WE NEED TO KEEP BIKES OUT OF PARK
(12.15.07)

The city Park Rangers may begin issuing skaters TICKETS for NOT WEARING A HELMET.

WE CAN STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING. City Councilmember Kevin McCarty’s office has contacted the SSA regarding the increasing problem of BMX riders in the skate park. Since the Parks & Recreation department stopped using a security guard at the gate, more and more bikes are entering the park. There were at least a dozen last night. The city is very concerned about the physical damage to the park and the danger that bikes cause to skaters.

In the past, rangers have chased the bikes out with just a warning. This is apparently not an effective deterrent, so they are now seriously considering issuing tickets to the bikers. However, if the rangers write tickets to enforce bikes, they will also have to write tickets to skaters for not wearing helmets, because it is also a posted rule.

We skaters have been very fortunate that the city has been so lenient regarding helmets, but if they can not selectively enforce rules against bikes without doing the same with skaters.

WHAT ARE OUR OPTIONS? First, Councilmember McCarty and the Parks department are encouraging the skaters to HELP ENFORCE THE RULES by telling the bikers to leave. I know this is not always an easy thing to do, but we have to take ownership of our park and deal with this problem. Before Granite opened, the city agreed to open the park FREE AND UNSUPERVISED because the SSA representatives promised that the skaters would help enforce the rules.

STAND UP FOR YOUR PARK: We need to show the city that the skaters can do the job of keeping bikes out. To make this an easier effort, I have designed a flyer that we can give to bikers when we tell them to leave. It tells them what the rules are, why they can’t be in the park, and how they can get involved with the city to get their own BMX-only park built.

I have designed a flyer and will leave them in plastic envelopes on the skate park fence. When you see a bike in the park, take some flyers out, get a few other skaters to help you confront the bikers and tell them to leave. Give them a flyer, be cool about it, treat them with respect and tell them to contact the city officials on the flyer. DOWNLOAD THE FLYER HERE (it's designed 2 on a page, so you will hae to cut it in half)

OR... WILL WE SUPPORT BMX SESSIONS?: There is also another option to consider. There has been talk of adding some limited BMX sessions at the park—perhaps two 3-hour sessions a week. This would require a guard at the gate to enforce helmets and no-bike pegs. From what I’ve heard, the skater community is split down the middle on this option. Many have told me they would be OK with it, if it successfully kept bikes from coming at other times. Many other skaters are 100% against allowing bikes in ever. But, I think some of these skaters would change their mind if confronted with a the possibility of getting a ticket for not having a helmet.

If there were specific BMX sessions, bikers would be far more likely to be respectful of the skaters and the rules andcould be effective at keeping the bikes out the rest of the time. This is possible, so we need to have a lot of input on this issue. Please e-mail me and let me know what you all think about it. sacskateadvocates@sbcglobal.net

ARE YOU A BMX RIDER?:
And, lastly, if any of you BMX riders are reading this, please contact me so we can get you working with the right people at the city on your own facility.

Skaters, once again, we have to deal with this on our own right away, so the city doesn't come down on use too.
Download and print out the PDF flyer and talk to the bikers.

 

BOREAL BOWL MOVES TO B STREET
(11.21.07)

If you've been to Skate Sacramento @ B Street in past few weeks you've no doubt seen the new skate bowl under construction. Here's the scoop:

Red Bull bought the bowl from Boreal Ski Park and donated it to Skate Sac. Steve Brockway (original N-men member and SSA co-founder) has been hard at work reconstructing the bowl next to the half pipe (which was also orginally donated by Red Bull). When it's complete, the bowl will connect to the half pipe and there will be a 1/4 pipe against the opposite end of the bowl.

Steve hopes to be finished by Thanksgiving weekend, but it may not be ready to skate until the following weekend. Either way, the bowl will definitely make for some great rainy-day winter sessions.

RANCHO CORDOVA PARK OPEN (sort of)
(11.11.07)

We made a visit to the new Mather Regional skate park in Rancho Cordova last weekend. It's not officially open yet, but that didn't stop over 50 skaters (including Stefan Janowski, Judd Hertzler and Matt Rodriguez) from slipping throught the fence to de-virginize the place. You can check out some photos on this page: http://www.sacskatepark.org/ssa/mather_1107/

Rancho is more of a skate plaza than any other NorCal park we've seen so far. It's going to very popular with streetskaters. There's nothing over 4 feet high, lots of ledges, banks, and hubbas. A couple nice stair/rail combos and a good amount of short trannies with black coping.

The park still needs to be landscaped and it is part of a larger development that is not close to done, so it may be a while before it officially opens. Hopefully the Rancho parks people will be cool and smart and get the skate park opened before everything else. We also hope that cops won't be writing tresspassing tickets. If anyone hears about an opening date or any cop trouble, please let us know so we can get the word out.

PUBLIC SKATE PARK MEETING REPORT
(10.22.07)

On Saturday, Oct. 20, the Sacramento Parks & Recreation Department held a skate park community meeting to talk about Granite Regional Skate Park. Parks officials talked about the operation of the park, the recent upgrades and the future plans. Skaters and parents had a chance to ask questions, raise concerns and share ideas.

First off, the city acknowledged that the park has been very successful and they look forward to continuing the operation in pretty much the same way, and all the skaters present had a lot of positive things to say. Here are some of the key points:

• Use of a security guard at the gate will continue periodically during busier times but not on a set schedule. The guard is costly ($150–$200 a day), so even though it helped keep the bikes out, they can not afford a guard all the time, unless they started charging an entry fee, which of course, is the last thing we all want.

• Bikes continue to be prohibited from the park, but rangers who come to remove them will also have to enforce the helmet rule as well. (more on bikes below)

• Night skating has been successful and will continue, except during rainy weather.

• Lights will soon be installed in the parking lot and pathway, which will provide safety light after the skate park lights go out.

• Security cameras will be installed that rangers can access live from their vehicles and to view recordings to investigate trespassing or graffiti. These cameras could also possibly provide video for a live public web cam.

• There are plans to set up a special recorded message phone number that users can call to find out about any closings due to weather or repairs.

• The planned grass landscaping has been put on hold while other options are considered. There was discussion of decomposed granite, landscaping bark, Astroturf or rubberized surfaces, but it seemed like the skaters feel that grass is still the best option.

• Long range plans could include a snack bar/concession stand with bathrooms, but until then, the only restrooms will be the portables in the parking lot. Although they will look into adding more portables.

• There was discussion about forming a volunteer group of skaters who could help the city with clean up and repairs periodically.

And then, of course, there was more discussion of BMX bikes in the park and what to do about it. The city is beginning to form a BMX group to discuss and plan for a BMX park, but as we know, planning, funding, designing and building a park takes several years. So we talked about options to help until then.

So we talked about the possibility of having a couple scheduled time periods during the week where bikes were allowed to come in. As an example, it was suggested there could be a bikes only session Tuesday 7pm-10pm and a bike and skate session Sunday 8am – Noon. The up side is that if bikes came in at other times, skaters could tell them when to come back instead of telling them they can never come back. I think that would be more effective. The down side is that someone would have to insure that no bike pegs would be allowed on the pool coping and granite ledges. The bikers at the meeting strongly agreed and said that they always tell other bikers to stay off those elements. These rules could also be posted at the gate as well as near the pools and ledges.

I know this may be a controversial topic and some skaters will not like it, but all the skaters at the meeting agreed that it’s a lot better than the two other choices: having to deal with bikes all the time, or having to pay an entry fee to pay for a guard to keep the bikes out.

We need to hear your opinions on this BMX issue. Please, everybody, if you are reading this, e-mail me with some feedback. The more responses we get, the better represented the whole skate community will be.

Do you think a couple limited BMX sessions a week would be OK? When whould be best? Are you against all bikes all the time? Let us know ASAP.

WARNING: LIGHTS GO DARK @ 10PM
(09.23.07)

As of last night, the Granite Skate Park lights shut off exactly at 10pm. No warning, no fade-out. Just sudden pitch black.

This is obviously a big mistake by the city. As usual, bad planning by someone who has no idea how skate parks should be run. It's incredibly dangerous and stupid.

We have already send e-mails to all of the major officials at the Parks Dept. as well as councilman Kevin McCarty. They will all know what's going on my Monday morning.

Check back here for updates.

THE LIGHTS ARE ON!!!
(09.21.07)

Last night, at exactly 7pm, the lights at Granite flicked on...
and it was a beautiful thing! There were only a couple dozen
skaters there to see it, but we were all smiles as the night session began.

We haven't got official word yet from the Parks department about how late the lights will stay on, or whether there will be a guard again or not, but for now it looks like unsupervised night skating will be all the rage this fall at Granite Park.

Check out the cool night shots here.

GRANITE LIGHTS INSTALLED
(09.16.07)

Night skating at the biggest and best park in California will begin very soon. Rumor is the city still has some work to do, but hopes to have it going by next weekend! If you haven't seen them yet, the lights are huge and they are gonna put out some serious daylight long after the sun is down.

NEW PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN RANCHO
(09.16.07)

The Rancho Cordova parks district has begun construction on a concrete skate park in what will become the Mather Regional Park. It's at the corner of Peter McCuen Blvd. and Schriever Ave., just southwest of the Mather AFB entrance. I don't know much about the design, but I do know the budget is just under $500,000, so it should be similar in size to Tanzanite. Ffrom the looks of it, it will be more street based. I didn't see any sign of bowls.
Check out some photos at http://www.sacskatepark.org/ssa/mather_0907/

MORE PARKS PLANNED...
(09.16.07)

Two more neighborhood-size parks are also in the works in Sac, at Max Baer Park near Fruitridge and Power Inn, and at Dixieanne Park in Natomas. They are both supposed to be small ramp-based parks, but we have already had one meeting with the city architect in charge of the Baer Park project and discussing the idea of a all-concrete skate plaza park—as in all-street, no tranny.

We'll keep you up on all the news with these exciting developments. And please, if you hear anything, let me know

SHUTDOWN SCHEDULE FOR GRANITE LIGHTS
(08.04.07)

Good News: The city has finally scheduled the installation of lighting for Granite and we will have night skating in September.
Bad News: It will require two work weeks of shut down at the park to get it done.

The first week is Aug. 13 – 17 (mon-fri). This week they will be pouring the concrete footings and installing underground electricity.
The second week is Aug. 27 – 31(mon-fri). Here they will install the lights in the skate park. I've been told that the grass, irrigation and other landscaping is supposed to happen as well, but no promises.

So start planning your late night September sessions now!

ARTICLE ON LOCAL SKATING IN THE SAC BEE
(08.04.07)

If you didn't see it a couple weeks ago, the Bee ran a Metro page 1 story about 28th & B, Granite skate park, and some city skateboaring programs. It was a descent story if you can get past the mainstream need to always sound hip when they write about us (they always end up sounding old and out of touch, of course). Anyway, it's got quotes from Matt Rodriguez, Judd Hertzler, and yours truly. Check it out online at: http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/283232.html

A BIT OF ADVICE... DON'T BRAKE YOUR ANKLE!!
(08.04.07)

Yes, ironically enough, I have become the latest casualty of the park we worked so hard to build. Last Friday evening I took a bad step off my board in the 3/4 pipe (and I wasn't even a 1/4 of the way up) and came down with a broken right ankle. Really broken. I was in the hospital for 2 1/2 days, had surgery to put a pin and bolt in my bones. I'll be on crutches for 3 months and a boot after that. Probably no skating for the rest of the year! But you still may find me out at the park just hangin' and watching. Just promise that when I'm there, you won't brake a bone. F#@K it hurt!
Here are some cell phone photos.

