A hollow sound ripples through the city streets as his board grinds against the curbs he blessed years ago; his dark brown hair is held down by a black beanie, and his outstretched arms grasp the complete freedom of life as they gesture every trick and turn through the speed of this flight. This simple pleasure, however, could be interrupted by the likes of law enforcement authorities who would prefer to dump skateboarding into a time capsule instead of a skate park.
The thought can be a nightmare for those who sleep, dream about skating, wake up, skate, work, skateÑthose who need the nourishment of going airborne in order to survive. But a dweller of empty swimming pools and freshly paved streets cannot digest the concept of a society unwilling to dish out money for the makes of a safe skating facility.
Skateboarding is a very popular and positive outlet for kids today. However, such areas as the Justin Herman Plaza and Union Square in San Francisco, as well as the central traffic district in Vallejo, want to take it away for two reasons. "It's not compatible with pedestrians or picnickers," says San Francisco Park and Recreation Supervisor Mike Morlin. "It's challenging and dangerous," says Vallejo recreation coordinator John Blake.
"Skateboarding has always kept me level-headed and grounded," says Tommy Guerrero, ex pro-skater. "We see today the problem that we have with our youth is that they have no outlet, nowhere to go, nothing to do. People build hoop courts, baseball diamonds, tennis courts; everything is built for your sort of socially accepted sport, but not for skateboarding."
While the United States is conservative about dealing with insurance for a skate park, Canada is constantly pushing its government to add another skate park to its collection.
"They [Canada] built a skate park recently, but then they found out that kids were street skating," says Guerrero. "And so they instantly got together, got some more money together and built a street-like skate park with blocks and curbs. That whole mentality is not even like that here."
The Grind is the only indoor skate park in California to obtain an unconditional use permit and a unanimous vote for the facility by the West Sacramento city council. Perhaps it will pave the way to building parks in the Bay Area. For this type of facility to be up, legal, and ready for the public, it would fill a void and become something regional.
Not only are Sacramento locals like pro-skater Ronny Marshall and his buddy Snaggle going to be pounding on the street course and combing the walls of the bowl, but skaters from the Bay Area, Lake Tahoe, Reno and Central Valley will be right by their side.
With 150 adrenalin-pumped skaters housed in an industrial warehouse on a Friday night, The Grind will be raging with hard-core sounds vibrating the speakers and a skateboard flying 13 feet in the air for two seconds.
"That's the idea that we came with to the Boy Scouts, who fully endorse The Grind," says Doug Bowers, the park's promotions manager. "We need a constructive environment for the youth of today to hang out. This is a safe place where no one's drinking or doing drugs, and so no one's really going to get out of control."
The Grind's philosophy is that a high-energy, intensive atmosphere promotes competitiveness and physical endurance. Skaters can tear up mini ramps, vert ramps, spine ramps, and of course the bowls, instead of releasing their energy with destructive behavior.
Marshall doesn't believe in privately-owned facilities because of regulations such as paying $5, wearing pads when you don't care to, and leaving when you don't want to. Guerrero, however, points out that a lot of kids may not even be able to skate indoors because of the whole insurance reason of waiving legal rights, including the right to sue in the event of a skater's injury or death.
If a city were to fund a project like The Grind, not only would they be dealing with a lot of responsibility, but "they're going to really try to stick to the laws of outlawing skateboarding in the streets," says Guerrero. "They're going to get really aggressive about giving tickets, arresting, or taking away skateboards."
By signing The Grind's liability waiver, you automatically join the Boy Scouts of America Explorer Scout Program, of which 400 are members of this skate facility, according to Bowers. After a year and a half goes by and their federal funders meet the Boy Scouts' quotas, there is a possibility that other cities will be blessed by the presence of another Grind skate park.
But in the meantime, as Guerrero says, "Just enjoy yourself and skate for yourself."
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