Oct Nov Newsletter

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SOUTHPORT-SKATEPARK-PROJECT

skateboarding BY skateboarders FOR skateboarders

E-MAIL: [email protected]

ONLINE: WWW.MYSPACE.COM/SOUTHPORTSKATEPARKPROJECT

SOUTHPORT-SKATEPARK - PROJECTskateboarding BY skateboarders FOR skateboarders

Southport-Skatepark-Project has been invited onto the steering group for the pro-posed 6 million renovation of Kings Gardens and Marine Gardens. If the project

gains the funds required to go ahead, among the considerations is the possible ex-

tension of the Kr8er skatepark in its current location next to the pier.

This is potentially fantastic news for local skaters and SSP is very happy to be able to repre-

sent the views of experienced skaters in these discussion with the steering group, in the

hope that the best possible skatepark can be achieved for local skaters in a context which

is supported by the rest of the community.

SSPs involvement with this project came as a result ofcontact with Sefton Councils Plan-

ning and Regeneration Team, Northwest Regional Development Agency and all local

Councillors, with suggestions as to how old stone blocks/flags etc being replaced in the

current Lord Street Renovation Project could be re-used to help create a genuine street

section in Southports new concrete skatepark.

An important part of any plans for a new, professionally designed and constructed concreteskatepark in Southport is keeping costs down. To help with this SSP has already been of-fered the FREE-OF-CHARGE services of an experienced skatepark designer. Amongstideas also being considered is the above suggestion, of re-using of some of the worn mate-rials being replaced in the re-development of Lord Street, and to this end an e mail wasrecently sent to the Project manager of the Lord Street re-development project

When designing street sections for modern skateparks the aim has to be to make them as

good as, if not better than actual street spots, so as to try and avoid situations where skat-ers use areas where they are not welcome. By utilising genuine 'street furniture' in theplanned new skatepark we can both keep costs down for the skatepark and provide genu-ine street challenges for skaters within a safe skatepark environment.

News of the Kings Gardens/Marine Gardens Project means that there is now a real possi-bility that Southport may finally get the sort of concrete skatepark constructed at Clitheroein the last 2 years; Something which the vast majority of local skaters would welcome withwidely open arms!

Working together with local agencies is surely the way forward for projects such as South-port-Skatepark-Project. We hope our project will become an integral part of redevelop-ing the leisure infrastructure of Southport for the benefit of the whole community, not justthe young. SSP hopes that our approach/involvement may help reduce controversy over

skateboarders in the town centre. Watch future newsletters for further updates on this andall other skatepark related matters in Southport.

KR8ER SKATEPARK TO BE EXTENDED AS PART OF

6 MILLION PROJECT?

Welcome to the latestSSP Newsletter!

The Newsletter aims toinform the skatepark users

of Southport of skateboardrelated issues in the townand in other towns/citiesacross the UK.

We also aim to provide aninformation resource forcouncillors and other inter-ested parties in the townwho are involved with skate-boarding and skateparks.

Please contact us at the email address with any com-ments on articles or re-quests for further informa-tion.

Next issue out December1st.

Inside this

issue you will

find:

Wicked Week-end winners!

2

Skateboarding,

Space and theCity

2

Interview withan architect!

3

Crawley Skate-

park

4-

6

300,000 skate-park for Nor-

wich

8

Middle-Age-Shred!

8

Skateboarding

as art in Liver-

pool

7

OCT/NOV 2007

NEWSLETTER

SSP would like to apologise for the IT problems that resulted in the October Newsletter being sentout in the wrong format and subsequent e mails to try and rectify the problem. Although our IT

problems are continuing and may mean a reduction in the quality of this current newsletter we

hope to have the problems sorted out shortly and be back to normal service. Thanks.


2/8

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER AT: [email protected]

ONLINE AT: www.myspace.com/southportskateparkproject

PAGE 2 SOUTHPORT- SKATEPARK - PROJECT

SKATEBOARDING, SPACE AND THE CITY

The Wicked Weekend youth event took place on the August Bank

Holiday weekend and now the event organizers, Merseyside Police,

Sefton Tourism, Sefton Youth Services, Champion Newspapers and

Arcade Sports are looking into whether the event will take place againnext year and become an annual event in the towns calendar?

