Skatepark Management Archive

  • Interview with Ty Smith, Coordinator of the Summer at the Skatepark Program: Free Drop In Skateboarding coaching in Castlegar, BC When was Castlegar Skatepark built? The Castlegar Rotary Skatepark was completed in 2003 and was designed by Spectrum Skatepark Creations. How was the park received? In the beginning, the park was a huge step forward for the Castlegar skateboarding scene, but there was not a plan...

    An Interview with Ty Smith: Drop Into Skateboarding

    Interview with Ty Smith, Coordinator of the Summer at the Skatepark Program: Free Drop In Skateboarding coaching in Castlegar, BC When was Castlegar Skatepark built? The Castlegar Rotary Skatepark was completed in 2003 and was designed by Spectrum Skatepark Creations. How was the park received? In the beginning, the park was a huge step forward for the Castlegar skateboarding scene, but there was not a plan...

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  • On Dec. 20th 2008, the City of Victoria opened a state of the art 15,000 square foot skatepark. The park features a large street area and a flow bowl, and is hailed as a destination skatepark in South Texas. Unfortunately, when the park opened it lacked common park amenities like restrooms, water fountains and shade structures. On top of that, the skatepark was poorly sited behind...

    Victoria, TX: Taking the Park Back

    On Dec. 20th 2008, the City of Victoria opened a state of the art 15,000 square foot skatepark. The park features a large street area and a flow bowl, and is hailed as a destination skatepark in South Texas. Unfortunately, when the park opened it lacked common park amenities like restrooms, water fountains and shade structures. On top of that, the skatepark was poorly sited behind...

    Continue Reading...

  • A few years ago we had A LOT of offensive, gang-looking tagging and graffiti showing up at Carolina Skatepark with the #1 target being the big bowl (likely due to it’s depth and the ability to not be seen easily from street level.) We’d heard that the “unwritten code” with graffiti artists is they will not tag each others artwork – so we thought we’d give...

    Painting Murals in Skateparks

    A few years ago we had A LOT of offensive, gang-looking tagging and graffiti showing up at Carolina Skatepark with the #1 target being the big bowl (likely due to it’s depth and the ability to not be seen easily from street level.) We’d heard that the “unwritten code” with graffiti artists is they will not tag each others artwork – so we thought we’d give...

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  •   Skatepark maintenance is a subject that to this point often has more questions than answers. The main reason for this is the age of most of the modern public skateparks. These facilities as we know them now only started to take shape in the late 90′s, so they are still in their relative infancy. There are many variables, the most significant being the material that...

    Oregon Skatepark Maintenance

      Skatepark maintenance is a subject that to this point often has more questions than answers. The main reason for this is the age of most of the modern public skateparks. These facilities as we know them now only started to take shape in the late 90′s, so they are still in their relative infancy. There are many variables, the most significant being the material that...

    Continue Reading...

  • Picture this scenario. A community decides the kids playing basketball in the streets and driveways of homes and local businesses are becoming a public nuisance. In an effort to give kids a safer place to practice their skills, the city creates a community basketball court superior to any other basketball facilities in town. The court is a huge success with hundreds of users daily, and is...

    Programs to Promote a Positive Skatepark

    Picture this scenario. A community decides the kids playing basketball in the streets and driveways of homes and local businesses are becoming a public nuisance. In an effort to give kids a safer place to practice their skills, the city creates a community basketball court superior to any other basketball facilities in town. The court is a huge success with hundreds of users daily, and is...

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  • When the Knoxville skatepark opened in 2008 it concluded a three-year effort by local advocates. Their effort didn’t stop there, however. They transitioned into an effective stewardship group for that facility and continue to schedule events and clean-up days even now. Check out their site and give them the support and accolades they deserve.

    Knoxville Skatepark advocacy group

    When the Knoxville skatepark opened in 2008 it concluded a three-year effort by local advocates. Their effort didn’t stop there, however. They transitioned into an effective stewardship group for that facility and continue to schedule events and clean-up days even now. Check out their site and give them the support and accolades they deserve.

    Continue Reading...

  • …and What You Can Do About It. There is not a single parks manager who doesn’t see a way to improve any recreational facility. The challenges facing parks are everywhere; the expensive maintenance costs of a new soccer field, finding qualified volunteers for an after-school program, or the lack of  land for an off-leash dog park. The fact is that no recreational facility is without its...

    How Skateparks Fail…

    …and What You Can Do About It. There is not a single parks manager who doesn’t see a way to improve any recreational facility. The challenges facing parks are everywhere; the expensive maintenance costs of a new soccer field, finding qualified volunteers for an after-school program, or the lack of  land for an off-leash dog park. The fact is that no recreational facility is without its...

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  • Establishing a positive skatepark climate is easily achieved through inexpensive and fun programming.

    Skatepark Programming

    Establishing a positive skatepark climate is easily achieved through inexpensive and fun programming.

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  • Skateboarding needs more people like Ben Wixon. A lifelong skateboarder, teacher, writer whose enthusiasm and dedication to skating is unparalleled. This commitment shows in his new book, Skateboarding: Instruction, Programming, and Park Design. Published in January 2009 by Human Kinetics , Skateboarding takes readers from rudimentary parts of a skateboarding through to forms and fundamental trick progressions. There’s an exploration of skateboarding terrain and policy as...

    The Book for Skateboarding Education

    Skateboarding needs more people like Ben Wixon. A lifelong skateboarder, teacher, writer whose enthusiasm and dedication to skating is unparalleled. This commitment shows in his new book, Skateboarding: Instruction, Programming, and Park Design. Published in January 2009 by Human Kinetics , Skateboarding takes readers from rudimentary parts of a skateboarding through to forms and fundamental trick progressions. There’s an exploration of skateboarding terrain and policy as...

    Continue Reading...