing. The kids are looking for something to do. They need a place to go.”

Unique recreation opportunities in Livingston County aren’t exclusive to “The Naz.” United Brethren in Christ Church, about a mile west of downtown Fowlerville in Handy Township, recently built a disc golf course.

“Disc golf is a fun, inexpensive way for people to enjoy the outdoors,” United Brethren parishioner Kurt Charleville said. “There were very few (courses) in the county, and we had the land and wanted to see it used.”

The free, nine-hole course was built by volunteers. During the warmer months, up to 30 players per day enjoyed the place. The church also offers free disc rental and has two full-size baseball fields and two soccer fields that are open to the community.

Several churches in Livingston County also offer more traditional recreation opportunities for parishioners and other community members.

Hidden Springs Church on Latson Road in Howell has a youth wrestling program that competes in the Mid-Michigan Wrestling Association against club teams around Lansing and Flint.

Last year the team had between 20 and 30 members.

Dozens of youth skate at the Brighton Nazarene Church skate park. With the venue, the church aims to reach out to younger members and others in the community. (Dozens of youth skate at the Lighthouse Skatepark)

The biggest draws for Livingston County churches are basketball and softball leagues. Many churches particpate in leagues together including Brighton Nazarene, Brighton Township’s Cornerstone Evangelical Presbyterian Church and Howell Nazarene Church.

Last year, our basketball league for first-graders to adults had about 700 people,” said Illene McMann of Community Bible Church. “We’ve had a lot of people come to our church after first coming to our basketball leagues.”

There are also coed and women’s adult volleyball leagues that pit parishioners from Cornerstone SonRise Church in the Howell area, Community Bible Church and other parishes against one another.

“We have 12 teams in the league,” said Kim Traud, a Cornerstone sports volunteer. “I think it is a nonthreatening, safe place to plug in and start building
relationships.”

Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Jon Gunnells at (517) 552-2847 or at jgunnells@gannett.com.

[ Livingston Daily ]

“It’s one of the most often made comments by the youth in Coshocton is that there is nothing to do. A lot of that nothing to do is that there is nothing to do unsupervised, which is what they would like to do,” said Mercer. “However, the concept of there is nothing to do, as we know, there is skateboarding going on everywhere and people will see evidence of this on the streets and in the parking lots, the sidewalks and so on. We are identifying this as something that could meet a real need in the community for our kids.”

Currently at the city recreation park behind Kids America is a skate park featuring five ramps erected in 2002. Mercer said the equipment is getting worn and admitted there has been trouble with vandalism because the park being out of the way and not well lit.
He said moving to the Himebaugh Lot would help as it is a fenced-in area in the inner city and directly across from the Coshocton Fire Department.

“We like that location because it’s in a visible location, and there’s lots of lighting. Our fire department is across the street. They’re not going to become policemen for it, but it’s a nice visible building in the city and a safety service type location. We feel that can serve as a deterrent for vandalism,” said Mercer.

Phase 1 of the proposed plan would be refurbishing of the existing ramps and moving them to a constructed concrete bowl 7,500 square feet in the Himebaugh Lot at the corner of Orange and Seventh streets. Phase 2, which could be started at anytime after the completion of Phase 1, would be further expansion with ramps and equipment to the corner of Poplar and Seventh streets.

“These are just like an apartment complex. You can start with one unit and then add another unit on and another unit depending on how much money you raise,” said Jones.

Cost for the basic bowl and surrounding concrete would be $135,000, which would be raised through grants and local fundraising.

Jones said that about half that cost easily can be raised through available grants. For example, professional skate boarder Tony Hawk gives $25,000 to any community that uses the Grindline skatepark design and construction firm, which is the company the city is looking to go with. More can be learned of the firm online at www.grindline.com.
“According to Grindline stats, it’s also an economic boost for the community. You can have events, and they claim it’s a positive for the communities these are in,” said Jones. “It’s just not kids, it’s adults (who use the parks).”

Jones said Matt Jamison, a Coshocton High School graduate who is an amateur skateboarder who competes in tournaments around the state, would aide with the park design while also spearheading a community forum to get feedback on the park and form a fundraising strategy.

“He got involved and said he would very much like to help in any way he could to help develop it a little more than just using those pieces we have,” said Mercer.

Jones said he knows the Himebaugh Lot is currently used as a school playground, for school sports and training and other community events. He said the school district would be more than welcome to use the city recreation park land behind Kids America for any function they wish.

“We have several acres, hundreds of acres down there we can use for the school if losing this ground for activities is an issue,” said Jones.

Jones said the city recreation department would handle elements of construction, maintenance and upkeep. The school board would need to issue a non-binding resolution on the use of the Himebaugh Lot so fundraising and preliminary planning could start. Jones said he would like to start construction in the spring.

The board also would need to consider a lease agreement for the lot and other stipulations of use. The board did not decide anything Thursday, but has the project under consideration.

“I think it’s an excellent idea, really,” said school board vice president Dr. Todd Salmans.

