Weekend Skate Tour 3

Lucas sleds down a hill on a Hum-V tire cover. Snow in March we must live in Kansas.

Best way to clear the skate park of snow? Snowball fight!

Preston finds a way to board even in the snow.

Mick atempts to ollie the puddle.

Evan grinds the rail until he gets it.

Ground tricks are key in skate. Lucas shows off his old school.

Preston flips his board in a game of skate.

Rebecka thrashes for the regular team.

Trevor takes to the air for goofy.

TA works his ollies.




Not a great weekend to skate. We went out sledding on Saturday before water logging the boards at Winfield on Sunday. I don't think anyone left without getting hurt. Hopefully we get better weather next week.

Park Location Ideas

Pershing is the smallest area with the field at the North equaling around 23,000 square feet. There is a smaller field on the South that we have not yet measured but were thinking in the long run could be used to make a beginners skate park. There is a small parking are here but in big events most people would have to park on the streets.

Because the field has been used to practice sports there would not need to be much ground work done other than the laying of the concrete itself.

There is also a nice shaded area with picnic tables here and playground equipment, some lighting, and a basketball court meaning that siblings that don't skate but are brought along would still have something to do.

Another plus to this location is it is centrally located in a residential area away from the no skate zone. There is a lot of traffic on this street as well so eyes would always be on what is happening here. Phillip's 66, Casey's and Country Mart are all within walking distance and the hospital is only a couple blocks away.

The greatest disadvantages Pershing Park has is one being the size. Once the park is built there is not much room for expansion. The other disadvantage is we take away a nice practice area for other youth sports.

Cox Park is a very under utilized park in Ark City. It is larger than Pershing at 74,250 square feet. There is however only street parking here and much ground work to be done.

Once again the park is flat in most areas but there are trees everywhere creating the extra ground work. The trees at the edge of the park would provide nice shade and wind block though.

There are a few small picnic areas and power poles here making it easy to hook lighting up in this area. I have heard that it floods here do to the fact the park is on a hill.

Being on 5th street the park is a little farther from businesses and the hospital but it is still in a residential area. It is near the middle school due to the fact it is only a few blocks off Kansas Avenue so it is still pretty centrally located.

There is a small playground here for siblings that do not skate but options are a bit limited on what else can be done to pass time.

Carver Park is one of my personal favorites due to it's size. We measured out an area of it at 112,750 square feet and there is actually still more land there. The park has the ability to grow every year here. There is a nice parking area but very little street parking.

Not so centrally located on 8th street it is still in a some what residential area with the closest things to it being the swimming pool and Ag. Building. It is near the College and No Skate Zone as well. Being near Paris Park there are a lot of options for non-skaters waiting on their siblings.

Once again it was used for youth practice for many years meaning not much ground work needs to be done. There is however very little shade in this area.

The nice thing about this park is it isn't right against anyone's homes meaning that there will be few noise complaints yet by being on 8th street there is always a lot of traffic so it won't be unattended.

Lots of area but no air.

Ark City Recreation Center Votes In The Skate Association

A huge step forward was taken at 7 a.m. this morning as the Ark City Rec Center voted to approve letting the skate club fall under their umbrella. There was a little discussion on how things would work such as insurance and fees but all in all it was an easy decision. Now that the group is associated a bank account will be set up in their name allowing donation money to be placed in holding for the future skate park. Also they liked the idea of keeping the kids involved. A board of 5 children will be voted on at the next meeting so that they will be allowed a vote in the purchase of equipment, location, and general club details. Also at the next meeting of the Skate Board (Haha no pun intended) a name will be voted on by the children for the group. Favorites so far have been Wheels United, Wheels Unlimited, and Extreme Sports Association. The idea of the names is to let others no we want them involved as well including roller bladers, bikers and scooters. Location ideas keep pouring in but some of the best have been Carver Park, Cox Park, and Pershing Park. I will do my best to get pictures up of these locations ASAP. Now that we are associated with the Rec we are officially a non-profit organization, we have the numbers to apply for grants, and we can finally deposit the money the kids have been raising. If you would like to make a donation to the club then please feel free to contact the Ark City Rec Center. Thank you to the board for wanting to be associated with these little "mongrels" and "orphans" and for recognizing that skate boarding is a sport that isn't going away.

Skate Garage Sale

Big air in the mock park.

Safety always comes first.

