From the desk of Luis Carrión on Monday, June 8th 2009 at 15:25

SKATEBOARDING IN TUCSON – SANTA RITA SKATE PARK BRINGS SKATING TO DOWNTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD.

Seen rattling along sidewalks in 100-degree heat, wearing what seams like the most impractical attire for our desert environment, it can be easy to dismiss skateboarders as some sort of aberration of society. They are people too, however, and now skaters have a brand new skate park designed to give them a challenging assortment of bowls, pits, and obstacles on which to hone their skills. The Santa Rita facility is the 5th, and most centrally located park designed specifically for use by skaters.

Santa Rita Skate Park

Arthur Padilla (14) "reaches the tile" on the competition bowl at Santa Rita Park

Jacob Stiles (11) keeps his eyes on the vertical slope as he prepares to exit the bowl

The project was ten years in the making, and it was completed this spring at a cost of about one million dollars. The park has experienced constant use since the grand opening last month. Initial concerns were raised about the homeless population that frequents the park, and illicit activities that required an ongoing police presence. However, proponents of the skate park say that the increased use of the park by skaters and their families has helped to minimize some of the incidents involving police.

Skater "gets some air," as he drops into the Snake River Flow

Recently we visited the park during the relatively slow midday time, but still managed to find some skaters. Zack Fox, works at Peter Glenn Ski and Sport, and manages a team of youth skaters. He says that much of the bad rap that skaters get is due to people simply not understanding the kids. “The majority of these kids are really good guys and they just want a place to practice their sport,” he says.

Zach Fox skates along with the guys at the park

Kyle Joyner gets some "footy" of friends at Santa Rita Skate Park

Skaters feel that they are unfairly criminalized by mainstream society, and they have seen the places where they can legally skate on the street reduced to a handful of sites around the city. Now most public urban areas that offer the best “street-skating” have been placed off-limits to skaters, and this has helped create an adversarial relationship between youth and the police. Many of the kids we interviewed said they know of people that have had their skateboards confiscated, and have been ticketed for skating.

You can watch the story on the park and see some kids working out this Wednesday on Arizona Illustrated, KUAT Channel 6.

Bill Baker @ Jun 10, 2009

Wonderful piece on the skateboarding park. I'm 64 and would not have been good at the sport even during the most athletic years of my life. However, 4-5 years ago a young shelfer at the downtown library recommended the video, DOGTOWN AND Z BOYS--a doc about the early renegades of the sport. A life-changing experience in my perception of the kids who love to skateboard! Recommend it to everyone.

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