As designers of Skateparks, I feel that it is my and every park builders' obligation to build parks that matter. This means that every park, from $500,000 concrete wonders to $10,000 starter parks in small towns, every Skatepark needs to make a difference in some kids life.

That being said, I'd like to discuss the role that the Mini Ramp (mini half pipe) plays in today's skatepark world. Obviously, Municipalities are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to space, funds, insurance and maintenance budgets (but they keep building little league diamonds, discussion later) but the fact is that for $7,500 and up, with no pavement or site work (in some instances) the kids of your town can be skating.

Let's be clear on one point- a Mini is NOT two quarter pipes placed facing each other. A Mini Ramp has 'flat bottom' which connects the two ramps and is one, continuous, flowing unit with NO seems, bumps or steel plates!!!

Mini Ramps teach kids the basics of skate etiquette (when you rip, you go first, when you don't rip, you watch), teach them how to stand on a board, drop in and most importantly, how to slam. Sorry, but it's true. Learning to slam is part of skating and it's a lot less painful to slam on a nice mini than planting your forehead into the sidewalk due to a Pea-sized pebble on the sidewalk.

Now, something that bothers me to no end is a City or Town who sits back, year after year, waiting for the perfect location to become available all the while sitting on $10, 20, 50 or even $100,000!!! Do the right thing and invest that money into phase One of the skatepark and get the kids skating. A mini is just the ticket as it requires no permanent infrastructure, can be moved at any time and satisfies a huge portion of the skate populous in most areas.

Obviously building Phase One of a killer park means that you'll have to go fundraising again because the ramp will be so busy YOU'LL NEED MORE!!! With the growing numbers of young skaters, ages 5-8 in particular, it makes sense to provide these younger skaters with a consistent, safe and reliable place to skate. A Mini Ramp does just that.

'Til next time!!!

Tom and the WHo Crew