LEGEND DUANE PETERS SHREDS GRANITE
(06.10.07)

If you weren't at Power Inn on Friday afternoon (which you weren't) ya'll missed a good show. Legendary punk skater Duane Peters stopped by with gang of old-school shredders and tore up the pipe.

If you youngsters don't know who Peters is, you need a class in skate history... google him! He's credited with being the first to bring punk rock to skating in the late 70s, and invented tricks like the indy air, acid drop, disaster, invert revert and the fastplant. He's also the lead singer of U.S. Bombs, who headlined a show last night in old Sac.

For your viewing pleasure, here's a few photos of him skating Granite and getting close with the audience around midnight.

MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE GUARD AT THE GATE
(06.05.07)

Things have been a little unclear over the last week, but I have spoken to a top official at Parks & Recreation and city staff and this is what they have told me as of today.

The private security guard at posted at the entry gate. His job is:
1) keep out the bikes
2) make sure you have a helmet when you enter the park
3) call in police or rangers when there is other law breaking or dangerous situations (but not about helmets)
4) call emergency services for injuries in park

The security guard WILL NOT require you to actually wear the helmet once you are in the park. They are not allowed to. However, like before, a city park ranger MAY come by now and then, and MAY choose to enforce the helmet requirement.

Rumors of pad enforcement or entrance fees are untrue.
The guards are not supposed to require pads for entrance and the city does not want to charge skater a fee. So, for those of you who refuse to wear a helmet for personal reasons, you now have an interesting choice... You can buy a helmet and walk in with it, but not put it on.

This is an unusual approach for a city to take, and I think it might really be the best solution. I really think the skaters of Sacramento (including those who refuse helmets) need to embrace this as the best of both worlds. It keeps out the bikes, keeps the park free, keeps the park safer for kids, helps curtail drug and alcohol use,
AND it also allows skaters to skate as they choose in the best skate park in NorCal

INFO ON HELMETS, GUARDS AND THE
GRANITE GRAND OPENING
(06.01.07)

Here's the update on Granite and the helmet rules...

The word from city insiders is that the security guards have been instructed to "encourage" helmets and pads, but they are not allowed to "enforce" the rule. This means you can go in with a helmet but not use it, or you can tell the guard you choose not to use a helmet. They are supposed to let you in either way.

The guards main job is to keep out bikes (yeah!), and make sure no alcohol or drugs are being used. Please, people, if you really need to skate under the influence, partake before you get to the park!! So be nice to the guard (I know that does not come easy) and have fun.

Even though we still think the city made a big mistake in not talking to skaters about this ahead of time, we totally support this move—as long as the leave the use of safety equipment up to the individual skaters.

Grand Opening next Saturday, June 9:

Because of the heavy city official presence at the event, it is likely that they will actually require helmets on that day, but we do not know for sure.

The event is from noon-5pm and they will be hosting and amateur skate comp, run by the guys who sponsored the Elemental comp in April. The Puehse Twins will also be doing a skate demo.

TANZANITE SKATE PARK OPENS IN NATOMAS
(01.28.07)

Yeah, that's right... Sacramento's second great concrete skate park is finally opened. The city quietly opened it up this past weekend and word is getting out.

Check out new photos and all the info on this page:

http://www.sacskatepark.org/ssa/tanzanite-open.html

The SSA was there at the very beginning, when Granite and Tanzanite were just big empty fields, and everyone involved along the way is so relieved and grateful that our mission has been completed and now we can stop talking and meeting and planning... and just f#@*ing skate!

NOTES FROM THE OPENING WEEKEND
(11.26.06)

WOW!! There is just really no other way to say it — this park fuckin' rocks. There is absolutely nothing like it in NorCal, and maybe all of Cali. It's so huge and so diverse.

Opening day went very well with over 200 skaters throughout the day. The park was filled with a ton of old-schoolers shredding the bowls and street skaters spread out everywhere. The city and parks officials were all there including Mayor Heather Fargo and councilmembers Kevin McCarty, Steve Cohn and Ray Tretheway. Kevin even strapped on a helmet and rode into the mini bowl!

Park Security stressed theat the rules asy all skaters must wear helmet and pads, but they would waive the pads for the day. They told us they would begin enforcing pads on the next day, but as of Sunday night, we didn't witness or hear about anyone being hassled about pads.

Of course, helmets were another story. Security spent the first few hours on Friday kicking out anyone skating without a helmet. But by mid-afternoon, after all the city officials left, non-helmeted skaters bagan coming in and skating, and then getting chased out when security returned. Same thing on Saturday and Sunday, although on Saturday, we've heard that one adult skater who was in the park without a helmet refused to leave and was arrested, even though he was not skating. We'll be checking on that for more info.

On Saturday and Sunday, the park probably averaged 75-100 people at all times. About half had helmets and about 10% (old school vert riders and their kids) had any pads. The SSA will continue to work with the city and do everything we can to prevent the enforcement of the pad rules.

There are some other rules as well that need to be addressed:

1) the sign says no food or drinks in the park, even though there are two picnic benches and 10 trash cans. They obviously are trying to prevent trash problems, but we think a rule like this is just outrageous and seems to reveal a lack of respect or trust in the skaters. Frankly, it's an insult.

2) The sign also says that only skaters (and rollerbladers) can enter. Wally Hollyday, the designer, said himself that he didn't mind the big tall fence because the park was designed to be big and open so people could come in and watch and did not have to look through the fence. The fact is that friends, family, dog-park users and residents in general were coming in the park all weekend to watch and there were no problems at all. Except the helmetless guy who actually had a skateboard in his hand but was only watching! Is security going chase off or arrest the grandparents who were in the skate park on Sunday watching kids skate. Of course not. People should be able to come in—parents, spouses, non skating siblings and friends—the park is big enough for all of them, as long as they know there is a risk of flying boards and people.

Bikes in the park haven't been too much of a problem. None on Friday, don't know about Saturday, but I personally chased out five on Sunday morning. At nooon on Sunday, there was a group of five bikes and a skater friend who refused to leave even though a group of skaters made it clear they wer not welcome here. They ended up leaving only when park rangers arrived. I know 99% of the skaters do not want bmx riders in the park and the city says no bikes, but most skaters will only grumble about it and not stand up to them. We all must work together to keep them out of this park. We all must be bold enough to walk up to them and make it clear, politely and respectfully that THIS PARK is NOT bike friendly and they will not be allowed to stay. Just make sure you've got backup — especially from any adult skaters present. We have to take ownership and responsibility of OUR park.

Speaking of responsibility, there were some reports of alcohol, pot and garbage in the park and parking lot. Please, please, please, work with us to curtail any of this. Gargage, well that's just obvious. Pick up your trash and tell others to do the same. But, drugs and booze... we are not prudes at the SSA, but anyone drinking or toking around the skate park is just giving the city a reason to add supervision and charge an entrance fee, and that is nothing less than stupid. If you see this behavior, it is your duty to educate the fools. We all need to work together as a community to make sure the irresponsible don't ruin it for the rest of us. We are being closely watched by the city, rangers, dogpark users and general public. Please don't act like idiots.


UPDATED INFO ON THE HELMET AND PAD RULES FOR GRANTIE AND OTHER SAC PARKS
(11.23.06)

Here is some very important info to read and consider before the Granite Skate Park's opening tomorrow morning.

The SSA has received a few e-mails from city officials in the last couple days that you need to know about. Greg Narramore, a Parks Dept. Superintendent, has reiterated the city code (which was adopted back in 1998) that says exactly this:

The Sacramento City Code requires all skateboard riders and skaters to wear helmets, elbow pads and kneepads while riding at this facility. Any person failing to do so will be subject to citation. Any person failing to wear the required safety gear is subject to citation pursuant to Sacramento City Code (Section 12.72.120.

He also said this applies to all Sac skate parks, including B Street. But at B Street, where you have to sign a waiver, it can be interpreted differently and his enforced by program staff instead of park rangers. At all other skate parks, including the smaller ramp parks in Natomas, Greg said the law is enforced by rangers and police "when applicable and appropriate".

So, yes, the question still looms large: how strictly will it be enforced at Granite? I have been trying my best to convince the powers that be that they can not enforce this to the letter of the law without ruining the skate parks. I have told them more than 9 out of 10 skaters will NOT skate with pads EVER.

This is a 4-point compromise plan that the SSA has suggested to them (based on how B Street is operated):
1) Require only children to wear helmets.
2) Never make anyone wear pads.
3) Let adult skaters skate however they want.
4) Never write tickets to children.
It's not perfect but it's a lot better than full enforcement. If need be, the SSA, with help of many of you, will go to the city council soon to try and change the city code to remove pads all together.

WHAT ABOUT THE FRIDAY OPENING AND THIS WEEKEND?

We don't know what will happen yet. It is still possible that city officials will relax enforcement. They may only require helmets and not pads. They may let adults skate helmet free. But they may be much stricter. If the city insists on enforcing the knee and elbow pad law, we need to stand strong together.

Even if you don't own pads or refuse to wear a helmet, COME TO THE 10 AM OPENING. If you are refused entry to the park, stand outside the gate in peaceful protest.

We have made it clear to city officials that they may be in the situation of having the majority of skaters there wanting to skate but refusing to wear pads. This will not make them look very good. We have also told them that there may be pad-wearing, helmet-wearing skaters who will NOT skate and choose to stand outside the park in solidarity with the street skaters. These actions can make a big difference and will send a strong message.

PLEASE, ALL OF YOU, BE THERE ON FRIDAY MORNING READY TO SKATE AND READY TO STAND TOGETHER IF NECESSARY.

GRANITE SKATE PARK OPENS NOV. 24!!
FREE AND UNSUPERVISED FOR NOW.
(11.03.06)

Yes, you read it right Granite Skate Park at Granite Regional Park will finally be opening. After five years of working to get free public concrete skateparks in Sacramento, and months of watching the construction and waiting for the day... the SSA is proud to announce that the it is here. At 10 am, Friday, November 24, 2006, the gates will open wide! There will not be a full-scale "grand opening" event until Spring, so this is what's called a "soft opening". There will be parks and city officials present, and possibly media.

Ironically, none of the additional amenities the city has been waiting to add to the park before opening it (grass, benches, water features, etc.) have actually been installed yet. Even though the concrete has been complete for over four months the park has remained off-limits. Apparently, the city was mostly waiting for the new adjoining dog park to be ready before opening both. All of the skate park extras will reportedly be added over the coming months in preparation for the grand opening. The fence around the park is complete and we are told that a park employee will unlock the gat at sunrise and lock it around sunset every day. The city is also planning to add lights for the Spring opening, which will mean night skating. Yes!

Regarding the issues of supervision, fees and enforcement of helmets and pads, the city has decided to open the park under a 6 month trial period of free, open skating. The Sacramento Skatepark Advocates have worked hard and been very vocal about the local skate community's adament and nearly unanimous desire to not have the park supervised and not be forced to wear equipment. The city received many, many calls and e-mails from skaters and SSA supporters — and it worked. The city listened—no organized supervision, no fees, and a sign posting the rules regarding usage, "required" safety equipment and prohibited activities. Now it's up to the skaters to live up to their end of the bargin and help this skate park flourish and suceed.

