Essay/Term paper: Skateboarders nationwide restless; a problem that needs attention?

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Social Issues

Skateboarders Nationwide Restless; A Problem That Needs Attention?

Skateboarding. A sport that only requires a board and four wheels. One needs
only seventy to one hundred dollars to get one. It seems pretty simple, doesn't
it? Well it's not, and for one important reason.

On a typical day, a skateboarder usually gets up at about 10a.m., throws their
board in the trunk of their car, puts a Bad Religion tape in the tape player,
picks up several other skaters and sets off to find a good spot to aggressively
push their bodies to doing the unthinkable. Defying gravity, stretching the laws
of physics and subjecting themselves to much physical pain and discipline all in
a day's work. Everyone takes turns trying new moves and cheering each other on,
a sport with no pressure to do better than anyone else, there are no winners or
losers. You skate until you are exhausted, and go to bed early only to wake up
and repeat the process the next morning.
Skateboarders are mostly straight-edge, which means that they do not
use drugs, or alcohol. This is because skateboarding, and improving requires
almost constant practice. This determination in only clouded by the effects of
drugs. Anyway when one performs an intricate maneuver flawlessly, the rush is
greater than any pot or coke. Unfortunately, this cannot happen when a skater
is denied access to their sanctuaries, there favorite spot. A good example is
given by Johnston foster- "Last summer, me and some friends were skating at Phi
Beta Kappa Hall, the theater at the College of William and Mary. I pulled a
phat 360 kickflip down the three steps out front. The session was hot, we were
all on (landing most attempted tricks) and it wasn't too hot out side. We all
sat down to rest and then heard sirens in the distance. We saw a blue and white
William and Mary Police officers' car pull into the parking lot. We got ready
to run, but then realized it was too late. The officer made generalizations and
decided that we are the skateboarders that previous complaints had been made
about. Not listening to our sides of the story, the officer proceeded to write
me and five others, ages ranging from 11-17 trespass warnings, stating that we
are not allowed to be on the William and Mary campus for a year. The thing that
sucks is that we had never been asked to leave by anyone before, no one at Phi
Beta warned us and no signs were posted. How could she do that? How are we
supposed to practice with such unnecessary consequences? It's really
frustrating.@ (interview Foster)

Good areas to skate are few and far between in most cities. A good spot (place
to skate) has curbs and ledges (preferably made out of marble), stairs with
hand-rails and lots of flat, smooth concrete. Also, skaters prefer drop-offs
from sidewalks, or "banks", which are inclinations which are used to separate
uneven levels in parking garages, tennis courts or parking lots. These things
that make up the composition of a good spot. Good spots are usually schools,
hotels, college campuses or business plazas, which are all illegal to skate.
They are illegal to skate for a few reasons. When a skateboarder practices with
his friends, called a "session", they usually fly down stairs, and grind on
curbs or handrails. Grinding requires jumping up onto a ledge, curb or handrail
and scraping the metal wheel connectors, called "trucks" on the edge of the
object, and then jumping down with a smooth landing. Well, this "grinding"
scrapes the paint off of the curbs or handrails and chips expensive marble
ledges. This is destruction of private property as well as trespassing and can
result in lawsuits, fines, or being arrested.

Many local skateboarders sympathize with Johnston Foster's opinions on a lack of
area to practice. Billy Sheeran commented on the subject, AThe nearest
functional skateboard park is located in Hampton(Virginia), and many
skateboarders are too young to drive.@ (interview Sheeran) Many reasons tie
into the need for a local public skateboard areas. A local skatepark can help
keep local skaters out of trouble, and keep local businesses and Police officers
happy.

Skateboarders have this problem of a lack of area to practice because of the
many rules and regulations making it illegal to skateboard. Many different
factors tie into the limited area to skate. One factor is the Virginia state
law number 46.2-932. The law states ANo person shall play on a highway, other
than on the sidewalks thereof, within a city or town or on any part of a highway
outside the limits of a city or town designated by the Commonwealth
Transportation Commissioner exclusively for vehicular travel@ (interview Davis).
Many people are aware of the lack of areas for skateboarding, A Williamsburg
police officer, Lt. Doug Davis, said that he is sympathetic to the
skateboarders' problem and knows they have nowhere to go. (interview Davis)

This problem is not just evident in Williamsburg. Michael Price, a principal of
a middle school in California, often has to ask skateboarders to leave and says
he would prefer to offer them an alternative site, but doesn't know of any place
public or private where they can go. (Rodgers 95) Quinn Taylor, a sixteen year
old Williamsburg skateboarder said, AKids get discouraged when they get kicked
out of a good spot. When kids get bored, they usually start to find other things
to do, such as go tagging(vandalizing with spraypaint) or start using drugs.@
(interview Taylor). A skater in Leesburg, Va named Phillip Beam provided a
similar response, AIf you keep getting kicked out, it becomes pointless to
continue trying.@ AAnd most people just get idle. That's when people get
turned on to drugs and alcohol.@ "They do this to take up the hours they used to
spend skating, and try to get the rush they used to feel." (Chandrasekaran 95).


