Skaters gather for grand opening
Park more popular than initially expected by city
Print- •
-
Share
- Share this item
-
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
- Blog about it
- Close
- •
-
2 Comments
- •
Favorite- •
-
Report error
-
Thank you for your submission.Error report or correction
- Close
-
- •
Dustin Nichols will be a father Monday. But on Wednesday, the 38-year-old skater was dropping into the bowl at Victoria's skate park.
"The bowl's my favorite," Nichols said. "I'm old school, though."
More than 50 skaters joined Nichols and other members of the community for the park's grand opening Wednesday. The opening included a skating demo by some local skaters who had been using the park since its soft opening on Dec. 20.
"There's nothing like when you land a trick. You're just like, 'Oh, yeah!'" said James Smith, a 17-year-old who lives in Victoria and performed a demo Wednesday.
Smith has been skating for five years and said the fun of skating is hard to describe to someone who does not skate.
"You just have to skateboard to get it," Smith said.
A big part of skate culture is travel, 19-year-old Philip Burger said.
Burger has gone to skate parks in Austin, Houston, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Florida and California during his 13 years as a skater.
"You want to travel a lot because you pick up different styles of skateboarding everywhere you go," Burger said.
He first wanted to skate when he was 6. He watched the first Extreme Games in the summer of 1995. Burger remembered he liked the colored ramps.
A skateboard was under the tree for Burger that Christmas.
Burger meets two or three people from out of town every time he visits the park, he said.
Nichols agreed. He has visited parks in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, California, Oregon, Idaho, Kentucky and Texas. But, for the most part, his traveling to skate at out-of-town venues is on hold. He will stay close to home to help with his soon-to-be-born daughter.
Doctors will induce his wife, Jennifer Nichols, on Monday. They know the baby is a girl and will name her Cora Lynn Nichols.
"Skating's blowing up in Texas," Nichols said. "It's just the kids. That's what the kids are into."
The park's popularity surprised Doug Cochran, director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Victoria.
"Never in my wildest dreams would I envision it being like this," Cochran said of the turnout. "I never thought I would see this many kids out here."
A LITTLE HISTORY
In 2006, the Victoria city council approved $274,000 in funding to build a skate park.
Spa Skateparks developed the park design, soliciting input from Victoria skaters.
On Dec. 20, skaters met for a soft opening of the ...
- SHOW ALL »
A LITTLE HISTORY
In 2006, the Victoria city council approved $274,000 in funding to build a skate park.
Spa Skateparks developed the park design, soliciting input from Victoria skaters.
On Dec. 20, skaters met for a soft opening of the park.
The park's grand opening was Wednesday.
-
Print
- •
-
Share
- Share this item
-
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
- Blog about it
- Close
- •
-
2 Comments
- •
- Favorite
- •
-
Report error
-
Thank you for your submission.Error report or correction
- Close
-
- •
Comments
This is so cool. My boys both gave me heart attacks out on the roads and in parking lots. We had a half pipe in the driveway for years. The HOA here would have constant cows if I were raising the boys now. I stayed ready to administer to broken bones. They never broke a bone except on the darn trampoline. Of course, if they hadn't attempted to test physics by jumping from the top of the tree house, we could have averted that disaster.
January 22, 2009 at 1:31 p.m.My kids use the park. They love it. It is always packed. They (the city) could build another one on the north side of town, maybe in one of the parks that exist currently, and I think it would be used just as much if not more. There isn't enough room to pack in all the skaters. It's a great investment.
January 21, 2009 at 11:43 p.m.