The skateboarding community has to show the city that we can take "ownership" of this park and help run it well by using it well. The SSA is absolutely sure that the Sacramento skate community is ready and willing to treat this park like the awesome place that it is.

Regarding safety equipment: We have been told that the it is hoped that the park rangers and the police department will be encouraged to NOT write tickets for skating without helmets — but instead will encourage skaters to put them on and may have to ask non-helmeted skaters to leave. The SSA is strongly in favor of the law enforcement agencies taking a very lax approach to the helmet and pad laws and it seems, for now, that the city is on our side. But that is no guarantee. For this reason, we recommend you always have a helmet with you whether you choose to wear it or not. All parties involved seem to agree that nobody is going to bother enforcing pads, so that's not really a concern. Because the city is already operating the B Street park (Skate Sacramento) with helmets enforced for underage skaters only and no pad requirements, regardless of state law, it seems pretty clear that that's as far as they'd go at Granite as well.

One last note: because the Nov. 24 opening will be attended by city officials it is likely that they will be asking all skaters (or just underage skaters) to wear helmets during the event. Please come prepared or don't come until later in the day.

GRANITE SKATE PARK TO OPEN IN NOVEMBER?
(09.21.06)

Although the city and the Parks Department still have not made any announcements regarding how Granite will be run, they are now quietly saying that it will open by mid-November. In a recent Sacramento Bee article about the new soccer field and dog park at Granite it inferred that the city planned to open the dog park and skate park in November. Also, at least one SSA supporter was told by Bob Overstreet (Director of Parks & Rec) that it would be open in "early to mid-November." The skeptics in the crowd will say, "I'll believe it when I see it." True enough. But we'll try to be optimistic. So, lets begin counting down and hold them to it... 55 days to go!

SKATE PARK OPENINGS STILL ON HOLD.
(09.09.06)

From a skater's standpoint, both Granite and Tanzanite are done and ready to skate. Unfortunately, from the city's standpoint, they still need "amenities" added—grass, sprinklers, fences, benches, shadestructures, water fountains, etc. Fine, that's all well and good, but how long this will take at either location, or why it doesn't appear that any of this has progressed in the last month are two questions the city does not seem to have an answer for. When pressed, they simply say something to the effect of "be patient." Shit! We are tired of being patient! Granite is nearly three months behind the scheduled opening and there is no date in site and we're supposed be to be quiet and note ask pointed questions? Who do they think we are? The Senior Women's Garden Club! This is bullshit and
we are getting very close to the edge of all-out civil protest.

If you, the skateboarding community as a whole, say you
want to stand up to the city and make a statement, then the SSA will be there to organize it and promote it. Just give the word skaters...

SKATERS GET THE BIG TEASE.
(09.06.06)

On Tuesday, September 5, Councilmember Kevin McCarty's office called the SSA and said they wanted to hold and impromptu skate session at Granite Regional skate park. they told us to call and invite our friends. We did. But once other city officials got word, and Kevin realized that telling the SSA to inviite their friends could mean hundreds instead of a dozen skaters, the whole thing was called off. But the word was already out and the word of mouth was out of control. With only a day's notice, and help from Mike Rafter at Flat Spot, nearly a hundred local skaters showed up to find out they would not get to skate after all. Janowski and Salazar and Hertzler were all there ready to shred. What a session that could have been.

But many skaters got to give their opinoions directly to Kevin McCarty's District Director Maria Alverez (who, by the way, is very nice and helpful). This was a good outcome.

But we are still pissed adt the city for squashing it.

GRANITE SKATE PARK AND DESIGNER
WALLY HOLLYDAY IN THE LOCAL NEWS.
(08.14.06)

On Thursday, August 10, the local weekly Sacramento News & Review ran a 2-page feature about the Granite Regional Skate Park.
It included an interview between park designer Wally Hollyday and SSA's director Don Button (who is also an art director at the SN&R), along with Don's photos and a story by Becca Costello about why the park is not opened yet.

Check out the interview and photos at:
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/

Check out the park story at:
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/

SKATE PARK NEARLY COMPLETE.
(08.02.06)

Both parks are nearly complete, but there is no news about opening dates. The only news is that the city is now seriously considering supervising and enforcing helmet and pad laws on all skaters!!! They have not decided yet, and they have been listening to calls and e-mails from skaters and the SSA.

Go to our HOW YOU CAN HELP page and find out what you can do to get involved right now. Do not stand by and let the city ruin the great parks they have built!!

GRANITE REGIONAL SKATE PARK
CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES...
AND TANZANITE BEGINS
(05.25.06)

After a couple months of bad weather and delays,
construction at Granite has returned to full speed
and Wally has begun digging the bowls at Tanzanite
Park in Natomas. Much of the concrete is complete at
Granite and it's looking AMAZING. So much more
than we ever thought possible! Again, please stay out
of the construction site.

GRANITE REGIONAL SKATE PARK
UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
(02.13.06)

Wally is digging away and the bowls are beginning
to take shape. The park is tentetively scheduled for
completion by late Spring or early Summer.
Keep watching for updates and please keep out of the
construction site.

GRANITE REGIONAL SKATE PARK
MEETING #2: COME ON OUT
(02.13.05)

Thursday, February 17, from 7pm - 8pm
Hart Senior Center, 27th & J Streets

Come see what Wally Hollyday has come up with since the last
design meeting. There will still be time for more input and ideas,
so if you didn't make it to the last meeting, now is your last chance.

See you there!

GRANITE REGIONAL SKATE PARK
MEETING NOTES
(01.29.05)

Last Thursday, Jan. 20 the city held a skate park design meeting with local skaters and park design guru Wally Hollyday. This was the first public meeting do discuss ideas for the design of a major regional skate park at Granite Regional Park in Sacramento. (location info below)

There were a lot of great ideas thrown into the stew. People want something big and special to put the Sac skate scene on the map. Wally took in all the input and will return in February to show everyone what he's come up with (info below). He said that he always wants to do something new with every park he designs.

According to the Roy Tatman at city parks, this skate park should begin construction in late Summer 05 and could be complete by the end of the year or late Winter 06 (1 year from now!).
Wally also showed the current design for Tanzanite Community Skate Park. He said they were about 90% done with the construction drawings so it should go out for construction bids soon. This park was also originally planned to open by the end of 05, but Roy said the Granite skate park will probably be finished first.

WALLY HOLLYDAY (left) DISCUSSES PARK DESIGN WITH SOME
LOCAL OLD-SCHOOLERS.

SSA ASST. DIRECTOR CHRIS CURRIER (center) CHECKS OUT SITE
PHOTOS WITH A LOCAL.

WALLY LOOKS ON AS PARKS & REC. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT ROY TATMAN PRESENTS SOME BACKGROUND ON GRANITE REGIONAL.

The meeting was covered by the Sacramento News & Review. You can see the story in the Jan. 27 issue or on-line at: http://www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/2005-01-27
(be advised: ignore the annoying headline)

NEXT DESIGN MEETING:
Please come and show your support and share your input at the second design meeting for Granite Regional:
Thursday, Feb. 17, 2005
7 - 8 pm
Hart Senior Center
27th & J Streets
Cypress Room
(For more info, call Roy Tatman at 808-5326)

Where is Granite Regional Park? The location is near Power Inn Rd. and Ramona Ave. South of Hwy 50, about a 1/2 mile South of Folsom Blvd, turn East on Ramona between the new government buildings. At the top of the hill you'll see a very large depression on your right and a hill to the left of it. The skatepark will be to the right of the hill. At the bottom of the road where it turns to the left, there will be an entrance on the right to a parking lot for the skate park and other features.

GRANITE REGIONAL SKATE PARK
SUDDENLY MOVES TO THE TOP OF THE LIST
(01.19.05)

This Thursday, Jan. 20, the City of Sacramento Parks & Rec will be hosting a skatepark design meeting for a new FULL-SIZE CONCRETE SKATEPARK at Granite Regional Park.

Do you want bowls or stairs? Rails or snake runs? If you want to be a part of designing this park, you need to come to this first meeting and speak up. Don't miss the opportunity:

January 20, 2005
6pm – 7:30pm
Hart Senior Center
917 27th Street (27th & J Sts)
Cypress Room
Sacramento
(for more info, Call Roy Tatman @ 808.5326)

The word is that this park should begin construction this Summer, and will likely be done before the community skatepark at Tanzanite Park in Natomas. The Granite Regional location is off Power Inn Rd., south of Folsom Blvd. It's near light rail and Hwy 50 access and has the potential to be a 40,000 sq. ft. facility.

This is what the SSA has been working towards for 3 years and we need your support and help to get it done right. Be there to make sure your voice is heard.

ELK GROVE PARK OPENS
(01.02.05)

We're not sure of exact date, but sometime in late 2004,
the Elk Grove X-Park opened and is generating a lot of attention.
Congrats to Dyric Rameriez and the other folks down there who
got it done! Ya'll can see some photos and link to the E.G. site
by clicking HERE.

TANZANITE PARK ALIVE AND WELL
(09.18.04)

There was a September 9 meeting with the Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) was fantastic. Although several of unhappy neighbors were there, about two dozen supporters, including about 10 Natomas skaters also showed up. The committee was clearly on our side and voted unanimously to continue supporting the development of the skatepark!!

ELK GROVE PARK CONSTRUCTION UNDER WAY
(09.16.04)

The Elk Grove X-Park is currently being built right now. Check
out their web site to see recent photos of the flowbowl and street
areas. Thanks to Dyric Ramirez for keeping us updated. www.xparkelkgrove.org.

THIRD SSA/KWOD SKATE SAC SERIES
EVENT CANCELLED
(09.10.04)

Due to scheduling difficulties and staff changes at KWOD, the SSA
has decided to not go forward with the planned third event of
our 2004 competition and concert series. Thanks to all the sponsors, skaters, supporters and bands who made the first two events such
a success. See you next year...

TANZANITE PARK MEETING DATE CHANGED
(08.28.04)

The Citizen's Advisory Committe meeting to discuss the Tanzanite Master Plan and the future of the skate park in it has been changed to Thursday, September 9 from 7pm - 8:30pm. The location is at the Natomas Service Center at 3291 Truxel Rd. # 26. There will be very vocal neighbors who DO NOT WANT A SKATE PARK at Tanzanite. We need as many skaters and parents as possible (especially from Natomas) to show up and show support. For more info about the meeting, call Tin-Wah Wong at Parks & Rec at 808-5540. For more info about the park, go to http://www.sacskatepark.org/ssa/tanzanite.html

SAC'S FIRST PUBLIC CONCRETE
SKATE PARK NEEDS YOUR HELP!
(08.05.04)

THE GOOD NEWS: The new skate park planned for Tanzanite Community Park (Behind the Truxel Rd. Home Depot) has gone through it's second design meeting with California Skateparks and it looks great! Concrete guru Wally Hollyday was in town to meet with local skaters on July 21 to show off the preliminary drawings. Local skaters evaluated them and offered ideas to make the park design better. Wally and his team will now finalize the concepts and submit them to the city. If all goes as planned, construction could start in the Spring and the park could be skateable by this time next year!!