Additionally, Mercer asked the school board to consider an informal program that would see students from the city school district rotate on a monthly basis the display of artwork on the interior walls of Coshocton City Hall.

“I’d like to get some color and splash and take advantage of your programs here in the schools to do that,” said Mercer.

Mercer said it is important the city school district and city government work together on various projects and he cited the board allowing Coshocton High School to feed and house 400 teens next June for the work camp project as evidence of positive cooperation.

The program will see students from across the U.S. stay in Coshocton for a week to do light repairs on 70 to 80 local homes.

llhayhur@nncogannett.com
740-295-3417

[ Zanesville Times Recorder ]

By all accounts, Alex was an avid skateboarder before he was killed in a traffic accident on his way to class at Madison Area Technical College on Jan. 13.

Within hours of his death, friends had set up memorials on Facebook, a social networking Web site, with pictures of Alex skateboarding and having a good time.

A group of residents led by his mother, retired Sauk Prairie elementary school teacher Vicki Gullickson, have picked up where a high school group left off in planning for a skatepark.

“He loved skating and devoted a lot of his time in high school to that,” Vicki said. “His girlfriend Megan (Martens) really liked the idea and why not? I mean, how much better a memorial can it be?”

Martens, who graduated from Sauk Prairie High School with Alex in 2008, has become one of the park’s biggest proponents.

She was one of the volunteers who went door-to-door surveying residents in the neighborhood of Jaycee Park in Sauk City, asking them whether they would like to see a skatepark built nearby. She said of the nine residences that share a property line with the park, six property owners said they liked the idea, one said “No” and two others could not be contacted.

The original plan developed by a group of students at Sauk Prairie High school between 2002 and 2004 with the help of guidance counselor Robyn Baron found Jaycee Park to be the ideal location, Vicki said.

“So much of the work and research for this already is done,” she said. “Our goal is to get the village to commit and say we can have a spot.”

Building upon the previous research, which recommended a skatepark be built in Jaycee Park where the park would be accessible to youth and bathrooms already are on site, Vicki hopes to get the village of Sauk City to sign on.

“There are a lot of kids interested in this,” Vicki said. “Not just skateboarders, there’s also a group of girls who are interested in inline skating.”

Vicki said the group hopes to fund the construction of the park entirely through grants and private donations, but they need a place to build.

She and several other adult supporters, as well as about 15 skaters, made a proposal to the Sauk City Plan Commission on Oct. 27 to use space near the tennis courts at Jaycee Park.

Standing outside the Sauk City Municipal Building due to a power outage, Sarah Boehmer told village planners that skaters in Waunakee were able to raise $100,000 to build a park there.

Boehmer said her son skateboards and she regularly takes him to neighboring communities that have skateparks.

Plan Commission member Chuck Bongard said Baraboo installed a skatepark and had some problems with kids breaking the rules and causing problems. He asked Vicki how they would address the possibility for similar problems.

Vicki said many communities in the area have built skateparks and did not experience the problems that came up in Baraboo, though she said she believed many of the issues that came up in Baraboo had been resolved.

She also pointed out that the Sauk Prairie Recreation Department would be involved in the project and active parents and skaters would have to be engaged.

Bongard said he believe Jaycee Park would be a good location.

After the meeting, Vicki said she believed the commission members were open to the proposal.

“We thought they were pretty open,” she said. “We’re optimistic about it.”

Her husband, Dale, also has been involved with the project and said he was impressed by the number of kids who attended the meeting to show support.

The total cost of the project, as well as the type of materials and responsibility for maintenance have not yet been established, Vicki said.

[ The Sauk Prairie Eagle ]

On edge: Joe Butler, 16, rides the metal edge of the bowl at the new skate park at Lawrence Community Park. - Joe Vitti / The Star

If you like skateboard stunts and extreme bicycling — but you’re tired of being told where you can’t ride — the city of Lawrence has a place for you.

The Lawrence Skate Park, which opened Saturday at Lawrence Community Park, 5301 N. Franklin Road, has ramps and rails and steps, a bowl and a half-pipe. There are several benches for the older and less adventurous to watch from, and lights to let the riding continue into the night.

All bicyclists, in-line skaters and skateboarders are welcome to use the park. There will be no “Stay off the ramps” or “No skating” signs. The only sign will strongly advise that participants wear protective helmets.

Saturday’s opening completed a process that began in February 2008, when skaters and riders were asked what they wanted to see in a skate park. The move to create the park was inspired in part by complaints from area businesses, which wanted a park to draw away skaters and riders who were using their parking lots and steps for stunts.

From the recommendations of dozens of middle school students came the new venue, which joins a collection of baseball, softball and soccer fields and tennis courts at the park.

There are skate parks in Boone, Hamilton and Hendricks counties and at the Major Taylor Velodrome. A skate park at Danville in Hendricks County closed earlier this year because of a history of problems with behavior.

The Lawrence park is the first one on the Northeastside. Lawrence officials note that the park is going to be the closest one for those living to the south, and they expect riders from the Southside to head to the new facility. But a handful of in-line skaters and skateboarders doing tricks Sunday morning in the park doubted the park would be an extreme sports magnet unless some improvements were made.