Myself, Jeff and Frank loving life (and little ceramic nick knacks).

Take the money kids I don't want to have to carry anything back in.

Lots of junk (oops I mean treasures) donated to a great cause.

Evan amazes me sometimes. How much for the tool box?

Rebecka, Preston, Frankie, and Trever set up for the days show.

A big thank you to all who donated to the garage sale this weekend. We sold everything from clothing to trinkets to DVDs to steaks. All in all the group raised $775.21 bringing the fundraiser money close to $2000.00. This is a good start but we still need more. A second garage sale is in the works as we speak, the cans are still on local businesses shelves and we are still collecting aluminum cams which if you have any feel free to contact me at liberecland@gmail.com . We are putting together more fun events to raise money so keep checking back for details. This Thursday is the meeting with the Rec Board so keep your fingers crossed. The 30th at 6:00p.m. is the next official Skate Association meeting at the Rec Center so all who can attend are invited to come. Once again thank you to our wonderful community for all it's support,

Weekend Skate Tour Part 2

Evan tried this three stage rail nearly a hundred times. Never surrender, never fail!

Mick worked more on ground tricks in Mulvane and started practicing a low rail. He also learned how to pump on a half pipe. Good weekend for the midget of the crew.

Rebecka caught major air and wouldn't give up until she landed it. She also learned that falling isn't that bad.

Jose ollies from the box, learning to perfect his kick flips.

Preston hit the three stage with Evan making grinding a major event this weekend.

Lucas ollies from the wall before heading for more variations of the cave man.

Trever found new heights out of the bowl. Though later his board was laid to rest from a rough landing.

This weekend we invaded several towns over several days. Winfield was a constant due to Spring Break and even Ark City got a little skate love on Saturday when the kids set up a mock park in the garage sale parking lot. Sunday we once again hit Winfield so I could slap a puck around a bit before heading to Mulvane. Their park is small but there were a few aspects the kids really liked. It seemed to have a much better beginers area so Mick was actually able to practice things he had been unable to before. We then proceded to Derby, with pb&j's and water jugs in hand, to skate a park we seem to be making some friends at. They added lights and music up there over the last week which was awesome, even if we had to hear the same Guns and Roses songs over and over (dang you T-95). We did get harrassed some by the police but still it was a great day of skating and a lot of fun. Wonder what next weekend will bring?

Skater Slide Show

Skater Concert?

Skating and music has always seemed to go hand in hand. We would like to use this to our advantage. This Summer the Music As a Weapon Tour kicks off with skaters and bike riders in tow. They will have an all day festival showcasing the talents of many skilled Extreme Sports enthusiasts. The Van's Warped Tour will once again jam out to all genres of music while pro boarders carve the half pipe. We want to do much in the same. Our club is in search of bands be it local or nationally known. We want to hold a benefit concert to not only help get the skate park built but also to raise peoples awareness of different types of music in the surrounding areas. Just think how often you see a skate boarder wearing a Misfits (or their favorite band) t-shirt or a bike rider jamming out on their i-pod. Heck even roller skating rinks play the latest hits as you weave around the circle. These hobby's go hand in hand and it only makes sense to combine them together for a very enjoyable event. If you yourself have a band or know someone in a band who is willing to play please feel free to comment your contact information here or e-mail us at liberecland@gmail.com We have something in the works but the more people we get involved the better the event will be.

Weekend Skate Tour

Rebekah airs over the flat land

Mick practices his Manuals

Preston verts out of the bowl

Cody going for a flip trick

T A tames the snake rail

Trevor gets major air

Jose grinds the ledge

This weekend the Ark City skate team packed once again into the battle van and scorched a trail to the Derby skate park (that is after they so kindly let the old van driver warm up with some roller hockey in Winfield). The park was crowded but all was well as we had not come to argue but to skate. The kids all tried things they had never attempted before and watched as some older skaters put on a heck of a show doing transfers and grind work. A new love was also discovered for two wheel scooters as some kids from Derby allowed our Ark City clan to try them out. There are plenty of other pictures to be seen on the Skate Coalition Myspace and a few videos as well so stop by and send a friend request. Next week we are hitting a new park we just heard of in Mulvane. We are urging those that come with to bring a large bottle of water and bag style picnic lunch. We should have bread peanut butter and jelly there for all but just to be safe you may want to bring something. Well until later remember to skate safe and skate legal.