All the work that the SSA has been doing to support and promote skating and skateparks in Sacramento will finally come to fruition in our first concrete park!

BUT... THE BAD NEWS: There continues to be some opposition to the inclusion of a skate park in Tanzanite by some of the neighbors. They are reportedly gathering signatures on a petition in an attempt to have the skate park removed from the master plan! We need your help to make sure their efforts do not succeed!

If you live in the Natomas, especially in the Tanzanite neighborhood or within 3 miles of the park, Home Depot or Natomas High School, PLEASE CONTACT US RIGHT AWAY. We need people to help get signatures on our own petition, contact the city council and Parks Department, organize people to attend the next meeting and hand out flyers. Even if you don't live in the Natomas area, we need you to help too.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. ALL OF THE WORK WE'VE DONE COULD BE WASTED IF WE LET THE NEIGHBORS WIN THIS. We don't want to fight them, we just want to find common ground and educate people who don't understand what a great thing a skate park is. We think most people who oppose the skate park might just have a bad or misinformed idea of skaters and we want to educate them and
bring them to our side.

BUT WE NEED MORE PEOPLE TO GET INVOLVED! Please reply to this e-mail or call Don at 396-1134 or Vicki at 899-1363 to get on board our campaign.

The next important meeting is the Citizens Advisory Committee on Sept. 2. The people against the skate park will be there and we need as many people as possible to show up and speak out in support of skate parks and skaters.

PLANS FOR THE THIRD SKATE & MUSIC
EVENT AT SKATE SAC
(08.01.04)

The date and details are still being worked out with KWOD and the sponsors for the third Summer Skate Sac event. Most likely it will happen in September. Keep checking the SSA web site for details and watch for more info via e-mail.

SKATE SAC COMP AND MUSIC EVENT #2 REPORT
(08.01.04)

Last month's (July 17) big skate comp and free concert was a huge success! Hundreds of skaters and music fans showed up to make it the biggest Skate Sacramento event ever. Over 70 skaters competed and about 10 sponsors had booths to show, sell and give away their stuff. Local bands Key to Arson and Five Minute Ride opened up for Lit, who put on a hot and energetic show that
ended with about half of the audience on stage singing "My Own Worst Enemy" with the band.

The SSA raised nearly a thousand dollars at the event that will go to our non-profit Gifts to Share Skatepark fund. We would like to thank all the volunteers who worked all day to make the event a success. We also want to thank all the sponsors: KWOD 106.5 fm, Dimple Records, Ground Zero, Crossroads Trading Co., The Grind, Liquid Salvation, Phreek Industries, AE Booking, Jones Soda Co., and many others.

The skate competition was a great display of local talent. The winners in each category were:
Beginner Street
1. Trevor Agrifoglio 2. Liberty Fiallia 3. Nick Larsen
Intermediate Street
1. Austin Trenkan 2. Francisco Garcia 3. Joseph Huerta
Advanced Street
1. Tristen Moss 2. Ricky Wombold 3. Eric Bibelheimer
Intermediate Vert
1. Curtis Currier 2. Gary Eberle 3. Tim Bibelheimer
Advanced Vert
1. Eric Bibelheimer 2. Joe Puma 3. John

Congrats to all the skaters and winners.

NEW DATE & BAND FOR JULY COMP
(7.06.04)

The second Skate Sacramento competition has been moved to Saturday, July 17. It was originally scheduled for July 10. This move was made so that KWOD 106..5 FM could fully promote the event on the radio and web.

The really cool thing is that this date change made it possible to book the band LIT to headline the free event. If you don't recognize the band's name think back to 1999... they had a number one hit for 11 weeks with "My own worst enemy". The also had a #3 hit with their single "Miserable" The local up-and-comers Key to Arson will be opening the show. Both of these bands are playing free to help support the SSA's efforts to get real concrete skateparks built in Sactown.

KWOD will be fully promoting this show and the SSA's efforts so we hope a much larger crowd will show up to check out the Skate Sac facility and join our cause.

FOR MORE INFO: check out www.kwod.com

You can also find out more about the bands at: www.litlounge.com and www.keytoarson.com

RELATED NEWS: Due to the success of the first event in June, the Sac Parks & Rec has ponied up another $5,000 to buy some more ramps for the Skate Sac collection.

TANZANITE PARK DESIGN MEETING A SUCCESS
(7.06.04)

On Wednesday, June 30, about 20 skaters and supporters showed up to meet with the Sac Parks & Recreation staff and CA Skateparks design team to share their dreams and ideas of what Sacramento's first public concrete skatepark should look like.

Skaters choose their favorite skate element samples and drew out their own creations. There was also a discussion about needs and ideas and talk of making it a very family friendly space with grassy and shaded areas with tables and benches. The CA Skatepark designers will take all of this information back to their office and come up with some computer drawings of what we might get.

Here are some photos from the meeting:

John Little of CA Skatepark Design shows some sample park photos
to two local skaters. Pro Matt Rodriguez, background, is so excited
he's pounding his head!

Four locals are happy to sketch out their own design ideas.

A Parks & Recreation Landscape architect discusses the Tanzanite Community Park master plan.

For more info on CA Skatepark Design: http://www.skatedesign.com/

For info on Tanzanite Community Park: http://www.cityofsacramento.org

THE NEXT MEETING TO SEE WHAT THEY COME UP WITH will be on WED., JULY 21 from 1-2:30 pm in the 1st floor conference room at 1231 I Street. Please come and share your input.

TWO MORE RAMP PARKS TO OPEN SOON
(7.06.04)

REGENCY PARK SKATEPARK: There will be a new ramp based skatepark opening in September at the new Regency Park in North Natomas. We were not involved with the planning or design of this park. In fact, we only found out about it's existence recently. Regency Park is in the far north corner of the city limits up past Arco Arena and Truxel Marketplace. It's south of Elkhorn and east of Natomas Blvd, at the corner of Regency Park Circle and Honor Parkway. We'll let you know more when we have news. You can see the master plan at: http://www.cityofsacramento.org

ROBLA PARK SKATEPARK: We have previously announced plans for a ramp based, street style park to be opened next year at Robla Community Park. These plans are still on track and it has much support from Councilmember Sandy Sheedy. You can see the master plan at http://www.cityofsacramento.org

(NOTE: the skatepark is going where the tennis courts are shown on the plan drawing.)

ALSO: WEST SAC SKATEPARK: The ramp park in West Sac is now opened. It has a pretty good street area, with rails and also a minipipe. It's in Westacre Park at the corner of Westacre and Evergreen between Capital Ave and Hwy 80.

1st COMP OF '04 SKATE SAC SERIES A SUCCESS
(6.15.04)

The June 13th SSA / KWOD 106.5fm Skate Sac Comp Series went off without a hitch and fun was had by all. The event was covered by Channel 10 news and the Sacramento Bee. Over 40 local amateur skaters competed in both Street and Vert comps and all participants received awards. Prizes were donated by KWOD, Dimple Records, Quicksilver, Liquid Salvation, the SSA and many others. Other sponsors included Jones Soda, AE Booking, Insurgent Arts, Ground Zero, Flat Spot, and Red Bull.

Ghostride and Revolution Smile put on two great sets of local music and, through AEBooking, donated their time and talent.

Although we didn't have as big a turn out or raise as much money as we hoped, the SSA and KWOD have high hopes that this first event will just be a stepping stone to bigger, better and more profitable events in July and August. Stay tuned for more details

For photos of the June 13 event, go to http://www.sacskatepark.org/ssa/comp1_1.html

SUMMER '04 SKATE SAC COMPETITION SERIES
(5.20.04)

Sacramento Skatepark Advocates and KWOD 106.5fm are coming
together to produce a series of 3 local amateur skate competitions
at the Skate Sacramento ramp facility. These events will be the
biggest ever heald at the facility and we intend to raise several
thousand dollars in proceeds and donations for the SSA's Gifts
To Share Skatepark Fund.

The dates are June 13, July 17 and August 14. The June event will
include live music from Ghostride and Revolution Smile as well as
many product booths and a live radio remote broadcast.

The format for the competiton will be totally different than in the past and there will be much prize swag to give out from companies
like Etnies and NHS. There will also be the first-ever Sacramento
1/2 pipe competion.

Much more information and details will be available on this Web site by May 31, so keep checking back.

SKATE COMP AT SKATE SAC--JAN. 24
Here's the info, straight from Sara, Goddess of Skate:

We are having another last minute skate competition.

Skate competition next Saturday (the 24th). Registration is at
10:00am and the comp begins at 11:00pm. There is a $3 registration fee.

There will also be a best trick contest. All safety gear required.
ALL skaters MUST wear a helmet!! Local pros will be judging. Sponsored by Skate Sacramento, Flat Spot, Girl skateboards,
and Deluxe Distribution.

Thanks!!!!
Sara Sanders
Department of Parks and Recreation
(916) 277 - 6063

LOCAL PARKS STAFF SEEK STATE
GRANT TO BUILD SKATEPARKS
(01.16.04)

This past week both the Sacramento Parks & Recreation and the
Fulton-El Camino Recretion & Parks applied for Grants from the
State's Urban Parks Program. This program has helped fund many
of California's public skateparks. The city's grant request was for
a permanent concete park at the Sutter's Landing Regional Park.
The Fulton-El Camino staff is planning a new 18,000 sq. ft concrete
skatepark at Howe Park (corner of Howe and Cottage). That would
be a park larger than Citrus Heights about a mile away from Arden
Mall. It's not in the city limits, but it's pretty darn close.

ELK GROVE CITY COUNCIL VOTES FOR PARK
(01.10.04)

On January 6, 2004 the Elk Grove Community Services District Board of Directors unanimously approved building a real cement skate board park. The proposed park would be lighted and located
at the Barbara Morse Wackford Community Center. For more info
check out www.xparkelkgrove.org.

FOLSOM OPENS SKATEPARK.
VERT SKATERS FIND GOD.
Sunday, November 16
Folsom, CA

The biggest, baddest skatepark in Northern California is now open in Folsom! We were there on it's first day open, But to our surprise, the city had got nervous about crowds instituted a $2 all day cover charge and limited skating to 30-minute sessions of 40-50 skaters. You had to wait in line and then wait 30-60 minutes between your sessions. Not cool. But once you got in... Damn!! Designer Zach Wormhoudt has done it again, and finally in our backyard.

The street is huge and diverse, but doesn't include any stairs. But it's the vert/tranny area that is the gem of this park. It's a 4-bowl combo of 3- and 6-foot capsule bowls, with extensions and kinks, feeding into a 4-way intersection of roll-in walls that lead to two deep, very large bowls (round and square). Awesome! The locals and a bunch of old-school N-Men were shredding it. Even Kevin Rucks there. (You can see photos at www.N-Men.com.)

Hopefully they'll relax the limited hours and cover charge in the future. To get there from Sacto, head East on 50 toward Folsom/
Placerville. Take the E. Bidwell St. exit North past all the malls and retail. Turn right on Oak Ave. Parkway. About a half mile up on the left is a parking lot at Creekside Dr. The skatepark is up behind the parking lot.

SUTTER'S LANDING MEETING --
WE NEED YOU THIS WEDNESDAY
Wednesday, October 8, 7:30 pm
Caloma Community Center Auditorium, 4623 T St.

