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SPS 2009 Summit Recap!

Thursday, 21 May 2009

SPS Volunteers met in Portland, Oregon this year to review the past year's efforts and plan for the future.

Every May, Skaters for Public Skateparks volunteers meet for a weekend of skateboarding, planning, and to provide others with updates on their local efforts. Since 2004 these Summits have been held in cities that have shown support for their skateboarding citizens. This year the SPS Summit was held in Portland, Oregon...home to some of the world's best skateparks.

Advocates from communities across the nation met to discuss today's skatepark needs. The result was several exciting projects that we hope to get started on right away, including better specifications for construction documents, new advocacy tools that promote large-scale skatepark planning, and fresh documentation on contemporary skatepark design trends.

And there was plenty of skating. No trip to Portland is complete without a visit to Burnside. Also on the itinerary were Battleground, Glenhaven, Pier Park, Tigard, West Linn's skate spot, Gabriel, and Holly Farm. Every park on this list was a joy to ride.

Now SPS is facing the next steps in promoting best practices in skatepark advocacy, creation, and management. We need your help! We're always on the lookout for passionate skateboaders (or support skateboarding) who are willing to provide a few hours a month to help out communities in need. If that person is you, please contact us and indicate your interest in volunteering. We'd love to hear from you.

Skaters for Public Skateparks is a non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers. Our operating budget is small but we make the most out of every dollar donated, so if you have a few bucks you'd like to throw towards our mission of getting better skateparks built in more places, you know that it's going directly to a good cause.

If you'd just like to share your thoughts about your local skatepark or have an idea that you think would interest SPS readers, pop into our forums .

If you'd like to see SPS in action, swing by our booth at the 2009 NRPA Congress in Salt Lake City this October!

Last Updated ( Friday, 22 May 2009 )

The Book for Skateboarding Education

Sunday, 01 March 2009

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 well for those skatepark geeks out there. At its core, however, this book helps demystify skateboarding for educators and Parks officials.

When skatepark activists are asked what they should do with the park after it's open, this is the book to hand them. Inside, readers are presented with a full spectrum of "things skateboarding":

1: Skateboarding and Skateparks

Why Skateboarding?
Benefits of Skateboarding
The Growing Need for Skateboard Programming
Outline of Skateboarding Curriculum

2: Safe Skateboarding

Skatepark Management and Operations
Safety Equipment
Instructional Safety
Skateboarding Safety Statistics
Safety Guidelines

3: Teaching Skateboarding

Instructional Job Descriptions
Beginning Instruction
Skateboarding Requirements
Teaching Skatepark Etiquette and Safety

4: Skateboarding Fundamentals

General Questions Before the Beginning Lesson
Activity 1: Skateboard Orientation
Activity 2: Stretching
Activity 3: Bailing Out and Falling
Activity 4: Navigating the Skateboard
Activity 5: Tick Tacks and Manuals
Lesson Closure

5: Beginning Skatepark Lesson Plans

Beginning the Skatepark Lesson
Activity 1: Warm-Up and Orientation
Activity 2: Walking the Park and Teaching Etiquette
Activity 3: Teaching Skatepark Skills
Lesson Closure

6: Intermediate and Advanced Skateboarding Skills

Skateboarding’s Creative Element
Intermediate and Advanced Skateboarding Skills
Lesson Closure

7: Planning and Designing Skateparks

Considerations for Planning a Skatepark in Your Community
History of Skatepark Design
Overview of Concrete Skateparks
Overview of Wooden Skateparks
Overview of Modular Skateparks
Factors to Consider
Planning for the Future
Design Styles

8: Scheduling Skateparks

Hours
Program Scheduling
Planning for Other Activities
BMX Bikes and Skateparks

9: Supervising Skateparks

Supervision Guidelines
Types of Supervision
Staffing
Maintenance Routines and Procedures
Skatepark Amenities
Fencing
Dealing With Typical Questions, Issues, and Problems

10: Skateparks in the Community

A Skatepark’s Role in the Community
Skatepark Sectors
Skateboarding in School
Advocacy and Involvement in Community Skateparks
Developing a Skatepark in Your Community

The book is currently in print and is well worth its $20 (or so) price tag.

