Temporary Skate Park Draws A Crowd

By Kendra Bobowick

Tom Capozziello shot onto the pavement and sped toward a rail. He kicked; his skateboard jumped and dragged along the low metal beam. Landing, he crouched, hit the upturned ramp — he stood still at the top.

Toeing his board, Tom looked across the lot at Dickinson park Monday — at least 50 others on skateboards, one bike, and scooters wove through obstacles, ramps, and traced over and over a path through the course. One mother apologized, calling to her son to check his helmet. Around her were professional skate park elements dropped in place Monday by American Ramp Company (ARC), which takes its demonstration skate park on the road, coast-to-coast, and had stopped for a few hours in Newtown August 3.

Skating for prizes, for fun, or for practice on the professional equipment, the participants kept onlookers’ attention. Legislative Council member Jan Brookes walked in, eyes jumping from one skater to the next as bodies blurred, turned, bent, and flung bruised arms outward for balance. Thinking of basketball, soccer, track, or the chorus, Ms Brookes, a retired Newtown teacher observed, “For some kids, this is their one thing.” They skate. But unlike other sports or activities, they have no court, no field or band room, no auditorium or recreation room. “This population has not been served for as long as I’d been teaching,” she said.

With her was another skate advocate, Democratic Town Committee Chairman James Juliano. The two approached a table skirting the lot-turned-skate park. Parks and Recreation Director Amy Mangold arranged T-shirts for sale on the table and double-checked safety gear, filed the ice water cooler, and greeted parents.

Tracing the course of one young man as he rushed down the ramp, she said, “It really shows how much they would use a skate park if we had one in town …” Her thoughts drifted as a younger skater swerved around a group seated on a bench, headed for the ramp.

Behind her, placing a donation jar on the table was Tom’s mother and Donate to Skate coordinator Lori Capozziello. The Donate to Skate campaign is an ongoing effort to raise funds to support a skate park in Newtown. Pleased with the turnout and the demo park, she also is impressed by the town’s skaters.

For several hours the sound of wheels and boards hitting pavement, hard wheels grinding against the blacktop all meshed with music pumping from an ARC truck stereo. The large crowd of skaters is proof to those who attended that a skate park would be welcome in town. Locally, the effort continues to garner enough money to support a park. For information, visit DonateToSkate.com. The financial goal? $65,000. So far the group has raised $18,272.