There will be a public meeting to review and discuss the master plan for Sutter's Landing Regional Park. This is where the Skate Sacramento program (28th & B) is currently located. The future of this park depends on you. Come and be heard. Show your support for the continued operation and growth of the skate program, as well as the possibility for it to become the future location of a permanent concrete skatepark.

This is REALLY our chance to stand and be counted. Head honchos from Parks & Rec will be there and councilmember Steve Cohn is likely to be in attendance as well.

BOOM-BOOM HUCK JAM RETURNS TO SAC
(October 4, 2003)

This Thursday, Oct. 9, Tony Hawk's extreme sports extravaganza returns to Arco Arena. We know a lot of skaters look at this mega-corporate-sponsored-commercialized circus with a high level of disdain and disgust, and we understand that. But, the SSA is not here to judge or divide. We're just here to promote skateboarding and skateparks in Sac. So we can't NOT mention it. We saw it last year and it was pretty spectacular, but far from the REAL culture and lifestyle of skating. See it or don't, whatever makes you smile.

By the way, the Bee ran a story in Monday's Scene section about the Huck Jam. Not only did they interview Hawk, but they also talked to our own local skate guru John Cardiel. His comments, along with Thrasher editor Jake Phelps, make the article a worthy and balanced read. Click here to check it out.

PARKS MASTER PLAN REPORT
(October 2, 2003)

This past Thursday, Oct. 2, the Parks Dept. held a public meeting to review the long-range overall master plan for the parks system. Both Vicki DeKay and Michael Anadon attended and spoke on behalf of the SSA.

Here's Michael's detailed report:

The meeting went well. They released the results of
two studies: the web based Park User Survey that Parks
and Rec did and a poll for which they contracted.
Unfortunately, they didn't hand out copies of poll
results, but it will be posted online once it's in
final form.

The good news was that the web survey showed a
skatepark as really the only new project priority
(with 103 people having selected it).

In the poll presentation, there were a couple things I
found interesting:
93% of respondents feel investing in youth
sports/activities is a priority,
55% (the 2nd largest group) found parks not having
needed facilities as a barrier to enjoying our park
system (1st was lack of knowledge about park
amenities), and while
87% (could be wrong on the number- didn't write it
down) were somewhat or very pleased with the current
parks system. The pollster noted that the unhappy
group was very unhappy.

The only statistics that were bad were (1) only 55% of
those polled saw a skatepark as a budget priority and
(2) the only tax supported by respondents - at a level
sufficient to pass - was to maintain our urban forest
(plant trees) - and only at the $10 level.

Nevertheless, the public comment period went our way
too. Only 12 speaker cards were received. I was the
10th speaker overall and was the 4th skatepark
supporter. I don't know whether more came after me
because by the time I spoke it was past 7:30 and I had
to leave. Also, of the six non-skatepark people to
speak before I left, none spoke on the same issue,
meaning we were the only significant constituency to turn out.

SAC BEE REPORTS ON 28TH & B
(October 3, 2003)

The Sacramento Bee, in it's Thursday City Section, ran a cover story on the Skate Sacramento program at the Sutter's Landing Regional Park (aka 28th & B, the Baler Building). It was a really positive story on skateboarding, the program, skaters and the skate culture. It also ran in several other Bee regional sections including Citrus Heights and Orangevale.
Click here to check it outline.

NEW RAMP PARK IN FAIR OAKS
Just found out about this in the Bee as well. It looks to be similar to Orchard Park in size and facilites, but you can't really tell from the photos. Click here to check it out.

More info may be found here:
www.fairoakspark.org/

If anyone knows more about this, please let us know.
Send photos or info to: sacskateadvocates@sbcglobal.net

SSA SPEAKING TO CITY COUNCIL AGAIN

In our continuing campaign to have at least one person a week speak to the city council about skateboarding and skateparks, SSA supporter Curtis Franklin (a school teacher and old-school skater) spoke this past Tuesday, Sept. 30. Curtis spoke eloquently on the benefits of skateboarding and the need for Sacramento to provide for it's young generation.

SSA VISITS CITY COUNCIL MEETING
AGAIN, AND AGAIN...
(September 27, 2003)

SSA Director Don Button, along with supporter Michael Anadon and Joe Booth from Joe's Soul Shack & Sacramento Skate Tour attended last Tuesday's council meeting. All three addressed the mayor and council to make statements regarding the need for skateparks, the positive impact on the community from skateparks, and benefits many benefits they provide to children and teenagers.

The council was very receptive, City Manager Bob Thomas presented a short update on what's happening with the Sutter's Landing Regional Park location (current home of the Skate Sac program) being considered for a permanent concrete park. Unfortunately, because of a variety of reasons involving the long-term planning at that site, design and construction of a skatepark there would be at least 2-3 years away. Don Button told the council that that the SSA fully supported the Sutter's Landing location, but that timeframe was much too long and the city needed to be actively looking at other potential locations right now.

This continual visiting to the city council may not be making a skatepark happen right now, but it is raising the attention level they are giving it. Mayor Fargo followed up our statements by directing staff to further look into other potential locations and the Director of Parks & Recreation, Bob Overstreet, had his staff contact the SSA director to set up another personal meeting in October.

There are several more SSA supporters planning to attend next week's council meeting to make their own comments. All supporters and interested parties are invited to visit the council and speak during the Open Public Comment portion of the meeting. If you want to do so, please contact us at 396-1134 for more information.

IMPORTANT MEETINGS YOU SHOULD ATTEND

Want to speak out about skateboarding, but can't make it to city council? There are several other meetings coming up that you can attend. All are open to the public and will allow time for public comment and questions.
Thursday, Oct. 2
Parks Master Plan update meeting
Hart Center at 27th & J streets
6pm - 7pm.
This is to share with the public the long-term Master Plan for the entire city parks system. It is important that we show up to ask questions about how skateparks are included in this plan.
Wednesday, Oct. 8
Sutter's Landing Regional Park plan meeting
Coloma Center Auditorium at 4623 T St.
7:30pm
This is a neighborhood and regional citizens meeting to go over the plan for Sutter's Landing and the Bailer Building. We really need skater and skate-parent representation at this meeting. This is a major step in the final plan for this regional park. If want the skatepark to happen there, we've got to show up and speak out. Please don't sit back and think the SSA folks can do all of this on our own. Get involved!

SSA ON SKATEBOARDDIRECTORY.COM
The Sacramento Skatepark Advocates web site has recently been added to this directory site's "associations" list. This site has tons of links and resources about everything you could ever need about skateboarding and parks. You could literally spend days checking out all the web sites these guys have compiled. www.skateboarddirectory.com

EVEN DIXON HAS A PARK NOW!
A local skater reports that he recently stumbled onto a new skatepark out in Dixon (West of Davis on I-80). Across the parking lot from Hall Community Park, it's concrete and has a big flat bank, lots of hips, rails and quarterpipes. We don't have any photos or directions yet, but you can probably find it on mapquest.com

SSA SPEAKS TO CITY COUNCIL,
NOW IT'S YOUR TURN
(September 5, 2003)

On Tuesday, Sept. 2, SSA Director Don Button made a new and strongly worded public statement to the Mayor and City Council at the city council meeting.

Good news! It was very well received and the mayor and several councilmembers asked questions and expressed support. They also requested city staff to come back to them with a report as to why the Parks & Recreation Department had not yet brought a proposal to them. This is definitely progress. But it is only the start. If you want skate parks in Sacramento, you need to speak up.

There are two things you can do to help.

One: speak in person to our elected representatives at an upcoming city council meeting. You can say whatever you want about the issue for up to 3 minutes. Or, we can help you put together a statement. We are trying to organize several people to speak soon. If you are a skater, parent or supporter who wants to speak, call us at 396-1134, or e-mail us at sacskateadvocates@sbcglobal.com right away.

Two: click here to go to the list of city council contact info. You can e-mail them or snail-mail them right now!

SKATE SACRAMENTO HEATING UP
(July 17, 2003)

The Skate Sacramento program is heating up! Now that the 1/2 pipe is there, all the local pros are starting to come out of the woodwork. In the last couple weeks, Matt Rodriguez, John Cardiel, Matt Pailes and Stefan Janoski have all been seen shredding the place.

If you haven't been out recently, or skated the 1/2 pipe yet, this weekend is the perfect chance. Sunday, 7/20 is the date for the 4th session of the Sacramento Skatepark Tour competition series. The comp starts around 11am, signups begin at 10am. There are beginner, intermediate and advanced categories, as well as best trick and best grind comps.

The SSA was in the house at the last one. We raffled off a signed Matt Rodriguez deck and raised some bucks for the skatepark fund. We hope to do it again this weekend. See ya!

SKATE SACRAMENTO PROGRAM
SUMMER HOURS ANNOUNCED
(June 18, 2003)

SKATE SACRAMENTO SUMMER HOURS & HALF-PIPE
The skate program at 28th & B (in the Baler Building) is expanding it's session hours more than ever for this Summer. So be sure to hang out there as much as possible to keep showing the Parks & Rec haw bad we need a real concrete park.
And, Red Bull is generously donating their demo half pipe for the
summer. It's reportedly 30' wide and 10' high. Sweeeeeet!

SUMMER HOURS:
June 14th - August 31st
Tuesday thru Friday 12-3p, 3-6p, 6-9p
Saturday & Sunday 12-3p, 3-6p
Closed Mondays!
$3 per session

MATT RODRIGUEZ ON TV
(June 13, 2003)

Sacramento Public TV station KVIE has produced a feature story on local pro skater and SSA founding member Matt Rodriguez. It will air this week on Central Valley Chronicles on KVIE Channel 6.
On Channel 6 KVIE it will air Saturday at 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm and then
again on Sunday at 12:30 pm and then finally one more time Tuesday night at
7:00 pm.
It will also air on Cable Channel 7 tonight on Saturday at 6:00 pm.
There is also a write up the KVIE website:
http://centralvalleychronicles.org/making_of/700/741skateboardartist.htm

SACRAMENTO SKATE TOUR, PART 1
(June 13, 2003)

The Sacramento Skate Tour kicked off last Sunday in Auburn. The park was raging and about 30 local skaters competed in the comp sponsored by Phreek Industries, Joe's Soul Shack, the SSA and many others. The second comp is coming up on June 22 in Rocklin and then comes to town (at Skate Sacramento) on June 29. For more info on the whole tour, check out the SSA site (www.saccskatepark.org -- which has links to Phreek and Joe's) or you can now go to www.sacramentoskatetour.com, where the winners are listed and there are supposed to be photos of the Auburn comp.

RANDOM STUFF
(June 13, 2003)

The Citrus Heights park is under construction and the flow bowl area is starting to take shape. No concrete yet, though, just dirt and metal. We're gonna try to get some current pics up on the site soon.

There are some great SKATE CAMPS for kids over the summer and it's not to late to register. None that we know of in NorCal, but here are two to check out down south:
Point X camp (skate, bmx, inline and motocross) in Aguanga: http://www.pointx.com
Visalia YMCA skate camp:
http://www.skatecamp.org/

SKATE SACRAMENTO PROGRAM
HOURS EXTENDED!!
(March 21, 2003)

S ince the new ramps were installed a few weeks ago, the 28th & B ramp park has been getting a bit crowded. A lot of new skaters of all ages and levels have been showing up regularly. Some blazing sessions have been witnessed. So the city got wise and decided it was time to open it up for more sessions. Yeah! Give the big props to Sara Sanders for making it happen.