The event included the Team Extreme mobile skatepark, and ran open ses-

sions, coaching for the younger skaters and Team Extreme displays on the

Saturday and competitions for local skaters/riders on the Sunday. Results

of the comps can be seen in the panel (right). Winners were given their

prizes by Pro skateboarder &Team Extreme General Manager Neil Danns,

and PC Joanne Shakeshaft and PCSO Chris Ward, who were the driving

force behind the events organization. Prizes were donated by Arcade

Sports and other local businesses.

Wicked Weekend was aimed at all the youth of Southport and the sur-

rounding area, not just skatepark users. The event was more well attendedon the Sunday than the Saturday partly because of the competitions and

also because the Sunday hosted the Southport Football Club 5-A-Side tour-

nament.

When asked about the success of the event PCSO Chris Ward of the orga-

nizing Committee said, Its the first time weve attempted to organize any-

thing on this scale for the young people of Southport. We never thought we

would get everything right first time, but most people seemed to enjoy it.

Weve learnt some lessons from this years event, so if the event goes

ahead again next year Im sure well learn from them, and try and get more

young people involved in the early stages of the planning process.

WICKED WEEKEND WINNERS!

This is the title of a book written by Professor Iain Borden, Head of theBartlett School of Architecture and who is interviewed elsewhere inthis newsletter. Here is how he himself introduces the book, whichSSP recommends:Skateboarders are an increasingly common feature of the urban environ-mentrecent estimates total 40 million world-wide. We are all aware oftheir often extraordinary talent and manoeuvres on the city streets. Thisbook is the first detailed study of the urban phenomenon of skateboarding.

It looks at skateboarding history from the surf-beaches of California in the1950s, through the purpose-built skateparks of the 1970s, to the street-skating of the present day and shows how skateboarders experience andunderstand the city through their sport. Dismissive of authority and conven-tion, skateboarders suggest that the city is not just a place for working andshopping but a true pleasure-ground, a place where the human body, emo-tions and energy can be expressed to the full.

The huge skateboarding subculture that revolves around graphically-designed clothes and boards, music, slang and moves provides a rich re-source for exploring issues of gender, race, class, sexuality and the family.As the author demonstrates, street-style skateboarding, especially charac-teristic of recent decades, conducts a performative critique of architecture,

the city and capitalism. Anyone interested in the history and sociology ofsport, urban geography or architecture will find this book riveting.

Iain Borden, University College London.

RESULTS

SKATEBOARDING

1ST DANNY HOLMES

2NDPETE ROGERS

3RDSTU SINCLAIR (Joint)

3RDSTEVEN BATES (Joint)

IN-LINE

1ST LEWIS DEBRETT

2NDPETER JACKSON

3RDDANIEL WILSON

BMX

1ST DEAN JONES

2NDCRAIG BROWN

3RDCURTIS McKENNA

Serves a fine model for future environ-

ment-behaviour research.. It provides a

fascinating, open-ended and ultimately

optimistic vision of urban life, for design-

ers, researchers and citizens ENVI-

RONMENT AND PLANNING

Borden describes the emergence of not

so much a sport as a way of life...its rela-

tion to architecture is kept beautifully

clear...a good read BUILDING DE-

SIGN

Skateboarders help us to think about

buildings and their use...Borden argues

that they draw our attention to the city as

the site of perpetual change.THE IN-

DEPENDENT

A fine book that I recommend to any

skateboarder who can read at college

level. BIG BROTHER


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PAGE 3

Professor Iain Borden is Head of the Bartlett School of Architecture, Professor of Architecture and Urban

Culture and Director of Architecural History and Theory. He is also author of Skateboarding, Space & the

CityArchitecture and the Body. Here he speaks exclusively to Southport Skatepark Project.

SSP: Skateboarding is far from a traditional subject for academic study. What drew you to it?

IB: Two things. Firstly a personal interest as someone who first began skating in the 1970s, and then again when Ilived in Los Angeles for a couple of years in the late 1980s. And secondly some rather complex ideas about the na-ture of urban space, derived from a French philosopher called Henri Lefebvre. Somewhere in my head these twothings just dovetailed neatly together.

SSP: The depth of detail in the book suggests you have personal knowledge of the subject. So when did youlast skate and are you still tempted?