Last Updated ( Sunday, 01 March 2009 )

We need a skatepark! Where do we begin?

Thursday, 14 February 2008

Whether you’re a community activist or facing a passionate group of constituents, you recognize that skateboarders in your area need safe places to recreate. What you do with that knowledge could mean the difference between a incredible new facility that the community is proud of or something that falls far short of that.

Going into the skatepark development process with a good grasp of the kinds of decisions you will be making is the most important—and for many the most elusive—part of planning for success. As a community leader or project manager, your role is particularly vital and you will be tasked with educating those around you on the merits of those key decisions.

1. Pick up the Public Skatepark Development Guide

The good news is that there is a field guide to this process, the Public Skatepark Development Guide. Now in its second edition, the Guide will prepare you for all of the stages in skatepark planning and development. Written by experienced community activists from all over the nation, the Guide is your best source for skatepark development available anywhere. Furthermore, it’s free. All services and production costs have been donated. You pay only shipping.

The Public Skatepark Development Guide Second Edition has just been released with new health and safety statistics and other changes!

Get your copy now!

2. Understand Your Need

Like any other facility, one cannot plan a skatepark without having some idea of the scale of need it’s meant to fill. Use Skaters for Public Skateparks’ Skatepark Adoption Model to measure your area’s skatepark need. By comparing census data from your area with recreational market research, you can easily get a good estimate of the number of skaters in your area. From there it’s a simple matter to determine how much terrain would be required to supply a reasonable amount of space. Finally, you break that recommendation out into manageable sizes and distribute them across the community. This process will become the framework for your comprehensive skatepark plan.

The Skatepark Adoption Model is fully covered in the Public Skatepark Development Guide or online right here !

3. Know Your Materials

There are two popular types of skatepark material approaches available: Concrete and prefabricated. Prefabricated skatepark materials include steel and wood-polymer ramps. Most skatepark obstacles can be built using either material. Concrete will provide more design flexibility as the structures are built on-site to the design specification, (rather than the design specification meeting the prefabricated structures available). Prefab, (steel and wood-polymer ramps), has the advantage of a reduced design cost and schedule as the park is designed using a list of pre-designed elements.

Poured-in-place skateparks are the result of a traditional park design process.

Concrete skateparks have been around since skateparks were first built. This material provides great design flexibility and should only require spot maintenance for many years of service. These advantages are weighed against a longer design development and construction time. Concrete skateparks are sometimes known as “Poured-In-Place” and shouldn’t be confused with “Precast” (below).

Prefab skateparks are characterized by free-standing structures on an existing slab.

Prefab skateparks are characterized by kit structures positioned on a flat surface. Prefab tends to be expedient for many communities; buying the skate structures from an approved vendor is easier than embarking on a full-fledged public design process. Prefab parks can have higher maintenance needs, especially as the structures age. Design is limited and, particularly for experienced skaters, often not very compelling. However, prefab skateparks can provide an excellent solution for temporary sites or where concrete construction simply isn’t possible.

Precast presents the durability of concrete but lacks some of the design flexibility of poured-in-place.

An emerging skatepark material type is precast concrete. It delivers the reduced planning of prefab with the maintenance advantages of concrete. However, design is somewhat constrained and the structures sometimes introduce the same flaws found in older prefabricated skateparks. Precast is a relative newcomer to the business of skatepark design and a lot of attention is on those communities who have opted to explore this direction.

4. Consult an Expert

When you have a question, consult an unbiased expert. While you may be getting great information from a sales representative, they’re in the business of selling something. Instead, look at your local volunteers, community activists, and other communities like yours who are enjoying success with their parks.

With these four simple considerations we're sure you will be positioned for huge successes.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 January 2009 )

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