Once an abandoned tennis court, now is a thriving Skate Park. If we can do it...YOU CAN TO ! ! ! HISTORY - In the September of 2000 The Herington City Commission voted unanimously that a skate park would benefit the youth of this community immensely. Plans were made to use the abandon tennis court at the City’s North Park just west of the Herington Municipal free swimming pool. A few makeshift/home-made ramps, and grind rails have been brought to the skate-park by the kids to accompany the great amount of youth utilizing this area. A crew of 8 volunteers from Custom Metal Fabricators had volunteered to professionally design & fabricate of 10 gage steel: 1 - 5’ ½ pipe, 1 - 4’ street spine, 1 – 3’ ½ pyramid, 1 - 3’ x 6’ grind box, & 1 10’ grind rail. From September 2000 September 2001 a large number of youth & adult volunteers along with The Roadhouse Youth Center organized bake sales, cars wash’s, & collected donations to pay for the steel Custom Metal Fabricators had ordered at cost for the skate park. Youth & Adult volunteers organized a work weekend to remove weeds and grass that had grown up through the cracks of court, picked up trash, and clean up the surrounding area. For an “Eagle Scout” project Mike Porter, one of the local boy scouts had choose benches in park for the skaters. This entailed raising the money from a car wash, and bake sale, purchasing the bench material, and organized over 30 volunteers to help make and install them.
June 2001: Because of the over whelming popularity of the skate park, more equipment is requested from our skaters. Up until now all equipment has been paid for through donations & fundraisers such as bake sales & car wash, & volunteer labor used to fabricate the equipment. Advertisements on a 2” x 4” MDO board professional painted would be offered to businesses on contract with the City of Herington Skate Park for a fee.
2002 - Due to the generosity for the Dickinson County Health Department for the Physical Activity Promotion Grant, Herington Skate-park is being utilized by more youth from local and surrounding communities. On 7-14-02 Herington Skate-park hosted a FREE Safety- Competition Clinic. Estimated 150 people attended. FREE T-Shirts & Helmets were given away. The T-Shirts advertised the Safety day. 35 Youth registered for competition. Youth of all ages, sex, and ethnic backgrounds enjoyed watching and/or participating in the Safety day.
June 2001: Because of the over whelming popularity of the skate park, more equipment is requested from our skaters. Up until now all equipment has been paid for through donations & fundraisers such as bake sales & car wash, & volunteer labor used to fabricate the equipment. Advertisements on a 2” x 4” MDO board professional painted would be offered to businesses on contract with the City of Herington Skate Park for a fee.
2002 - Due to the generosity for the Dickinson County Health Department for the Physical Activity Promotion Grant, Herington Skate-park is being utilized by more youth from local and surrounding communities. On 7-14-02 Herington Skate-park hosted a FREE Safety- Competition Clinic. Estimated 150 people attended. FREE T-Shirts & Helmets were given away. The T-Shirts advertised the Safety day. 35 Youth registered for competition. Youth of all ages, sex, and ethnic backgrounds enjoyed watching and/or participating in the Safety day.
May 13, 2003 The Roadhouse Youth Center, Inc.
I'm pleased to inform you that the Tony Hawk Foundation has decided to grant your organization $1,000 to assist in the construction of your public, non-profit skatepark.
Sincerely,
Tony Hawk Foundation
2003 - HERINGTON TIMES – Area skaters are invited to attend the 2nd annual Herington Skate-Park FREE Competition-Safety Clinic at the Herington Skate Park, 501 North Broadway, on Sunday June 8th. Rain date set for Sunday June 22nd. Events begin at 2 p.m. and are open to those using, traditional or inline skates or skateboards. All skaters are welcome to participate and will compete according to age and skill level. Skaters will have the opportunity to display their skills in a brief skating routine. Prizes will be awarded in various categories. Drawings will be offered to give away helmets and T-Shirts. White Chocolate, a skate supply company from Hays, will present a skating safety program. Concessions will be available at the Herington Skate Park. The event is being co-sponsored by the Self Help Network and White Chocolate.
I'm pleased to inform you that the Tony Hawk Foundation has decided to grant your organization $1,000 to assist in the construction of your public, non-profit skatepark.
Sincerely,
Tony Hawk Foundation
2003 - HERINGTON TIMES – Area skaters are invited to attend the 2nd annual Herington Skate-Park FREE Competition-Safety Clinic at the Herington Skate Park, 501 North Broadway, on Sunday June 8th. Rain date set for Sunday June 22nd. Events begin at 2 p.m. and are open to those using, traditional or inline skates or skateboards. All skaters are welcome to participate and will compete according to age and skill level. Skaters will have the opportunity to display their skills in a brief skating routine. Prizes will be awarded in various categories. Drawings will be offered to give away helmets and T-Shirts. White Chocolate, a skate supply company from Hays, will present a skating safety program. Concessions will be available at the Herington Skate Park. The event is being co-sponsored by the Self Help Network and White Chocolate.
2004 - HERINGTON – Area skaters are invited to attend the 3rd annual Herington Skate-Park FREE Competition-Safety Clinic at the Herington Skate Park, 501 North Broadway, on Sunday July 25th. FOLLOW-UP: About 35 youth from the ages of 6-23 competed in Herington Skate-Park FREE Competition-Safety Clinic 2004 at the Herington Skate Park, Sunday, July 25th 1:00 pm. The event was funded by a grant from the Abilene Community Foundation. All competitors as well as other skaters listened to a skating safety presentation made representatives: Mike Herrera, Robin Harper, Justin Shiney, Matt Poff, Sean Crocker, Ben Clumsky of the “Let it Ride”, a skate supply company from Lawrence. The use of helmets was stressed, fall instructions for minimal injuries was also demonstrated. All competitors in Sunday’s event were required to wear helmets. Prizes for the skateboard competition were contributions from: Extreme Sports of Manhattan along with Eastern Skate Company, Abstract Skateboards of Henderson Nevada, Hoodlum Skateboards of Hartford Connecticut, and Initial Skateboards of Jackson, Florida. The “Let It Ride” team also gave away numerous skate items to the youth after the competition.
Skating teaches self-discipline and builds self-confidence in kids like few other sports can. Parents have just begun to realize the positive effects of skateboarding on their children, and skating facilities are now commonplace instead of scattered rarities like they once were. Skateboarding is a great way to help kids be healthy, strong and confident. Providing youth a safe free appealing place to gather, socialize, and promote physical activity is most useful for any community. That is why this project will contribute to making Herington a great to raise a child.