Here's the new schedule:
Tue, Thurs: 4-7pm $3/session (all ages)
Tue, Thurs: 7-9pm $2/session (18+ only)|

Sat, Sun: 12-3pm $3/session (all ages)
3-6pm $3/session (all ages)

(HELMETS REQUIRED FOR ALL SKATERS, ALL SESSIONS!)

GET A JOB AT SKATE SAC!! Also, Sara needs to fill 2 positions to help cover the extended hours. Responsible skaters, or skate supporters, interested in the part-time gig should contact Sara at 277-6063. It will be about 12 hours a week at about $7 an hour.

SKATEPARK NEWS

(March 21, 2003)

Members of the SSA Board have been working with City Parks & Rec again to evaluate over a dozen new possible locations for skateparks. That's right... skateparkS with an S. We'll be meeting with the Director of Parks & Rec soon to formally present our findings and try to set budgets and timetables for skatepark plans. We'll keep you posted.

Also, the Board of the Fulton-El Camino Recreation & Parks District is very interested in building a concrete skatepark. They are in the process of putting together a proposal and budget. The SSA has been working with them as volunteer consultants. Any of you out there who live near Howe Park should call the district office and tell them you want to help out with getting a skatepark built. Kenny Hansen is the guy you want to talk to. And, again, we'll keep you posted. www.fecrecpark.com

Word on the street is that the skatepark being built by the Sunrise Recreation & Parks District in Rusch Park in Citrus Heights will be done around June.

Who knows what the deal with Boardwild in Woodland is? We hear they changed the name to Frontline and rebuilt most of the indoor ramp park. If any of you in Woodland have more details, please let us know.

 

NEW NOR-CAL PARKS PLANNED
AND UNDER CONSTRUCTION

(March 3, 2003)

Placerville skatepark is under construction. We heard it won't be done until Spring '04, but the photos we got seem to show that it will be done much sooner (cuz it shouldn't take over a year to puur concrete!). Also, in the town of Oroville (70 miles North of Sacto) there's an interesting skate & bike park being planned by the Feather River Rec & Parks District. It will be split into 2 sections, devided by a viewing area, that will alternate between bmxers and skaters. One side is all ramps, the other is ramps with a concrete flow bowl area. Check out a drawing of the Oroville park and photos of Placerville on the SSA NorCal Skate Map (Flash plug-in required).

SKATE SACRAMENTO BLOWS UP!!

(March 3, 2003)

Skate Sacramento (a.k.a. 28th & B, the Bailer Building, and Sutter's Landing) has more than doubled in size. Vert Manufacturing, who built the original set of portable ramps, has installed a bunch more 1/4 pipes, flat banks and blocks, and turned this skate "program" into something a whole lot closer to a real skatepark. Most of the features are now permanently placed, but a few are still moveable, including the rails. As you can see from the photos, there's a huge 6-foot banked roll-in next to the mini-pipe, which now connects to a 8-foot wide bank between two 4-foot high quarterpipes. At the far end of the building, near the open wall, is another 8-foot wide bank between 12-foot and 8-foot wide quarter pipes on each side, as well as a large platform behind. In the center is a set of step-up flat and curved ramps building to a 4-foot high box. Off to one side is a new sloped grind box with launch ramps on either side. Basically, it's way better than before, and well worth the $3 per session.
Now, if we can just get the city to open it on more than 3 days a week, and more than 3 hours a session, we'll be doing great. Contact Bob Overstreet and Ralph Pettingel at the Parks & Recreation Department, thank them for their support and let them know 9 hours a week is not enough.

SAC BEE REPORTS ON SKATEPARKS

(February 21, 2003)

Just found this on-line article from january about the progress of skateparks in the Sacramento area. Check it out: www.sacbee.com/content/community_news/

 

SSA: WHAT WE'RE PLANNING FOR 2003

(February 18, 2003)

One year ago, the city of Sacramento had no public places to skate. Now, with the help of the SSA, there are two places (Orchard Park and the Skate Sacramento facility) and more on the way! By the end of 2003, there may be at least 5 more new skateparks in the greater Sacramento area. There's a lot happening right now, and in the coming months, so we'll try hard to keep you updated and let you know when your help and supprt are needed.

Here's what's happening in the near future:

WEST SACRAMENTO: This Saturday, 2/22, the City of West Sacramento will be holding a kickoff ceremony for the renovation of Westacre Playfield, which will include resurfacing of the basketball courts and a NEW SKATEBOARD PARK.

The renovation is a partnership by the City with Operating Engineers Local 3, Teichert Construction, Cement Masons Local 400, the Washington Unified School District, and the Sacramento Kings. The partners are constructing the pad, and then the City and volunteers will move forward on the ramps and rails. When completed, the skateboard facility will be a neighborhood-level park, on the scale of Orchard Park in Natomas.

Westacre Playfield is at the intersection of Westacre Rd. and Evergreen St., directly next to the Capital City Freeway. To demonstrate the continuing support for the skateboard component of the renovation, we need as many West Sacramento skateboarders (and skaters from the greater Sac area) as possible to join us for the kickoff on Saturday. The kickoff will begin at 1:30 pm and conclude promptly at 3:30 pm.

SKATE SACRAMENTO: Two big things happening! This Saturday, from noon to 1pm, the Velocity Boardshop skate team will be doing a demo at the 28th & B ramp facility. It's free and will be followed by a 2-hour, $2 skate session.

Also, the BIG NEWS is that within a couple weeks, the ramps at Skate Sacramento will more than DOUBLE in size. New 6 foot quarter pipes and banks, multiple wedges and blocks and more 4 foot quarters will be added, along with a new kinked rail. All of these new features are from the same company who built the first set of ramps (Vert Manufacturing), and will be put into permanent positions. There will still be a few features that will be moveable. We will send out another e-mail announcing the exact date of the new ramps.

CITRUS HEIGHTS: The Sunrise Recreation and Parks District has devoted $225,000 to a new concrete, 11,000 sq. ft skatepark in Rusch Park on Auburn Blvd. The skatepark has been designed by the Wally Hollyday of California Skateparks and Purkis-Rose-RSI. Rumor is that it will be open by May. We saw the preliminary designs—and they were great. It included a 3-bowl flow area and a totally rad street course with mulitiple stairs, blocks and rails (and at least one totally new idea that will blow you away). We'll keep you updated. More info about this parks district can be found at: www.sunriserecreationpark.org
You can also find out about the skatepark designers at www.skatedesign.com and www.skateparkdesigner.com

FULTON-EL CAMINO PARK DIST.: The Fulton-El Camino Recreation & Parks District, which includes Howe Ave. Park seems to be very interested in building a concrete skatepark in the future. They have already contacted the SSA to discuss some early plans. Again, we'll keep you updated as soon as we know more. www.fecrecpark.com

VANS SKATEPARK: Word is that Country Club Plaza is finally being renovated to make way for a new mall that will include a Van's Skatepark. The downside is that Van's charges like $10 bucks for a 2-hours session, but the upside is that it'll be a top-of-the-line, indoor skatepark! If you've never been to a Van's park, check out their site to get an idea of what may be coming to Sactown by Summertime! (http://www.vans.com/skateparkorg/nw_skate.html)

ORCHARD PARK: Sacramento's first free city owned skatepark is growing in popularity. Even though it's small and above ground, there are usually 15-30 skaters there every day. The SSA is in the early stages of plans to raise money to buy more ramps from Skatewave to install in the remianing area here. There is room for at least 4, and up to 7 more ramps. We plan to focus on Natomas area businesses who want to donate several thousaand dollars to sponsor a new quarterpipe or other element. If you know of a potential business that might be interested, please contact the SSA.

OTHER SACRAMENTO LOCATIONS: Members of the SSA Board travelled all over Sacramento last Saturday with a Teresa Haenggi of Parks & Rec. We looked at 15 new potential skatepark sites and evaluated each. Some are great choices for a large regional skatepark, others are perfect for a smaller neighborhood size park (ramps or concrete). The results of this search will be presented to Bob Overstreet, the Parks & Rec Director, and added to the original skatepark feasablity study completed late last year. It's taken a long time to get to this point, but a year ago we were just looking for one location to put a regional skatepark. Now, the city is actively looking for multiple locations to build a variety of sizes and styles of skateparks. We still have a ways to go, but we feel confident that by this Summer, there will be some actual plans in motion for specific sites.

It is very important that you all keep letting the city know how bad we need skateparks! Call or e-mail Bob Overstreet (boverstreet@cityofsacramento.org)
and your city councilmember (get their e-mail at http://www.cityofsacramento.org/council/).

If you live outside the city limits, find out which parks district you live in and contact the parks department officials. If you live in West Sac or Citrus Heights, find out what's going on there and how you can help. All SSA members need to find a way to help out. Get involved in 2003!

Peace & Skateboards will save the World!!

SSA YEAR ONE ... THE 2002 WRAP-UP:

(Feb. 10, 2003)

When the SSA formed one year ago, our primary goals were
1) To raise awareness of the need for skateparks in Sacramento; 2) Help the the city choose a site and put together a skatepark proposal; 3) Raise money to help build a skatepark. We had a little bit of success on #3, not too much success on #2, and were very successful on #1!

Here's a breakdown of what we got done:
Throughout the year, the SSA generated a decent amount of local media attention, getting featured in the Bee's neighbors sections, a couple times in the News & Review, and Rant Magazine. We were on the radio on KSFM 102, KXOA 93.7 and 98 Rock. We were on five of the six local TV newscasts and on cable access speaking in front of the City Council.

Members of the SSA Board met personally with seven of the eight city councilmembers, the Mayor and the Director of Parks & Recreation. We also made presentations to the Community Advisor Committee, the Neighborhood Assoc. Group, the Youth Commission and the Fulton-El Camino Parks District Board of Directors.

APRIL: Launched first version of skatesacramento.org web site. In July the "New & Improved" version was launched. Since September the site has had nearly 800 new visitors, and has generated an e-mail list of over 525 supporters. It is regularly updated and monitors the local skate scene and skatepark cause.

JULY: Sponsored a Free SSA Awareness Concert in the Park. Hundreds of skate park supporters showed up at Ceasar Chavez Park for a great mix of local music, sponsor booths and skating. Also began a petition drive that has been signed by nearly 1,000 supporters.

SSA members served as consultant to get the Skate Sacramento program started at the new Sutter's Landing Regional Park. Open 3 days a week for 3-hour sessions, it is the very first city sponsored Skateboard facility in Sacramento. And better yet, it's under a roof, making it an all-weather site.

AUGUST: SSA partnered with Mountain Surf and Legend Skateboards to make and sell SSA model skate decks. At least 20 decks have been sold, raising over $100 for the SSA.

SEPTEMBER: SSA members acted as consultants to choose ramps and design park layout for Orchard Park Skatepark—Sacramento's first free neighborhood skatepark. We used the city's $40,000 budget to buy 3 quarterpipes, a minipipe, a pryamid and grind rail from the Skatewave Co.

OCTOBER: SSA partnered with Velocity Boardshop and Maloof Sports & Entertainment to promote the Tony Hawk Boom Boom Huck Jam at Arco Arena. Two pairs of tickets were raffled off at a Skate BBQ at Skate Sacramento.

