Skate Montana, The authority on Montana Skateparks.

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to pass along this little write up we got in the local paper... We're hard at work with the skatepark here in Missoula- our building is finished, and now we're assembling the bowl starting Monday. We're hoping to be up and running by November, though it will take some doing on the donation side of things to finish things out. The local press is eager to get involved, and we have spots coming up on Montana Public Radio in conjunction with their "Alternative Transportation" raffle, which we donated a prize package to. Events every weekend this month and tons of work, but its getting there! Thanks to all of you who've helped along the way, and let me know what you're up to lately. We still have a long way to go, so please pass the word and let me know if you are interested in making a tax deductible donations, both in-kind or monetary, advertising opportunities or would like some more information on our planned kids programs.
Thanks again, and stay tuned! -Dylan

Catching air, indoors
By: Skylar Browning
Posted: 09/04/2008
It doesn't take Mark Heyka to know that Montana's weather imposes certain limitations on outdoor sports. Skateboarding, for instance, thrives at MOBASH Skatepark in McCormick Park during summer months and, for some diehards, dry winter stretches. But pulling an inward heel flip in two feet of snow? Not so much.

"As anyone knows, seven months out of the year you're snowed under and can't skate," says Dylan Tucker. "We're about to fix that."

Tucker and his fiancé, Jayme Erickson, have launched a nonprofit organization set to open Missoula's first indoor skatepark later this winter. The couple, along with co-director John McIntosh, secured a 10,000-square-foot warehouse on aptly named Roller Coaster Road—located west of the airport off of West Broadway—and begin construction on a 2,000-square-foot wood bowl next week. With approximately $50,000 already raised in private donations and corporate sponsorships, Tucker says the group's next step is to raise additional funds for an indoor street course. If all goes as planned, Four Seasons Skatepark could open as early as November.

Tucker, 31, graduated from the University of Montana Journalism School and has been an integral part of the local skateboarding scene. He teaches at summer skateboarding camps around the country and was one of the original board members of the Montana Skatepark Association (MSA), which built MOBASH. Erickson, a professional skateboarder who still competes nationally, worked as a stuntwoman in Los Angeles—she was Lindsay Lohan's double in Herbie Fully Loaded—before returning to UM, where she's working toward her teaching certificate. Tucker says the skatepark has been something they've wanted to build for a long time and once they found the space, everything fell into place quickly.

"With Jayme's connections in the industry and throughout the sport, plus the community's support, it's been amazing," says Tucker.

"As a skateboarder, personally, I think it's amazing and awesome," says Chris Bacon, president of the MSA. "For the skateboarding community in general, I'm stoked that we'll be able to add something like this. Missoula needs it."

While Bacon is supportive of Four Seasons and has offered guidance, he's careful to point out that MSA's current grant structure doesn't allow them to offer financial support to the project. That puts the onus back on the community to help Four Seasons reach its goal of $150,000.

"We're already building, which is exciting," says Tucker, "but we still have more to do to make this into the type of facility we envision."

Worth another watch

Be there. Saint Ignautius Birthday Party and Skate Competition. Saturday September 13th. Intermediate and Advanced, CELEBRITY JUDGES? The flyer says it all.

The legendary Steve Olson will be in Missoula on Sept. 5 for an art show at Ear Candy, 624 S. Higgins, starting at 6 p.m. as part of the the First Friday
Art Walk. Meet the man responsible for bringing punk rock to the skateboard world and his one-of-a-kind eclectic art pieces.

In 2002 & 2003 I lived in Quito Ecuador and moved back to Montana about 5 years ago now. Here's to all the sketchy concrete, crap in the bowls (literally), great people and rad places I skated while living there.

Seeking skate-park solutions
Summary of the meeting with the city about the Woodland Skatepark in Kalispell from the Daily Interlake

Monday, July 14th at 7:00 PM there will be a meeting at the new Kalispell City Hall building to discuss the future of the Woodland Skatepark. Topics of discussion will current and future policies including: helmet rules, maintenance, and the amount of trashers people just hanging out there littering, fighting, breaking s***, drinking, etc, who have absolutely nothing to do with skateboarding. I feel the scene at the Kalispell Skatepark has degraded significantly and I will be there....so should you.

Update - More from the Daily Interlake:
Skateboard summit planned for Monday
Posted: Saturday, Jul 12, 2008 - 10:45:33 pm MDT
By JOHN STANG/Daily Inter Lake

Meeting seeks solutions to skate-park problems
The Kalispell City Council wants to talk skateboarding with anyone and everyone — especially skateboarders and people using Woodland Park — at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall. The workshop is to discuss skateboard-related issues at the park and in downtown Kalispell. The Woodland Park issues include numerous complaints about vandalism, underage drinking, drug use and harassment. The downtown aspects include a request by some local skateboarders to loosen restrictions on skateboarding in central Kalispell.

“What we want to do is air out what we might do in public and to hear from users. The answer to our problems is to get the users on board,” said Mike Baker, director of Kalispell Parks and Recreation.

Baker and police Chief Roger Nasset have sent a memo to the council that contends significant actions are needed by the city government and park users. Police responded to the skateboard park at least 90 times from May to September 2007. “And if things continue as they currently are, we expect to exceed that number this summer,” the memo said. Meanwhile, parks workers are daily picking up litter, replacing signs and removing graffiti. A surveillance camera has been vandalized several times. Last summer, city employees provided on-site supervision at the park. “After the season, the workers refused to return and subject themselves to the disrespect, vandalism to their vehicles and threats from the park users,” the memo said. For police officers, patrolling the park “is amongst their most undesirable duties because of the negative culture and disrespect,” the memo said.

In past interviews, Nasset and Baker have said a small number of few people have caused problems, but the vast majority of skateboarders and park users behave well. Baker said potential solutions that would be discussed Monday include:

• Staffing the park, which would be expensive during a time of tight city budgets.
• Shortening the park’s hours from the traditional sunrise to sunset.
• Re-examining enforcement of helmet requirements.
• Closing the park temporarily as a punitive measure.
• Sending violators of park regulations to the youth justice system.
• Expelling people from Woodland Park. Expelled people who return could face trespassing charges.
• Increasing loitering and parking restrictions.
  

For more information, people can call the Parks Department at 758-7715.

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