Skate Park

Why don't the kids just use Foley's? :lol: Some teens down the street from me set up a rail and ramp in the street every day. No one seems to be complaining about it.

Foley has all his crapola on it. We need to get the boys over there and clean it off. That was a great ramp. It was the best one in town until Pete and Paula built one. It's all fancy smancy with J. Asher graffiti.

Okay more on this. I think it is sad that we use words like "usual" sports, and want to dump all of our dollars into finding something for the "kids" to do. Well, we need to think hard and fast about what we are going to do with out "tweens" and our teens! What does this county offer them, other than getting pregnant, smoking a big j or tweeking their myspaces? I am grateful for the bike path, but honestly it can't be any safer than a skate park....I have see 3 bikers get smashed by cars pulling out of driveways. Our teen pregnancy rate is higher than state average --that scares the pajeebies outta me. Good for you BobbyJ, fight the good fight for teens in our area. I got your back.

I, too, don't like the words, "usual sports." First of all those "usual sports" are team sports. Is it the idea of having a coach (someone to hold accountable and give the kids direction and instill morals) which makes a sport, "usual?" I remember seeing stats on the skating population and they were as Bobby J stated -- overwhelmingly, they show that more kids skate than play any other team sport in the US. To play baseball or football, you need more than one kid. To skate, all a kid needs is a board and a place to do it. There is no time limit, either. No point system to keep score. Instead, kids learn tricks from other kids, and that seems unique as opposed to the world of "usual sports." Little land is needed for building a skate park, as compared to a baseball field or football field. No grass to mow and paint stripes upon, no dirt to rake, no bases to put down. Just some concrete and rails, and occasional repairs or patches. Seems to me that if we are going to classify an activity as "usual," we should consider the more common activity of skating to be the "usual sport."

One other thing comes to mind when I think of skating -- movies and photos. I see many kids getting into the photography behind the sport where I see nothing of the sort when it comes to any other sport.

I know you the park system is limited on funds, and that you are likely competing for the same dollars, but I think in many ways, you are also fighting for the same thing, activities and recreation for our youth, so that they can grow, mentally and physically.

SGB,
I agree with a lot of what you are saying but the "usual sports" is where I disconnect. Every time I visit a skate park, I see a packed skate park and empty fields. As adults we have lost touch with what the kids really want. The reason we are not educated on this issue is we have not offered choices. We tell our kids here you go, a beautiful field to play your sport. The majority do not want it. The majority of the parents want another field. The kids want a skate park. Skating has become the usual sport in most other areas. Once again we will arrive at this conclusion 10-20 years from now. I mean no disrespect but it just seems like such an obvious thing to do. We should build what they want not the what the parents think they want.

I also think a community pool to learn to swim would be awesome. I would probably rather have that myself. My point is, ask a kid which one he would rather have. :idontno:

BobbyJ, my daugther is a senior at Ole Miss and the City of Oxford has recently built one that has been very positively received in a city that is crazy for football and basketball.

Here is a link. http://www.oxfordms.net/recent/skatepark.htm

BobbyJ, my daugther is a senior at Ole Miss and the City of Oxford has recently built one that has been very positively received in a city that is crazy for football and basketball.

Here is a link. http://www.oxfordms.net/recent/skatepark.htm

Thanks Minnie! This is really awesome. I am puzzled why other places in the US do not have the liability concerns. SJ, I will speak to my friend. He told me that the law does not allow lawsuits. Of course we all know that any lawyer can work his way around that but I would believe more kids would be injured on a football field then a skate park. BTW, I am not opposed to team sports. I played all of them and hope my son does too. I just think our area needs more options.

SGB,
I agree with a lot of what you are saying but the "usual sports" is where I disconnect. Every time I visit a skate park, I see a packed skate park and empty fields. As adults we have lost touch with what the kids really want. The reason we are not educated on this issue is we have not offered choices. We tell our kids here you go, a beautiful field to play your sport. The majority do not want it. The majority of the parents want another field. The kids want a skate park. Skating has become the usual sport in most other areas. Once again we will arrive at this conclusion 10-20 years from now. I mean no disrespect but it just seems like such an obvious thing to do. We should build what they want not the what the parents think they want.

I don't disagree with you, but I think it depends on the age group you look at. The younger ones love the team sports and learn lots of good things attending these programs. They might be there initially because their parent thought it was a good idea, but most of them do really enjoy it once they are introduced to it. I think a majority of these younger kids would say they want the fields (or a playground if they are younger than 4th grade).

I am by no means a team sports cheerleader, but in addition to the obvious benefit of the children learning a sport and how to work with a team, I've seen the team sports help build the community. Families connect with one another and work together to grow the area. Everyone sees a different need and will find people that have the same interest in building that aspect of the community. One of the reasons Mission Playpark! was created was to help build this sense of community with the families that have kids that aren't yet in school. There just isn't a place for moms (usually) and their small children to meet and get to know one another and form a community to support one another.

If you go to the fields that are used for soccer, during soccer season, you'll see that they are packed and creative scheduling is happening. Same is true for football, baseball and softball. It is frustrating that the fields aren't being used all year round, but as the sport season changes, the fields in season are packed. Trying to use multisport fields will help with this. As the kids get older, they will play the sports that they truly enjoy, not what their parents enjoy, so the numbers go down. I've seen this with my kids as they stop doing the sports they were doing to be part of the fun, and instead concentrate on those sports that they really, really enjoy and start to excel in. Skate boarding is one sport I've seen the 5th -8th graders move to (along with surfing!). I'm sure they started younger, but they really get a passion for it in the middle school ages.