IB: I skated from 1976-1980, 1988-1990, and most recently 2001 until now. But I have to say I haven't been on boardmuch in the last 6 months, and when I do it is for some gentle bank riding at Meanwhile Gardens in London or some-where like that. No more vert for me, I am getting too fragile . ..

SSP: What has been the reaction to the book from your academic peers?IB: Generally pretty good. Some academics think that only life-saving medicine or similar "important" subjects areworth studying, but luckily most academics keep a very open mind about our society and what is worth looking at.

SSP: OK, so what defines a skateboarder?

IB: Someone who has a different kind of eye and view of cities - who likes concrete, and new ways of experiencing it.

SSP: The Dogtown spirit still runs through skateboarding and always will, but in 2008 how useful to skatersis a 1980s slogan like Skate & Destroy?

IB: I think the "Skate & Destroy" slogan was always operated more of at a conceptual level than as a physical de-scription. Skateboarding very rarely actually physically "destroys" the terrain on which it operates - but what it doesdo is to rethink what we might understand to be public space, how we might use a bus bench or a ledge or a wall.Skateboarding suggests cities are more than about just working, commuting and shopping, and are places for pleas-ure and excitement - and this is where "skate and destroy" resonates just as much today at it did 30 odd years ago.

SSP: Southport now has an anti-skating bye-law. What is your opinion regarding anti-skating legislationnow in 2008, some 7 years after the first publication of SSAC?

IB: I think some anti-skating bye-laws are understandable, when they try and control skateboarding in "dangerous"situations, like train station platforms or alongside very busy streets . . . but too often they are just used to controlwhat urban managers see as "disorder" or "nuisance", and I find that kind of censorship very hard to accept.

SSP: Is skateboarding a crime now?

IB: Well some people think so . . . but generally not. Skateboarding has, is and will always thrive wherever and when-ever people actually want to skate.

SSP: Will the general public ever accept skateboarding? How important is it that they should?

IB: I think the public does accept skateboarding - especially those who have ever skated and/or whose kids haveskated. Its a bit like any kind of popular music - some hate it (and say so, loudly), but many many others really like it.

SSP: How important do you think skateparks are?

IB: Very - they do provide places of focus for skaters to meet, places for people to really practice and try out newthings. They won't, and shouldn't, replace street skating and other kinds of city skating, but skateparks are essentialfor the future of skateboarding. I would like to see many more skateparks of all different shapes and sizes - not allvery elaborate or expensive, and some that are quite small but accessible. Just as every local park seems to have atennis court and/or kiddies playground, so it should some kind of skate facility.

SSP: UK Skaters such as Jeremy Donaldson are now gaining architecture qualifications and utilising theirin-depth knowledge for the benefit of skaters. How do you see this differing from the more home-madeBurnside experience in the US.

IB: Burnside is really great, and a fantastic example of someone just building a skatepark for themselves. But in theend, I think Jeremy's approach - working with local authorities and using his design expertise is more likely to suc-ceed in more places. I would very much like to see someone like Jeremy Donaldson put something together to rivalDreamland and the like.

INTERVIEW WITH AN ARCHITECT!


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The recently opened Crawley (West Sussex) skatepark is being hailed as one of the best new con-crete skateparks in the UK. The park is located at Southgate Playing Fields on Southgate Avenue.Here, Dave Downey, the dedicated Extreme Sports Officer for Crawley District Council, gives some

firsthand insight to this successful project.

SSP: What kind of issues were there in Crawley with skateboarders/skateboarding prior to the new skateparkbeing built?DD: A lot of skaters were skating in the town centre, causing issues for pedestrians/shoppers and Police. Also

travel issues as there was nowhere to go skating other than Horsham, Brighton, Skaterham etc.SSP:What is public opinion on the skatepark now? Have the previous issues been resolved?

DD: Public opinion is generally good. The skatepark is in a good central location, near to bus/rail stops, andnot ontop of a residential area. Its free to use, and has regular marshalling via Community Wardens/Rangers, PCSO's,Sports Development Team, youth workers. Police and shoppers are happy now as there are no Town Centre is-sues. Also, Anti-social behaviour issues have reduced around the Town.

SSP: What was the budget for the skatepark and did this include groundworks, construction and ele-ments such as floodlighting, CCTV etc?

