History
Skating the Way is an organization that was brought to life by a few skaters in a town that didn't have any public skate parks at the time. Kalamazoo County had many problems with skateboarders/inliners skating in places they shouldn't be. STW is trying to make the average skater feel not ashamed but welcomed.
On August 27th, 2001 STW became a non profit organization.
The primary purpose of the organization is to provide input and advice to cities and other groups that are developing public skate parks, so these parks contain the features that are desirable to skateboarders.
This is a sport/recreational activity in which a person uses a skateboard for personal movement. A skateboard is made up of three major components: a wooden board (also called a deck) that is about three feet long and eight inches wide; Two sets of wheels that are about the size of those used for roller skates, with these being attached to the front and rear of the board; and trucks which connect the wheels to the board and are flexible so that the person riding the board can make the board lean and turn. The user stands on the skateboard, pushes with one foot, and then rides it, like a surfboard. A good skateboarder can do tricks and special moves.
Skateboarding has been popular for the past many decades, especially with teens and young adults. There are millions of skateboarders, and skateboarding is one of the nation’s largest sport.
Skateboarders do more than travel on sidewalks and parking lots. They often like to do tricks that involve riding on curbs, handrails, ledges, ramps, stairways, and similar areas. Many cities and businesses are concerned that skateboarders could injures pedestrians and damage property. Businesses are also concerned that skating in business districts discourages shoppers from doing business there. For this reason, skateboarding has been banned in many city parks and commercial districts. This has forced some skateboarders to try to find other areas to perform their sport. This has led to a perception that skateboarders cause damage to persons or and has given skateboarding a bad reputation.
Because of the growing popularity of skateboarding, skateboarders have been asking cities to set aside places where they can safely skate. Some cities have responded by creating skateboard parks and other cities are considering this. These parks will give skateboarders a place to go to perform their sport, where they have the right type of features to perform tricks and will not be able to hurt other people. The success of these parks often depends on whether they incorporate features that are desirable to skateboarders. If they do not contain the features (such as ramps, rails, curbs etc.) that are desired by a skateboarder, these parks will not be used. Unfortunately, many people involved with city parks and recreations departments are unfamiliar with skateboarding and do not know what features are needed in a skateboard park. This often results in poorly designed parks.
joshjgeiger@yahoo.com