As I said in my previous post, I do agree that that older kids want and need a place to skate. Many of the older kids have moved on from team sports and found that they love to skate and want a great place to do it without getting hassled. A large percentage of them will vote for a skate park. I totally support this and hope that the county and those that want to get involved are successful in getting all the recreational facilities we need for all ages. The more people there are asking for recreational facilities for the families in the area, the better.

I don't disagree with you, but I think it depends on the age group you look at. The younger ones love the team sports and learn lots of good things attending these programs. They might be there initially because their parent thought it was a good idea, but most of them do really enjoy it once they are introduced to it. I think a majority of these younger kids would say they want the fields (or a playground if they are younger than 4th grade).

I am by no means a team sports cheerleader, but in addition to the obvious benefit of the children learning a sport and how to work with a team, I've seen the team sports help build the community. Families connect with one another and work together to grow the area. Everyone sees a different need and will find people that have the same interest in building that aspect of the community. One of the reasons Mission Playpark! was created was to help build this sense of community with the families that have kids that aren't yet in school. There just isn't a place for moms (usually) and their small children to meet and get to know one another and form a community to support one another.

If you go to the fields that are used for soccer, during soccer season, you'll see that they are packed and creative scheduling is happening. Same is true for football, baseball and softball. It is frustrating that the fields aren't being used all year round, but as the sport season changes, the fields in season are packed. Trying to use multisport fields will help with this. As the kids get older, they will play the sports that they truly enjoy, not what their parents enjoy, so the numbers go down. I've seen this with my kids as they stop doing the sports they were doing to be part of the fun, and instead concentrate on those sports that they really, really enjoy and start to excel in. Skate boarding is one sport I've seen the 5th -8th graders move to (along with surfing!). I'm sure they started younger, but they really get a passion for it in the middle school ages.

As I said in my previous post, I do agree that that older kids want and need a place to skate. Many of the older kids have moved on from team sports and found that they love to skate and want a great place to do it without getting hassled. A large percentage of them will vote for a skate park. I totally support this and hope that the county and those that want to get involved are successful in getting all the recreational facilities we need for all ages. The more people there are asking for recreational facilities for the families in the area, the better.

Great post and agreed. Growing up here it was always frustrating to not have more options. Kids really change during those critical years you speak of. As a community we need to pull together to make sure a very large percentage of our kids are represented. I think we are sophisticated enough to offer this to our kids.

Well this is all very interesting,. I had no idea that there were so many of these skate parks. having been a tomboy when I was younger, I would have been all over something like this like white on rice, but then at that age, one thinks they are invincible and nothing catastrophic could happen, and lets face it, this is a riskier proposition than a playgound. You fall, you fall on concrete, not rubber mulch. You can't pad your whole entire body. :lol:

I did a little googling and found an interesting article about the pros and cons of skate parks. Good food for thought. After reading it, and thinking about it, my main concern as a taxpayer in the County as far as liability is concerned, is the maintenace and upkeep of the park. Further, in the pictures I saw posted, I see cyclers. I read that there could be extreme liability in that respect. Who would stop the cyclers? would there be different levels of the park for smaller children? who would do the repairs? apparently a very talented concrete contractor is needed. Who would pay for the repairs? Would it be limited to residents only? and if no one is there to monitor that, what's to stop vacationers from dropping their kids off while they run over to the Destin Commons?

Here's a link to the article. It addresses all sides of the issue.

I am all for anything that advances kids intellectually and challenges them physically, but having just read that the Drama teacher paid for students materials out his own pocket makes you wonder where the priorities are right now in this County as far as what is spent and how.

With all this talk about skate parks, I decided to borrow a spare board from a kid today, and we hit the streets in Grayton. I had a blast, and never crashed once, and the kid, who is about 7 or 8 years old, taught me a few skills. I had not been on a skateboard since 1977. It was almost as much fun as playing kickball, afterwards. I'm not quite ready for the ramps, as the flat ground was challenging enough, especially with all of the loose gravel.

I have a degree in Physical Education and believe me nothing is more dangerous than a playground of any type. Along with any sports be it, football, or especially gymnastics. Swimming pools too.

Many of our classes dealt with liability. I don't see the skate park being any more dangerous than an unsupervised playground.

There are very few activities that kids can participate in without another participant, therefore I can see the interest in a skate park by many.

With all this talk about skate parks, I decided to borrow a spare board from a kid today, and we hit the streets in Grayton. I had a blast, and never crashed once, and the kid, who is about 7 or 8 years old, taught me a few skills. I had not been on a skateboard since 1977. It was almost as much fun as playing kickball, afterwards. I'm not quite ready for the ramps, as the flat ground was challenging enough, especially with all of the loose gravel.

SJ, was that you in the middle of the street in front of the Red Bar with the little kid who looked as though he wanted to run right into my oncoming car....he moved and I stopped--just in time.

Two more reasons we need a skate park around here, I'd say;-)

Yes, that was us. He was doing pretty good about stopping the skating when the cars came. I kept reminding him, and he would call out, "CAR COMING!" to me. We were skating in the street because he was trying to skate down the rough wooden boardwalk in front of the Red Bar and beside D&K's. It was too dangerous, as I about busted my face when the front wheels locked on a board which was set too high. I tried to get him to stay away from the expensive cars (typically, that is the shiny cars around here), but he didn't seem to know the difference.