DD:480,000 (250k council, remainder from Sport England and Crawley ResponsibleAuthority Partnership).This included all the above plus a 3 year revenue budget to fund Extreme Sports officer (me!)

SSP: Did it come in under budget or not?DD: Slightly over, due to poor weather in June/July meaning longer construction period.

SSP: Was their opposition from within the Council towards the project?

DD: Generally supportive. Only opposition came in terms of locations and impact on other facilities (this waslargely political though, and not exclusive to this project).

SSP: How significant to the project was the appointment of a dedicated extreme sports officer withinCrawley District Council?

DD: Very, as although we have local skate group (Crawley Freestyle Association), they are volunteers and do nothave the time to dedicate to development of Extreme Sport (Parkour/BMX/Climbing are also part of role). It hasbeen a very positive role as it has enabled CFA to develop its members, training, coachingactivities and improveevent management resources. It has also given CFA assistance in obtaining funding for mobile ramp programme

in partnership with Council.

SSP: How was the skatepark user group formed?

FOCUS ON: CRAWLEY SKATEPARK!


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PAGE 5

DD: Already been in existence prior to my appointment, but originally formed from local skaters who wanted topromote the sport and improve facilities in Crawley. BMX reps have been added to this group since my appoint-ment.

SSP: What form and how frequently were the design meetings held?

DD: DD: I can only speak from October 2006 onwards (when I started) where I held official meetings with design

architects and CFA on a monthly basis, becoming fortnightly in the run-up to, and during construction.SSP: Why did you choose to build in concrete?

DD:We experienced vandalism at original Skatepark, which was wooden (i.e burntdown). We felt this would bemore durable and vandal-proof. We have kept awooden element to it though as a compromise (jump box whichis very popular withthe bmx'ers). Aside from this, a recent study in the USA found that concrete actually gives offless sound when used than if wooden - this is an important consideration for when liaising with local residentialarea.

SSP: Blakedown were responsible for a very ill received Bowl in Bootle (Merseyside) in 2004. The reportsfrom Crawley are very good. Why was the decision made to go with them and how ere they to work withon the project?

DD: Blakedown were only used for construction. They worked from a Freestyle Skateparks design (Freestyle's

original tender amount was increased just before construction so the Council went with alternative provider).Blakedown were fine to work with and completed the job well - considering the weather constraints - project wasfinished inside the 12 weeks set-aside.

SSP: What was the biggest problem the project faced?

DD: Weather delaying construction and meaning only a few weeks of good skating weather left before Au-tumn/Winter! Also, trying to keep keen skaters out of building site! Tendering process and keeping costs on tar-get.


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SSP: Is the skatepark se-cure? Meaning, are therelikely to problems with anti-social behaviour from 'non-skaters' at the skatepark?DD: There have been ASB is-

sues as the facility is new and abit of a "honey-pot". This isnothing unusual though, par-ticularly whilst there is a noveltyaspect tothe facility/location.CCTV is in place, however,which is linked to Central Policeat Haywards Heath (24hrs).There are also regular "patrols"from councilrangers, wardens,youth workers and PCSO's.Like all new parks, the majorityof users are sensible and re-

sponsible and are there toskate/ride. Over time, I think theissues will calm down and we will be left with people who just want to use the park. I am working on a more for-mal marshalling system to guarantee supervision at specific times (a question often asked by parents of youngerusers).

SSP: Last question then Dave. What single piece of advice would you give to any other Council looking to

improve skatepark facilities in their area?

DD: Consultation with, and continual involvement from potential Skatepark users from the outset is essential. Alltoo often, it is the wrong people making the decisions on design and construction leaving a town with a facilitythat is not an accurate reflection of what young people want. In the case of Crawley Skatepark, our local skatevolunteer group (Crawley Freestyle Association) was central to all recommendations and advice on design. Theywere also in touch on a regular basis with the construction contractors to ensure that designs were reflected accu-rately during the build.

The benefits of this process are two-fold the town ends up with a facility that will fast gain a great reputationamongst riders, whilst the local volunteer group has actually been listened to and empowered to oversee a signifi-

cant facility and ultimately take responsibility for its development in partnership with local council.

