Chapter 2: Advocacy

Building The Skatepark Association

Putting together an effective advocacy group is best done through trial and error. With different personalities, aptitudes, and desires coming together for a common goal, there’s bound to be confusion, misunderstandings, and probably the occasional argument. Few skateparks, if any, are the result of one person’s efforts. Working with different types of people is something the advocacy group needs to prepare for, so a great place to practice is with its own members.

Exercise 1: Founders And First Contacts
If everyone in the group is new to advocacy and you haven’t yet begun the skatepark effort, here are the steps you’ll likely take—presented in the shortest possible terms. This is not a formula; it’s simply one way to get started.

1. Assemble two or three friends that skate and work hard. People will probably come and go throughout the process. Try to find those people with the commitment, work ethic, and skills that will really help.

2. Prepare a two-minute presentation on why the community needs a skatepark. This doesn’t need to be an authoritative essay on skatepark principles or design. It just needs to be compelling enough to get the audience interested. The end of the presentation should make it clear that the project is just starting to look for people to help. These meetings should always conclude by expressing the method for supporters to learn more or get involved. A sign-up sheet, handouts with a Web site address, or even business cards can all serve this purpose. This brief presentation will be given to different audiences and will become the fundamental message of your effort.

3. Approach City Council during a public meeting and ask them for their help in navigating the process of public works. There’s no need to be shy about any questions you might—and should—have. These people were elected by the community and are there to help. Be sure to arrive well before the meeting begins in order to sign up to speak. Use the presentation created in the previous step, if necessary. Many groups walk out of these meetings with a City Councilperson’s phone number in their pocket. Sometimes these sympathetic councilmen or women are enthusiastically supportive throughout the life of the project.

4. Approach the Parks Department during a public meeting and ask them for their help creating a plan for a new skatepark. There may be someone on the Parks Board or an employee who is enthusiastic about the idea and is willing to help set up a plan. Again, the same presentation you prepared for the City Council may be slightly modified and used here.

(Note: These groups will be more likely to entertain the idea of assisting the group if the request for help is made in a public setting.)

5. Schedule regular meetings with the City Council and Parks contacts to discuss progress and develop new opportunities. This is the committee that will repeatedly come together to report on developments. For each of these meetings, come prepared with the information promised and conclude with a list of things to do before the next meeting.

The group composed of liaisons from the City, Parks Department, and skaters is essentially the Skatepark Committee. Come up with a cool name, draw up a logo, and have fun with it.