The City of Williamsburg Police Department reported that most of the calls they
receive involving skateboarders are when skateboarders skate on privately owned
property such as schools and businesses. These areas are the most desired by
skateboarders because of their handrails, planters, steps and curbs. (Matsuda
95) A San Diego newspaper commented on the same subject, AMore often than not,
skateboarders practice their sport illegally by sneaking onto school campuses,
parking garages or other places with an abundance of hardscape@. (Rodgers 95)
Enough complaints lead to city ordinances outlawing skateboarding. The cities
dub these laws as Alaws to protect quality of life@. North Arlington recently
adopted an ordinance banning skateboarding on public property. (Tedeschi 95)
Another example is how Tampa, Florida recently banned skateboarding in it's
downtown area. (Lammers 95) Lt. Doug Davis offered some insight as to why
business owners became be so upset with skateboarders invading their parking
lots and sidewalks. Lt. Davis commented that the merchants are worried about
business being driven away and liability problems that might occur if a
pedestrian was injured by a careless speeding skateboarder. (interview Davis)
He said AOlder people aren't used to kids whizzing by on skateboards, they can't
move very fast and are afraid they might get hit. People will sue you for
anything.@ (interview Davis)

These problems support the local need for a public area for skateboarders to
practice. Billy Sheeran, 16, said he would even be happy with a smooth parking
lot where they could bring obstacles to skate. (interview Sheeran) In
Indianapolis, the city council recently proposed a local skateboard park. The
idea is greatly accepted by the inhabitants of the town, including Bryan Howard,
18, who said AThe Broad Ripple park idea is prime. It's beautiful.@ AAs long
as we can go into the park, we can lose Broad Ripple (a local business area
where people skate).@ (O'Neal 95). Another local skateboarder in the same area
said AWe're just having fun with no real place to go.@ AIf they made a skate
park, it would help. We hang out in Broad Ripple because it's the only place to
go.@ (O'Neal 95). David Kersey, a skater in Leesburg, Virginia said AWe don't
want to cause trouble, we're just looking for a place to skate.@
(Chandrasekaran 95). The town officials in Leesburg are studying the
feasibility of a skateboarding and rollerblading area as we speak.

The idea of constructing a Williamsburg skateboarding area is very possible.
Lt. Davis commented on the topic, AIt's worth a try in my opinion. I don't
think anyone has ever approached the city council before.@ (interview Davis).
A Williamsburg skater, Quinn Taylor, 16, said a local skateboard park would be
great because it could provide teenagers with jobs and give kids a place to go,
keeping them out of trouble. (interview Taylor)

If the suggestion of a skateboarding area was brought up at a city council
meeting and was approved, Taylor said that the local skaters should be able to
provide input and would be glad to help raise money or help with construction.
(interview Taylor) This would be useful to the success of the idea because when
the city of Davis, California opened a skateboard park in 1992, the design was
out of date, and because of this, the skateboard park is not used as often as
was expected. (Matsuda 94). Even with current parks built in coordination with
local skaters, one must contemplate whether or the kids will want to be limited
to a small area. Skateboarding requires grace, dedication and inspiration.
This may not be easily achieved with having to travel to a skatepark, or abiding
by annoying rules that skate parks require (such as wearing protective gear).
With proper supervision and help from the local skateboarders, at least the
skaters all across the country will at least have one guaranteed option.

Works Cited

Chandrasekaran, Rajiv. ASkateboarders seek pavement.@
Washington Post 20 April 1995, sec. Weekly-Virginia: V1

Davis, Doug. Interview, October 24th, 1996

Foster, Johnston. Interview, October 23, 1996

Lammers, Dirk. ASkateboarders learn freestyle had price, Police
say this week they'll step up enforcement of the downtown
skateboard ban.@ The Tampa Tribune 3 April 1995, sec.
Peninsula: 1

Matsuda, Jeff. ASkateboard Sanctuary@ Sacramento Bee 28 April,
1994, sec. Neighbors: N1

O'Neal, Kevin. ACouncil bans skateboards, Broad Ripple business
owners had complained.@ The Indianapolis News 18 July
1995, sec. News: A1.

Rodgers, Terry. ASkateboarders practice craft under cloud.@ The

San Diego Union-Tribune 28 December 1995, sec. Local: B-1.

Sheeran, William. Interview. October 23, 1996

Taylor, Quinn. Interview, October 23, 1996