By Scott Nicholson
Local skateboarders have mixed feelings about a recommendation
to close the county-operated skate park, believing the sport
has been misunderstood.
Grayson Younce watches
skaters at the local park Sunday afternoon.
Photo by
Scott Nicholson |
Sunday afternoon, about a half-dozen skaters were using
the park, which is located in the Watauga County Parks &
Recreation Complex in Boone.
The skaters, most of whom weren’t wearing helmets or
pads, said they understood the risks of their chosen sport
and felt there had not been a real effort to make skateboarding
a welcome part of the county’s recreation programs.
Grayson Younce, 13, said he had been planning to spend most
of his summer days at the park and that he didn’t like
organized sports such as football and basketball.
He said he’d been a regular user of the park until
the county hired a security guard to monitor it, and then
he stayed away until the county hired Mason Jones, a peer
skateboarder, to monitor it.
“If they take this away, I won’t have anywhere
to skate,” he said.
“We’ll be back on the streets.”
Jones said the county had not followed through on its commitments,
including agreeing to install a water fountain near the
park because water bottles weren’t allowed in the facility.
Jones, who was hired part-time for a month to monitor the
park last October, said attendance had picked back up but
no one with the county had ever asked him what was working
and what wasn’t.
He also acknowledged that skaters weren’t following
the posted rules when the park was unsupervised.
“It’s a failure on everyone’s part,”
Jones said.
“There was a failure of the kids not wearing helmets
and (Watauga County) Parks and Recreation (Department) not
knowing enough about what they were doing to make a good
go of it.”
Attendance dwindled last summer when the county hired a
security firm to monitor the park, requiring helmets and
mandating that all skaters sign a waiver form acknowledging
the risks and releasing the county from liability. The rules
are also posted on a sign at the park.
“You can’t say ‘Skate at your own risk’
and then have a bunch of rules and a waiver,” Jones
said. “That’s redundant. I don’t know who
set that up, because they’ve obviously never skated.”
Anthony Farnham said he was a regular user of the park except
when the security guard was on duty, and he favored a private
park even if it meant he’d have to pay a small fee.
“People don’t have a good understanding (of the
sport) at public parks,” Farnham said. “I wish
they’d shut it down and open a private park. Pads are
expensive and you can’t skate with them. They’re
obstructive.”
Jones said pads decreased flexibility and that it was “an
absurd expectation,” believing skateboarders knew the
risks they were taking. He said he’d not witnessed
any injuries at the park more serious than scraped skin.
“You can’t step on a skateboard without learning
the risks,” Jones said. “Within 30 seconds of
being on a skateboard, you’re fully aware of the risks.”
He said most skating injuries occurred among new skaters,
and said wrist pads were probably the only ones that helped,
though he didn’t think they should be required. “I’d
suggest them, but not make them mandatory,” he said.
Younce said he believed skaters accepted those risks and
if they were injured, the skaters were at fault. He once
suffered a foot fracture in a skateboard accident, but said
pads wouldn’t have helped that time.
“If you fall, it’s your fault,” he said.
“It happens in every sport. This is a sport, too.”
Younce felt some discrimination against his chosen sport
because it wasn’t given the same respect as organized
team sports. “If I didn’t want a baseball field,
I’d still have consideration for other people’s
passions,” he said. “If you’re not good at
football or baseball, this is all you have.”
Jones said skaters got a bad rap because the activity
is a blend of sport, art and “free-flowing expression.”
“It’s not considered a legitimate sport because
there are no rules, no organization and no coaches,”
he said.
“It’s not an extreme sport or aggressive. It’s
just boarding. People who are into their skating don’t
have time to get into trouble.”
Julien Passajou, 11, said he spent most of the daylight
hours last summer at the park. He wears his helmet and said
it wasn’t fair the park was being closed because others
weren’t wearing helmets.
“I wear a helmet because it doesn’t get in the
way that much,” Passajou said. “But with pads,
you can’t bend your arms and legs.”
Younce and Jones both said skaters would keep on with the
sport if the park were closed, but they would be more at
risk.
“Ninety-six percent of skateboard deaths are from collisions
with vehicles,” Jones said. “Unless you want little
skateboarders splattered all over the ground, you better
have a place for them to go.”
The Watauga County Parks and Recreation Commission voted
last month to recommend closing the park, with the county
commissioners having the final say in the park’s future.
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