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Skaters Successful Lobbying Efforts
Win New Skatepark by Staff Sgt. Jason M. Webb - Consolidated
Public Affairs Office, USMC CAMP KINSER, Okinawa, Japan
Christmas came a little earlier than expected this
year for skateboarders, rollerbladers and bikers here. The skatepark
they have been asking base officials to build for more than a year
recently opened for business. Just as skating has gained popularity
in the United States, U.S. service and family members stationed
on Okinawa who enjoy the sport have also been lobbying for a place
to call their own. The new Extreme Skatepark was officially dedicated
during a ceremony at Roberts Field here with a crowd of more than
100 anxious rollerbladers, skateboarders, bikers and parents. Skaters
here have received the new park with a great deal of enthusiasm.
"I love it, I don't think they understand how much we appreciate
this," said Jason Roe, a two-and-a-half year veteran of skating
and 10th-grader at Kubasaki High School.
The Extreme Skatepark has been a
major issue here since parents and skaters first mentioned their
interest at a town hall meeting last year. Illegal skating in the
streets and skating in the fire lanes around the housing towers
fueled the issue. "We have a large population of children on Kinser,"
said Cindy McGarvie, community services coordinator, Camp Kinser
Marine Corps Community Services. "The community came together to
present a brief to Col. Puckett at the town hall meeting." According
to Josh Kiser, an eighth-grader at Lester Middle School and skateboarder
for one year, he and his friends attended all the town hall meetings
and wore shirts reading "legalize skateboards" to promote and voice
their view of the future skatepark.
With feedback from the community,
the skatepark initiative was started in August 1999. After months
of planning and research, two 40-foot containers arrived from Boulder,
Colo., with all the makings of a skatepark. In just a few days after
offloading all the pieces, elements of the park were bolted together
and the Extreme Skatepark took shape. Soon after, crowds gathered
while installers changed the flat, bare parking lot into a ramp
island of peaks and valleys. "This is my favorite part of what we
do, seeing the kids swarming around with excitement waiting for
the job to be finished," said Matt Demers, a sales representative
with the manufacturer of the ramps for the skatepark.
Emotions grew from anticipation to
excitement once all the pieces were put in place. A myriad of obstacles
dotted the once bare parking lot. The completed task of a six-foot
half-pipe, three-foot quarter-pipe, a fun box with launch ramps,
grind rails, spine ramps, and a 25-foot wedge awaited the opening
ceremony's skaters and BMXers. "Most people think that it's all
high school-aged kids skating," said Demers. "The reality is most
of the kids are from 5 to 10. We want to get the kids involved to
give them a sense of ownership, and I'm happy that the military
saw and filled the need for the skaters." The park is already scheduled
to see future improvement in the next few months by adding a 10-foot
fence around the perimeter.
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