Skate Park

[Mango]

Not really sure what you all are so worried about.....

What's that kind of wave called?

I am not against there being a safe place for kids to skate and bicycle in the least bit especially in sowal with cars pulling out from no where and such. If a skate park is ever approved, I would just hope serious consideration goes into the design in making it a safer place, not a place for death defying feats. That's really my concern. I would hate to see some kid hurt, not so much the liability per se, although that is a given concern.
I'm not buying the stats about injuries. The # 1 injury reported in ER's is from basketball per the 2007 survey. One has to consider the stats closely. Basketball is usally played in lower income neighborhoods where families may not have access to health care, so they will be more likely to show up in an ER.
I supervise kids in my driveway and yard all the time. I have a shed full of scooters, kett cars, bicycles, tricycles, you name it. I know kids get hurt. They try to push the card all the time. But I truly in my heart feel this sport with the ramps and all is more dangerous than other sports.
But I do wish you luck with it. I'm not a party pooper.

 

[swantree]

check this one out.........freaky!
http://www.skateoregon.com/Newberg/Newberg.html
aaaaaaaaaannnnd........it's public!

 

[Bobby J]

What's that kind of wave called?

I am not against there being a safe place for kids to skate and bicycle in the least bit especially in sowal with cars pulling out from no where and such. If a skate park is ever approved, I would just hope serious consideration goes into the design in making it a safer place, not a place for death defying feats. That's really my concern. I would hate to see some kid hurt, not so much the liability per se, although that is a given concern.
I'm not buying the stats about injuries. The # 1 injury reported in ER's is from basketball per the 2007 survey. One has to consider the stats closely. Basketball is usally played in lower income neighborhoods where families may not have access to health care, so they will be more likely to show up in an ER.
I supervise kids in my driveway and yard all the time. I have a shed full of scooters, kett cars, bicycles, tricycles, you name it. I know kids get hurt. They try to push the card all the time. But I truly in my heart feel this sport with the ramps and all is more dangerous than other sports.
But I do wish you luck with it. I'm not a party pooper.

I know you are not being a party pooper! This is really helping all of us learn. BTW, basketball is the most violent sport I have ever played. I hang out with many kids that surf/skate and have never seen one injured badly. I have seen them get banged up but nothing like your "norm" sports. The ramps look dangerous because if you do not know what you are doing you can really get hurt. Typically a kid will not try a move until he graduates to the next level. The kid does not want to get hurt. Once a move is mastered, he/she will begin to advance on the next move. Dropping onto a ramp is a bad choice if you have never done it. I have never seen a kid drop in without the comfort of knowing he has advanced to that level.

I have seen a few drunk adults drop in and get hurt. A kid has more sense then that. They never want to look bad in front of friends.

 

[swantree]

nice little article.
http://www.pdxskaters.org/vision.htm

 

[Bobby J]

check this one out.........freaky!
http://www.skateoregon.com/Newberg/Newberg.html
aaaaaaaaaannnnd........it's public!

WoW!!! That is the coolest thing I have seen pertaining to skate parks!!!! Thanks! The key to the whole thing is what the article said:

"Their main argument was that they just wanted a place to skate and hang out. The district listened."

Make sure you all check that link out! Anyone in the district watch these threads.... Please listen.

 

[Bobby J]

nice little article.
http://www.pdxskaters.org/vision.htm

Had to steal this from your post. Here is some more info regarding fact/fiction skater myths and injuries.

http://www.pdxskaters.org/truth.htm

 

[Mango]

Bobby, next time in sowal, you and me, game of basketball.
I must forewarn you though, my middle name in my neck of the woods is Hoops, and my neighbor had to mow my lawn in a housedress when he lost.

 

[Smiling JOe]

Bobby, next time in sowal, you and me, game of basketball.
I must forewarn you though, my middle name in my neck of the woods is Hoops, and my neighbor had to mow my lawn in a housedress when he lost.

I thought you said, "Basketball is usally played in lower income neighborhoods where families may not have access to health care...."

I never knew that Basketball had limits of such. I never thought we were rich, but we weren't in the "lower income neighborhoods." We weren't even in a neighborhood. We were on the outskirts of a very small town. We played many sports, including basketball. In fact, we were State Champs two out of three years of high school. I don't think income level has anything to do with one's athletic skills. You cannot pay someone to be talented.

 

[Mango]

SJ, I never said basketball had limits. Statistics of injuries was brought up, but no links posted. Here are the only sports injury statistics that I can find. I recall football being quoted here as the most injurious sport. The statistics do not reveal that from the SAFE CHILDREN Campaign which shows reports from ER's. only.
My point was, I believe statistical data available regarding injuries is flawed IMO. Personally, I do not feel basketball could be more injurious than skateboarding. I grew up on the outskirts of New York City, and if you went into any of the boroughs of NY, you would see some kind of basketball get up or court almost every few blocks. There are more gangs and violence in inner cities. More poverty. The ER statistics show that people come in to ER's frequently who have no insurance coverage for treatment who could have otherwise gone to their local doctor. It's also easier to use one basketball vs. skateboards which could get expensive.
Further, the statistics available for children ages 5-14. From what I have been seeing, I can not find any statistics for over 14 and adults. It seems from the research I have been running across, skateboarding has a high adult participation as well.

 

[jodiFL]

My son used to be an avid skateboarder but with the only place to skate being in PCB it was kinda hard to get him there on a regular basis and it kinda faded into the background in favor of things available closer to home. The insurance for these places takes care of alot of the liability involved as they require a waiver, helmets, pads etc. Mad Chuck would run you down and ban you for life if you even thought about removing any of the safety gear in his establishment.

skateboarding has a high adult participation as well.

Alot of the people skating at the place in PCB were adults, mainly enlisted guys from the navy base.
We visited a park in South Florida that was virtually maintenance free since it was all molded concrete. It was fenced in and was across the street from a police station, so there was not much danger of any illegal things going on since one of the persons there to take payment and get the waivers was an off duty officer in uniform.