The SSA supported and lobbied for the NO on Measure T campaign. This Sacramento city initiative would have dramatically cut city budgets and made it nearly impossible to develop any free city skateparks. The No on Measure T effort was successful!

NOVEMBER: SSA gathered over 30 volunteers to work over a weekend to assemble and install the Skatewave ramps at Orchard Park, saving the city $10,000 (which was used to buy more ramps). The above ground ramp facility is the first feature in this new neighborhood park, and is full of skaters every day of the week. In fact, measuring per person per square feet of space, it is already the most used piece of land in the whole Sacramento Parks & Recreation system—for any sport!!

SSA also sponsored a local amateur skate competition at Skate Sacramento to raise awareness and donations. Over 40 local skaters competed for prizes donated by local skate shops and businesses.

NOVEMBER / DECEMBER: KRXQ 98Rock, Pus Cavern and 21 local bands donated their time and talents to produce and release a benefit X-mas CD—all profits will be donated to the SSA to help build skateparks!!. Hundreds of CDs were sold at local nightclubs and music stores, and about $2,500 was raised for our non-profit Gifts to Share fund.

As far as the Parks & Recreations Skatepark feasability study and proposal goes, here's what happened in 2002: The Parks & Rec Dept. formed the SAG (Skatepark Advisory Group)—a group of citizens and skaters—to study potential skatepark sites and prepare a feasability study for the City Council to consider. This proposal was supposed to be finished by June, 2002. The SAG (which many of the SSA Board members are part of) worked for several months on a proposal, but it was not completed by the Dept. until Dec. of 2002. But last month, January 2003, it was decided that there were problems with this proposal, and that none of the three locations being considered were satisfactory sites for a skatepark at this time. It was decided that a variety of new sites would need to be looked at quickly. However, it was also decided that the proposal should no longer be limited to looking for regional park-sized locations, expanding the search for multiple sites that can each accommodate some type of skate park. This list is currently being put together. If you have ideas for good locations, e-mail them to us and we will forward your suggestions to the Parks & Recreation Dept.

SSA December Calendar

(12.04.02)


DEC 6: Friday night at Old Ironsides: 98Rock/PusCavern X-Mas CD release party—SSA benefit. Music by Larissa Bryski, Milwaukee and Honeyspot. $7 at the door or $10 for show & CD!

DEC 13: Friday night at Capitol Garage: 98Rock/PusCavern X-Mas CD release party—SSA benefit. Music by Smarty and Brand X Savior. $7 at the door or $10 for show & CD!

DEC 14: Grand Opening Party for Orchard Park Skatepark! Come out to the new Orchard Park in Natomas and celebrate Sacto's first free city skatepark. Click here for info.

DEC 20: Friday night at The Boardwalk: 98Rock/PusCavern X-Mas CD release party—SSA benefit. Music by Rezyn, Wurkt, Page 29, Simplistic, and Contents Under Pressure. $7 at the door or $10 for show & CD!

DEC 25: Merry Christmas! Hope you get a new deck or some skate gear.

JAN 1: Happy 2003! Make a new year's resolution to help out the SSA in some way to get more skateparks in Sactown.

Some of these dates and details may be subject to change,
but you be notified by e-mail if they do.

Ruck's Grand Prix Skatepark closes...
for good or not?

(11.30.02)

Kevin and Jennifer Rucks have closed down their private skatepark as of this weekend. It may be just for the Winter, it may be for good. There are reportedly several reasons for this development. One is they just had a baby a few months ago, which takes a lot of time, and most of their relatives live in SoCal. So they'll be moving down there for the time being. Their insurance policy on the skatepark was up for renewal also, which they chose not to renew because of rising costs. Kevin has said that if he get find additional financial backing to cover the insurance, he might consider reopening in the Summer.

Although the SSA's prime directive is to promote free community skateparks, we have all loved skating at Ruck's. The vert ramps there are the best around and they will be sorely missed. If Kevin and Jennifer decide to reopen, be sure that the SSA will be there to help promote it and get the word out.

We'll keep you updated on any developments. Meanwhile, we wish good luck to Kev and Jen and their little skate rat.

Citrus Heights ready to build Skatepark

(11.26.02)

SSA Director Don Button attended a meeting with Citrus Heights city and parks officials, town skaters, and reps from skatepark design/builders California Skateparks (Wally Holliday) and Purkiss-Rose. It was the second meeting and the two designers are now working together to finalize the design, which will be presented in mid-December. The Citrus Heights City Council has already approved a location in Rusch Park and a budget of around $250,000. Their approval of the design is expected withing the month and the designers told me that it would only take 8 weeks to build! So by March or April, yet another NorCal town not called Sacramento will have a killer concrete skatepark of their own.

The skatepark will be about 10,000 square feet (about the size of the Cameron Park skatepark) and will have some very unique features. The design concepts that were being considered all include a 3-4 bowl flow area of various depths and vertical walls with extensions and roll-ins (designed by Wally). They also have a sizable street area. The Purkiss-Rose-designed street course was easily the favorite: it was inspired by real-world city elements like the Pier 7 blocks in SF, Big 4 and Hubba-style stairs and rails in NYC and Freeway overpass pillers from Philly and Burnside. It also included lots of ledges, curbs and a moveable Jersey traffic devider. Totally cool and different!

Reports are also coming in about skatepark plans in West Sac and Folsom. We'll try to keep you updated on all of this stuff.

SSA Skate Competition at Skate Sacramento

(11.23.02)

We had a great turn out at the most recent local skate comp.
Co-sponsored by SSA, Skate Sac and Heckler magazine,
this time out, we added a mini-pipe competition that was a lot
of fun to watch. Our judges were I-Path skater Matt Rodriquez,
Ben from Joe's Style Shop and Joe Booth from Joe's Soul
Shack. Here are the winners:
Street, beginner:
1st: Blue Turner
2nd: Kevin Messing
3rd: Julian Hill
Street, intermediate:
1st: Apollo Cutts
2nd: Tristen Moss
3rd: Jeff Turner
Street, advanced:
1st: Eric
2nd: Nathanial Odom
3rd: Jefferson
Minipipe:
1st: Tristen Moss
2nd: Julian Button

Orchard Park Opens!
SSA volunteers make it happen.

(11.17.02)

The SSA is still working hard on a full-size concrete
skatepark for Sacramento, but in the meantime, this is a
great start. It's city owned and the first phase of a new
neighborhood park called Orchard park.

Our volunteers helped pick out the ramps and install them and now it's open and ready to skate!! Over 25 volunteers showed up over the weekend of November 16 & 17 to assemble and install the Skatewave-designed ramps. From 9-5:30 on Saturday
and a couple more hours on Sunday, we did it all...
and skated some too! Hopefully this is only the first of
many skateparks we'll help build in Sactown!

Just like any other public park facility, it's open dawn to dusk every day and free to use. Pads and helmet are required by law, but it is unsupervised. The SSA strongly urges all skaters to skate safe, treat others with respect, and especially treat the neighborhood as if it were your own. This is the city's first public skatepark and it's up to us to treat it right and not do anything stupid and immature to make the city or neighbors pissed off.
Most of all, just get out there, have fun and show this town
how bad we need even more skateparks!

 

October SSA update messege

(10.6.02)

OK, first of all, sorry we haven't got out any e-mail updates in a while. There are also some new features on the Web site that have been waiting in the wings for a few weeks and still aren't up and running. Sorry about that too.

Here's the most recent news on the Skatepark cause: The official Parks & Rec proposal is now on hold again pending some more studies and data compilation. The basic content of this proposal is to identify need, study what other cities have done and various types and sizes of skateparks, investigate possible locations and propose the best location choice. Out of the choices given to the Skatepark Advisory Group (the SAG—which includes several SSA board members), the Sutter's Landing Regional Park emerged as the best choice. The proposal goes beyond that to also introduce the Baler Building (where the Skate Sacramento ramp facility is currently located) as a unique opportunity for an indoor/outdoor skatepark.

The SAG had approved the proposal, but Bob Overstreet, Director of Parks & Rec, felt it needed a few more details and questions answered before it was ready to go to city council. It also needs to be approved by the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) before the council. The skatepark consultant working with the SAG also felt there would be stronger support from the council if these missing details were added to the proposal. So, now it's in the Parks & Rec's hands and hopefully it will be ready by the end of the year to go to council in January.

Because of this, the SSA is planning to go to council on our own on Oct. 28 to make a public statement regarding the need and support for a skatepark, encourage the council to do all they can to expedite the process, and turn their verbal support into action. Speaking at the city council meeting in this way is not something that can get put on the main meeting agenda, so we have to wait until the end of the main meeting and speak at the open public forum time. Unfortunately, this may not be until 10pm or even later depending on the length of the main meeting.

We will make a short introduction/statement and distribute some printed information. Any and all supporters are invited and encouraged to attend, but because of the late hour, you will need dedidication and patience (and coffee). We don't expect too many of you to be able to attend and stay that long, but hopefully some of you will be willing. A strong skateboarder showing will certianly strengthen our messege to the council. We will send out e-mail reminders as we get closer.

As always, we need you to contact the City Councilmembers, the Mayor and Parks & Recreation, to share your opinions on public skateparks. Send letters or e-mails, or call on the phone. This is very important to the process and will only take you a few minutes. The board members of the SSA have spent hundreds of hours for this cause, so all of you need to step up to the plate. Remember to be positive and respectful. Bad attitudes won't help the cuase.
For contact info on all Councilmembers and the Mayor, go to:
http://www.cityofsacramento.org/council/
For the Parks & Rec Director, go to: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/parksandrecreation/director.htm
Lastly, the SSA would like to strongly encourage all of you to visit, support and skate at the "Skate Sacramento" facility. We know it's small and the hours are limited, but it's a step in the right direction. It's important that it get a lot of use, otherwise the city could claim that there aren't enough skaters to build a big cement park. And, if more skaters continue to use it, it's likely that the hours will be expanded, and maybe even more ramps will be added. There are more and more skaters hangin out there and having good sessions, so try it out if you haven't yet.
Click to find out more about Skate Sacramento.

Really lastly... get involved, and tell all your friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers, students, relatives, and even your enemies to sign on to our Pledge page and get on the e-mail list. Skate on....

Report from the SSA Awareness Concert

(7.25.02)
CLICK HERE TO SEE PHOTOS

The free day-long concert in the park on July 20 was a success. Although there could have been more people, the music was great, the sponsors booths cool and the SSA collected about 450 signatures on our new Skatepark Petition. The city had said that skating would NOT be allowed in the park, but with so many skateboarders hanging out, the cops and security guards made the wise decision to allow skating around the fountain, away from the crowds, as long as nobody skated the fountian itself. Matt Rodriguez brought out a 6" rail and the locals shredded it. Hopefully the city will see that skating in public space can be a positive thing sometimes. As far as monetary donations go, we only raised and paltry $115. Free concerts are cool, but we're not gonna build a cement park at that rate. The SSA hopes to have more concerts and fundraisers, but our supporters are gonna have to start coughing up some green to make this a serious effort.

We hope to have some photos of the event up on the site in a couple days. And Lastly, much thanks and props go to Pete Cole, who put a lot of blood and sweat (and a few of his own bucks) into this event.

Vans Skatepark coming to Sacto! But when?

