Rain Does Little To Keep Skaters Away From Their First Fundraiser

By Shannon Hicks

Newtown’s skateboarders –– and their parents –– have long wished for a permanent place where they can practice and show off their latest moves. Thanks to a fundraiser that went on despite steady rain, the next step has been taken: a budget is growing. Thanks to the work put into a skateboard festival and tag sale on July 7, nearly $1,300 was raised for a proposed skate park in Newtown. That is on top of $1,000 to $2,000 in fund donations, pledges, and promises that were already accounted for as of last week, according to Newtown Youth Services Outreach Coordinator Matt Rosen.

“We have to raise more funds to have any sort of construction done,” Mr Rosen explained this week. “Whether it’s for caving, the ramps, anything for the park… Since the $25,000 that had been earmarked for a skate park was cut from the budget, now we’re starting from zero.”

As of now Newtown does not have anywhere for kids and young adults to safely skate, which leads to a number of ‘boarders showing up in parking lots around town, usually only to be chased away by merchants, store owners, and sometimes even the police.

The closest formal skate park is in Bethel. A few years ago one high school student, Randy Calderone (NHS Class of 2001) was able to at least get permission for skateboarders to use the high school’s parking lot, which kept some “boarders” busy for a few hours at a time.

Now a group of skateboarders, parents, and other adults have banded together in an effort to build a skate park in Newtown. Newtown Skate Park Association (NSPA) began campaigning in earnest earlier this year for a location and basic plan for a skate park in town.

Last Saturday the first of what will be a number of fundraisers was held to gain funds for a Newtown skate park. The event was a dual event, raising money for Newtown Youth Services as well as for the proposed skate park.

The NHS Peer Leadership team, under the direction of Jeffrey Tolson and Ana Mendes, had been planning a fundraiser to support NYS programs and services. At the same time NSPA was also looking to do a fundraiser for its skate park.

“We ended up combining forces since we were really looking to raise funds for similar causes –– the youth of town,” Mr Rosen said this week. “We decided to combine causes to have one fundraiser to support both NYS and the skate park.” The event itself pulled in between $2,600 and $3,000; that figure will be divided between the two organizations.

Forget “giving it the old college try.” Despite steady rain that at times was strong downpours last Saturday, high school students and parents converged on a side parking lot of Newtown High School for a skateboard festival and townwide tag sale.

Ramps were set up and a DJ worked from the confines of a tent that had been pitched, and despite the additional water hazards that day, skaters were out on the asphalt from 8 am until at least midafternoon demonstrating their skills. The youngest skaters, some who seemed no taller than the skateboards they were riding, held their own against high school and college age kids.

Because of the rain the full competition that had been planned was scrapped, but Ski Market staff kept skaters and onlookers pumped by running minicompetitions. Skaters won T-shirts, board trucks and wheels for high alley competition (which had boarders competing to see who could get the highest jump over an object), best flat ground trick, best trick on a grindrail, and best trick on a grindbox.

A few carnival-style events were also held early in the day, including face painting, a rubber duck catching contest, and a bowling contest. Larger events that had to be scrapped on Saturday included a moon bounce, giant slide and an airwalk.

“These were cancelled because of the rain, and they would have added a lot more fun to the atmosphere,” Mr Rosen said.

Inside the school’s cafeteria a townwide tag sale was going on. Residents had been invited to donate anything they wanted to sell off, with all proceeds benefiting the proposed skate park. Refreshments were being sold, bands were warming up for a battle of the bands, and a raffle was also being conducted indoors.

Ken Gottschalk was also happy with the day’s outcome. A parent volunteer with NSPA and co-coordinator of Saturday’s event, Mr Gottschalk said this week he was “quite impressed with the turnout” for the festival.

“The sponsors, in particular Rampage and Ski Market, those guys kept the momentum going. That meant dozens of kids were skating all day long, in the rain, and I think that highlights not only the need for something like this in town but also the enthusiasm of these kids,” Mr Gottschalk said.

Another sponsor from Saturday was East Coast Music Mall. The Danbury-based company sponsored the afternoon’s battle of the bands. Ten bands were allowed to play sets of just three or four songs, but it was enough to give judges an idea of the talent. The winning band, a Newtown group called The Stand, won a $200 gift certificate to East Coast Music Mall.

“We want to keep going,” Mr Gottschalk said. “The momentum is there. This is just the beginning.”

“A wide variety and a large number of businesses contributed to Saturday’s event, whether donating food, services, or raffle items,” Mr Rosen pointed out. “It was just amazing how many different businesses –– construction businesses to law offices, from World Wrestling Federation to Bagelman –– contributed something for the youth of this town.

“People were so generous. Every walk of life was donating something.

“What was also impressive,” he added, “was the parents and kids that got involved. It was great to see so many of them working together.”

A typical skate park is about a quarter the size of a youth baseball field and may cost up to $150,000 to build. The original Parks and Recreation budget request for $35,000 to fund the park was reduced to $25,000, but the parents group led by NSPA director Ken Gottschalk feel that as seed money, this is a significant enough amount to make a good beginning if matching funds can be raised.

Chris Morgan, a skateboarder who has been attending NSPA meetings since last year, has one suggestion for those who are planning the park: Keep the skaters involved.

“I think the skate park is a good idea, but we want a say in what goes into the park,” Mr Morgan said this week. “I’ve seen parks where the adults and the ramp builders make up their minds about what’s going to be built, and then the skaters go there.

“If we have obstacles that we like to use for skating,” he continued, “I think a lot of people will go there.”

Mr Morgan said he was pleased to see so many people show up for Saturday’s event.

The next step for NSPA is two-fold. The group has identified some potential grants, which could lead to thousands of dollars for the project. Applying for those grants is Mr Gottschalk’s next focus.

The objective in the immediate future is to plan another festival.

“We’re planning on another fundraiser event in late summer or early fall, which will revolve around another skateboard tournament and related events,” Mr Rosen said. “The focus will be more on skateboarding and carnival events than a tag sale to raise money because that’s what was really rained out on Saturday.” Mr Rosen said that while it will not be the focus of the next event, presenting another group tag sale has not been ruled out.

Mr Gottschalk said this week that the sponsors are already ready to return to Newtown.

“We’ve already gotten very positive feedback from the sponsors about doing this again. We hope to be able to announce something within the next month or so.”

To make donations towards the construction of a skate park in Newtown contact Matt Rosen at Newtown Youth Services, 270-4334. Checks should be made payable to Newtown Skate Park Fund and dropped off or mailed to Newtown Youth Services, 41-A Main Street, Newtown CT 06470.