“There are a lot of design flaws,” said Vince Morrentino, 28, Indianapolis. “There’s no fluid movement through the park, and some of these metal edges need to be ground down. {$326} My skates already have some weird grooves in them from skating here.”

Morrentino, who said he’s been skating more than 13 years and has visited more than 100 skate parks, said local kids likely would continue to use the park, but unless improvements are made, it’s unlikely to draw skaters from outside Lawrence.

The facility has been under construction for several months, with ramps built at another location, brought to the park and welded into place. In the past month, concrete has been poured and a 40-vehicle parking lot has been built.

The city of Lawrence has not decided the operating hours, but the park will be lit and stay open as late as possible. Hours will be unlimited as long as skaters behave, city officials say.

The land came from Lawrence, while the $320,500 to pay for the park came from the Fort Harrison Reuse Authority, the organization that tries to get developers to locate businesses on the grounds of the former U.S. Army base.

Call Star reporter Kevin O’Neal at (317) 444-6304.

[ Indy Star ]

For example, when a skater is doing really well on his board, he’s having “a killer session.”

On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., the locally owned Killer Skate Park & Shop LLC will open in a former tile warehouse at 1315 N. Cullen Ave.

Glenn and Sheena Davidson, the owners and operators of the full-service park and shop, decided to have some fun with the business’s name by incorporating the lingo.

Glenn Davidson, 29, has been a skating enthusiast for 21 years.

He recently managed the Movie Gallery, a movie rental store in Princeton, Ind.

Sheena Davidson has been employed in payroll by Starnes Trucking Co. in Evansville and Paul D. Cooper Trucking Co. in Princeton.

Glenn Davidson couldn’t resist any longer the temptation to start the business that involves a favorite interest: skating.

Courtesy of Sheena Davidson Owner/operator Glenn Davidson says his Killer Skate Park & Shop, which will open Saturday, has "enough lumber to make a small house." The park, at 1315 Cullen Ave., will open at 10 a.m. with a "best trick" contest.

He said the Killer indoor park — for skaters of all ages — fills about 5,000 square feet of space.

A retail shop, offering skateboards, skating apparel, jewelry handmade by Sheena Davidson and a lounge area, fill about 1,300 square feet of space.

The Davidsons worked for some time with Gary Bumb, a commercial broker/Realtor with F.C. Tucker Commercial Real Estate, in finding a location for the business that they thought would be ideal.

“We nearly exhausted the market in trying to find the exact location,” said Bumb.

“We liked that the Cullen Avenue property, owned by Charley Board, is within the popular commercial area between Green River and Burkhardt roads and Morgan Avenue.”

Bumb said he believed it’s especially exciting news for area young people.

“Kids always complain they have nothing to do.

“The indoor skating park adds another piece to the puzzle of things to do.”

The Davidsons spent the past four weeks building the park with help from Jerry Davis Construction; Glenn’s in-laws, Paul and Brenda Cooper; Glenn’s brother, Todd; and his father, Troy.

“Enough lumber to make a small house went into it,” said Glenn Davidson.

He believes the result is one of the most challenging skate parks in the region.

“There are a variety of obstacles and ramps. … Everything flows together.”

The park will operate daily, except Monday, when it will be closed.

Saturday’s kickoff will include a “best trick” contest at 4 p.m.

[ Evansville Courier & Press ]

Each participant got a worksheet to write and draw on to tell what they want to see at the Ann Arbor Skatepark.

Click here for pictures of the event: http://tinyurl.com/designworkshop

Wally Hollyday of Wally Hollyday Design came to find out what the people of Washtenaw County want the Skatepark to be like.

Mr. Hollyday started the event with a brief presentation about how his parks incorporate creative thinking about everything from environmental impact to public art. He’s particularly interested in skateparks as nuclei of communities. He thinks of his parks not just as (eminently) skateable surfaces, but as gathering places for people of all kinds: he has built parks (e.g., Nashville) that ring green spaces where families can picnic while their children skate, and others (North Las Vegas) with built-in amphitheater spaces that can be skated or used for public concerts and performances, etc.

After his presentation, Mr. Hollyday handed out sheets with basic skatepark designs on them and asked each person to mark the features and ideas that mattered most to them. He then spent the next hour peeking over people’s shoulders, checking out their work and engaging them in conversation about their ideas. He made sure to speak to nearly every participant at the workshop.

At the end of the event, Mr. Hollyday collected the sketches, which he’ll use to generate a preliminary design.

This is a huge step for the skatepark. Things are really getting exciting. Keep in mind though that your contributions are what is going to make this project a reality. As we continue our fundraising, we ask that you dig deep for anything you can donate to the effort, and please spread the word to anyone and everyone you may think may be interested in helping this dream become a reality.

To make a gift to the Ann Arbor Skatepark Fund at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, send a check made out to AAACF with “Skatepark” in the memo line to 301 N. Main Street, Suite 300, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 or visit http://www.aaacf.org

[ Ann Arbor Skatepark ]