(7.25.02)
News keeps popping up about the mega park Vans is planning to build at Country Club Plaza Mall at El Camino and Watt. Word of this first hit the local media in the Spring of 2001, when the Business Journal reported that it would be open that Summer. But the whole redevelopment plan for the mall got put on hold for a year. Now word is that it's moving forward and will be open Fall 2002. Rumour is that a skatepark plan is actually viewable at the mall, but we haven't checked it out yet. If anyone has seen it in person, let us know.

Other sac skatepark rumours

(7.25.02)
Two other private skateparks are apparently open or nearly open in the Sacramento area. The first one is said to be a large ramp park on North Watt at a Health Club. The second is called Level Seven, supposed to be 12,000 sq. feet of ramps at the Capital Christian Center on Micron Ave. off Hwy 50. We have yet to check these out, so if anyone reading this has been to them,
e-mail us with your report.

City Recreation Department
Starts Youth Skateboard Program!

(7.14.02)
It's not a skatepark, but it's a start. The city Parks and Rec. Dept. have opened a portable, ramp-based skate program called "Skate Sacramento" aimed primarily at youth skaters, but open to all ages also. The program will be based at the Baler Building at the new Sutters Landing Park, which is a serious contender for a permanent cement skatepark in the future. The ramps, boxes and rails were designed and built by Vert Manufacturing, and are a high-quality wood and metal product. The long range plan for this program is for the Rec. Dept. to move it around from time to time to other area locations like parks and schools. It cost $2 for a 2 hour session and all safety equipment is required.

The SSA is fully in support of this "skate program", but we want to be very clear that this is not a substitute for a REAL SKATEPARK. We hope this program is highly successful and heavily used. This will show the city government how badly Sacramento needs multiple skateparks. For more info, hours of operation, and a couple photos, go to the Parks & Rec website.

 

SSA Logo Skate Decks on Sale to Raise Funds

(6.29.02)
Keith at Mountain & Surf Boardshop has great news! The new SSA skate decks are coming in a couple weeks. They are being built by Legend Skateboards and have the SSA logo on them. They will sell for $40 dollars and $10 will go to the SSA Skatepark Fund. They will be on sale at several skateshops around town. Check back to find out when they hit the streets.

Update on the Real Skatepark plan

(6.28.02)
For those of you who have been following the SSA's growth and activities for a few months, you know that we said there would be a Skatepark Proposal going to the City Council by June. You're probably wondering what happened to it, huh. Well, honestly, things are moving a bit slower than we'd like.

The bad news is that there probably won't be a formal proposal to the full council for a before September. The good news is that the proposal may be expanding from just a suggestion for one skatepark site to a much broader, master-plan type thing that will be proposing the need for mulitple skateparks in the future. This change is, in part, due to the influence of the SSA. We have been pushing our agenda of making skateparks as commonplace as soccer fields, and people are starting to see the light.

Representatives of the SSA "Skate Board" have met with Councilmembers Ray Tretheway (Dist. 1) and Steve Cohn (Dist. 3) and both seem very supportive of skateparks. The Sutter's Landing Park is in Cohn's district and he wants a skatepark there. Tretheway is the most outspoken councilmember—he wants them as fast as possible and is also working to have some small "skate elements" locations in the North Natomas area.

We are currently setting up meetings with the rest of the council and the mayor to share our skatepark messege and ideas.

98Rock X-Mas CD to benefit SSA

(6.10.02)
98Rock FM and Pus Cavern Studio decided to donate proceeds from their annual Christmas CD to the SSA Skatepark Fund. Do they Rock, or what? The CD will feature about a dozen local
bands perfoming x-mas classics and not-so-classics. It will be released in late November and it is heavily promoted on the radio and at live shows, so the SSA and the skatepark cause will be getting a lot of attention from it.

New Baby on the Half-pipe!

(6.8.02)
Congrats to Kevin and Jennifer Rucks at Grand Prix Skatepark. They have a brand new baby boy! Don't have the details (name, weight, birthdate, regular or goofy-footed) yet, but we'll let you know when we do.

Minutes from 5/30 SSA Board meeting

(6.2.02)
On Thursday, May 30th, core members of the SSA met to discuss our mission, organization, and the Gifts to Share account funds.
Present were Matt Rodriguez, Don Button, Chris Currier, Dave Shorey, Pete Cole and Vicki DeKay.

Dave Shorey presented some information about the Gifts to Share account, how it can be used and the procedures that Felicia and he go through to deposit or withdrawl funds. The SSA is now the sole group connected to the Gifts to Share skatepark fund. We are allowed to use a small part of the funds raised on a case-by-case basis for SSA promotions. The bulk of the money, however, is reserved for the actual skatepark. We also approved $150 for a year's hosting contract for a new, expanded SSA web site, which Dave Margolis and I (Don) hope to have up in a few weeks. Dave Shorey will have specific information about the account balance for the next meeting.

Our discussion regarding the SSA mission centered on the need to get more organized and focused. We need to continue publicizing our cause, growing support/membership, raising funds, and pressuring the city to get a move on this. We also discussed the temporary ramp park being proposed and our conditional support of it, depending on how it is put together. We discussed our frustration that the original Skatepark Advisory Group wasn't formally consulted about what form, size or style this ramp-style park would actually take. Although the woman hired to put it together did seek SSA advice, it was never really presented to the SAG for input.

The need for more organization and focus lead us to the final and probably most important topic of the evening. We decided that the SSA needed some formal organizational structure. We argeed that this would take the form of a "chain of responsibility", not a "chain of command or authority". We agreed that these positions/duties would be filled by, and appointed by, founding, core SSA members. We agreed that at some point in the future, as the group grew, a more formal electoral process could be established.

As a group we reviewed each position needed, what the responsiblities and duties would be, and who would best be suited for the job, based on what they had already been doing in the group so far. Following, is a list of positions, duties, and who was selected to fill it:
• DIRECTOR: Don Button
Chairs meetings, oversees general organization and mission
• ASST. DIRECTORS: Matt Rodriguez, Chris Currier
Assists Directorin meetings and activities, directs outreach to corporate support and sponsors
• TREASURERS: Dave Shorey, Felicia Allen-Jones
Collects and manages donations and expenditures. Trustees to Gifts to Share account. Sends out donor thank you letters.
• RECORDER: (We are currently looking for volunteers)
Records and distributes minutes of meetings, inputs new member info, assists with press releases, public memos.
• PUBLIC RELATIONS: Don Button
Contact with media, oversees marketing and web site (with Dave Margolis)
• VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR: Vicki DeKay
Manages member lists, outreach and recruits volunteers
• EVENT COORDINATOR: Pete Cole
Produces and promotes public events

(We decided that instead of calling this the Board of Directors, we would henceforth be known as The Skate Board. We also liked the idea of referring to ourselves as Director of Skate, Treasurer of Skate, etc. It was getting late and we were a bit goofy.)

Anyway, back to business: We also agreed that the main objective of this structure was to be better equipped to delegate duties and that each Board member would be able to coordinate their own assistants to help with the work (especially Public Relations, Volunteer Coordinator and Event Coordinator).

Lastly, we set the next SSA Board meeting for Thrusday, June 20, 5:30 at Joe's Style Shop. We will be contacting interested volunteers to find candidates for the Recorder position. The Agenda is as follows:
• Fundraising projects
• Attracting large donors
• New Web site design
• Filling Recorder position
• Skateshop outreach
• SAG Skatepark timeline/proposal
(There will probably be an SAG meeting the prior week, around the 13th)

 

SSA Supporter/Member update

(5.3.02)
To All SSA members & supporters, old & new:
On Saturday, April 27, the Sacramento Skatepark Advocates held its first public meeting at the Clunie Community Center. About 70 new members and supporters showed up to meet some of the founding members and hear about what we've been up to over the last 4 months.
We handed out 3 new flyers: "10 Things You Can Do", "Adopt a Skateshop" and "Donate $$$" —all of which are attached to the end of this e-mail. (they will soon be available on the Web site)
We sold many of our new stickers and bumperstickers (attached jpg for your viewing pleasure!)—all proceeds going to the skatepark fund.
And, speaking of donations, we collected over $1,100 in one hour!!! Wow!!
We will begin plans for future meetings and events soon. You will be updated. We will also be working on a revamped and improved Web site that will include an "News, Updates & Events" page.
__________________________________________________________________________
So far, the SSA has compiled a supporter list of over 300 people—1/2 by e-mail and 1/2 by phone. The list grows every day. Matt tells me he has a couple hundred more sheets to hand over!! I've been inputing new people on the e-mail list (via the Web site's Pledge page) nearly every night. We will need more people to volunteer to take a phone list of 30—60 people w/o e-mail. You would be responsible for calling everyone on the list to update them on any new info that you receive from me by e-mail. Please contact me if you would like to help. PLEASE!!
____________________________________________________________________________
Listen to KSFM 102.5 this Sunday morning (May 5) from 6–7am to hear SSA members Matt Rodriguez and Don Button talk about skateboarding, skateparks and the SSA. It's an pre-recorded community programing show and it's pretty cool if I do say so myself.
__________________________________________________________________________
The city has officially given the OKAY for a free concert for the SSA. This event, produced by Pete Cole of Inner Recordings, as a awareness/benefit for the SSA, is also being sponsored by Circa Footwear. Local sponsors include Inner Recordings, 12 Records, 916 Junglelist, Black Locust, The Beat, SN&R, Velocity and Freedom Bound Center. Many more that Pete will tell us about too. The concert will be Saturday, July 20 at Ceasar Chavez Park in Downtown Sac! The cross-genre lineup will include Fillibuster, Contents Under Pressure, Billy Lane, Riff Raff, Addict Merchants, Fooders & Mad Planet, Reason, and Storytellers. Look for more info in the coming weeks.
__________________________________________________________________________
DOGTOWN AND Z-BOYS film premiere!!!
Friday, May 10
Tower Theater
Skateboard legend and filmmaker Stacy Peralta's new award-winning documentary about the advent of modern skateboarding in 1970s Santa Monica.
This film won 2 awards at last year's Sundance Film Festival and is being hailed as the best-ever film about our beloved way of life. Starring fellow legends Tony Alva, Jay Adams and the rest of the Dogtown crew, the movie chronicles the first group of skaters to turn skateboarding from a children's fad to a cultural movement. For you younger skaters who may not know, these guys were the very first to take skating from the streets into the pools and up the vertical walls——the very first pioneers of grinding coping and catching air. Every skater from 6 to 60 MUST SEE THIS FILM!!
Find out more, lots more, at the movie's incredible Web site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/dogtown/
You can also see the very cool movie trailer here:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/dogtownandzboys.html

 

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GOT NEWS?
GET IT POSTED!

If you have news about the local skate scene or related items, we'll consider posting them with your byline attached. Just e-mail your submissions to
sacskateadvocates
@sbcglobal.net

GOT NEWS?
GET IT POSTED!

If you have news about the local skate scene or related items, we'll consider posting them with your byline attached. Just e-mail your submissions to
sacskateadvocates
@sbcglobal.net

GOT NEWS?
GET IT POSTED!

If you have news about the local skate scene or related items, we'll consider posting them with your byline attached. Just e-mail your submissions to
sacskateadvocates
@sbcglobal.net

GOT NEWS?
GET IT POSTED!

If you have news about the local skate scene or related items, we'll consider posting them with your byline attached. Just e-mail your submissions to
sacskateadvocates
@sbcglobal.net