Thanks to Jelly for photos. For more information on Crawley Skatepark go to:

www.crawley.gov.uk/skatepark

www.freestyleramps.com

www.blakedown.co.uk/sportandplay


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PAGE 7

From 19th October 207 until 20th April

2008 the New York artbowl and full pipe

will be available to skate FOR FREE atGreenland Street Galleries, 67 Greenland

Street, Liverpool, L1 0BY.

Tel: 0151 706 0600

E Mail: [email protected]

Photos courtesy of skaters from

www.middle-age-shred.com.

Interesting to see the art of skateboarding

being portrayed within an art context.

SKATEBOARDING FOR FREE AT LIVERPOOL ART GALLERY!


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Norwich City Council has agreed to spend 300,000 on a

nationally recognised skatepark in Eaton Park in Norwich.Local skateboarders, who have fought a five-year campaign

to have their sport recognised and a proper facility to be

built are celebrating at the news.

Together with the council, the skaters, BMXers and inline skaters

will have their say on the design of the park. Chris Sturgess, (29)

owner of local skater owned shop, Revolutionz, said, To say

were pleased is an understatement. This is exactly what we

wanted and to have the freedom to design it is great all the

other small sites like the one in Heathgate or Fiddlewood were

bult by companies who design playground equipment and

thats what they are. This will bring Norwich into line with other

cities, which are far beyond us with the parks they have.

The counci l has made the skaters promise

they will no longer use areas of the city such as the war memo-

rial, once it is rebuilt, as areas to practice. Steve Morphew, leader

of the council, said: Keeping our promise here shows that it is

possible to spend money on positive projects.

NEW 300,000 SKATEPARK FOR

NORWICH!

MIDDLE-AGE-SHRED!

A group of North West based middle-

aged-shredders were recently interviewed

by Radio 4 for a program on the increas-

ingly high number of more mature skatersthat can now be seen skateboarding.

Skateboarding originated in California in the

1950s and has a 30 year history in Southport

alone. So, whilst the majority of skateboarders

fit into the 15-24 age bracket, it should come

as no surprise that a few skaters have either

stuck with it or returned to skateboarding in

later years.

The internet has made it easier for individuals

and groups to find out that they are not alone

in their love of skateboarding.www.oldskaters.com has been in existence

for some years now but its the www.middle-

age-shred.com site that seems to be the

most popular site for older skaters in the UK.

www.oldmanarmy.com is amongst those

filling the gap in the USA.

Mature skaters can offer experience and

knowledge that compliments the energy and

enthusiasm of younger skaters. They can also

improve skatepark safety. Where Projects

such asSouthport-Skatepark-Project

are

concerned this means that all ages can work

as a team to ensure that the best possible re-

sult is achieved. The United Kingdom Skate-

board Association supports this view.

The program was broadcast on Radio 4 on

19th Oct. at 11.00am and can be heard by

using the listen again function.

To find out more, or if you secretly want to dig

your old board out but are too scared to admit

it, go online to:

www.middle-age-shred.com

This article was of course intended to havebeen published ahead of the programme, but

was delayed due to technical difficulties with

the October issue! Sorry!

SOUTHPORT-SKATEPARK-PROJECT is an all inclusive project, with a primary aim of lobbying Sefton Council for a world

class concrete skatepark, designed by professionals with a back-

ground in skatepark design, with input from local skaters/riders,

and constructed by engineers with proven experience of high

quality skatepark construction. We believe that all available

sources of funding should be utilised towards ensuring that this

facility is provided for ALL skatepark users in the area, irrespec-

tive of age/sex/skateboarder/BMXer/Inline skater.

SSP is ready and willing to work with the Council and other agen-

cies to assist in achieving our goal, for the benefit of the wholecommunity of Southport and the surrounding area.

Sign the online petition here:

www.ipetitions.com/petition/SOUTHPORTskatepark/

index.html

THE LAST BIT!

We hope you have found something of interest in this newsletter. The next

newsletter will be issued on 1st December (ish!) Please contact us at the email

address or via the My Space page with any comments or requests for further

information. Finally here is a list of additional useful internet links. Check them

out...

United Kingdom Skateboarding Association: www.ukskate.org.uk/

Spectrum Skate Designs: www.geoform.co.uk

Concrete Disciples: www.concretedisciples.com

ABOUT SOUTHPORT-SKATEPARK-

PROJECT...

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