Celebration planned for YMCA skate park grand opening

Think you’re hip?

Here’s a simple test to find out: Think about the term skate park. What comes to mind?

If you’re thinking about roller skates and tooling around in a big oval with your honey bunch, the sad news is that you left being hip more than a few miles back. You may now go back to activities such as wondering why they don’t make television programs like “Petticoat Junction” any more and thinking that Will Smith was the guy who joined the cast of “Hawaii Five-0” after Kono disappeared.

If the image that popped into your head was one of ramps, bowls and half-pipes, you can safely consider yourself residing somewhere in the vicinity of hip.

For you, there is the news that the Spokane Valley YMCA Skate Park will hold its grand opening ceremony Sunday from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., followed by an open skating session.

“We’ll be open on a modified schedule that first week — until school gets out,” said Pat Estes, the YMCA’s event coordinator. “It will be open from 4:30 p.m. until 9 next week. Summer hours will begin Saturday: Monday through Saturday from noon to nine, Sunday from noon to 8.”

The skate park was the brainchild of an East Valley High extension class. Long after that school year ended, students stayed with the project, helping to shepherd it through its many phases, from obtaining permits to design to fund-raising.

“One of those students, Zac McGovern, is one of my staff,” Estes said. “It was his brainchild, and he’s still very much involved. In fact, he’ll be doing the ribbon cutting for us. I’ve had a couple of those students come by. They’re all 22 or 23 years old now, and they may not be skating the way they were then, but they’re very proud of the park.”

McGovern will be part of the supervisory staff for the park.

“To see his input now — what a passion he has for it, still,” Estes said. “He’s a little out of practice now, I think, but I’m sure he’d dust off his skateboard.”

The YMCA expects about 300 people for the ribbon-cutting ceremonies Sunday, and another 300 skaters.

The YMCA offers skateboarding lessons for ages 6-10 from 9 to 10:15 a.m. with a session for kids 11 and older from 10:15 until 11:45. Those classes already are almost half full.

“I’ve been working with a teen committee since April 1,” Estes said. “We’ve been working to establish policies and procedures on the park and they’ve been coming out on work crews to help rake rocks and topsoil and help establish policy.

“They have a passion for it and have been out there doing all that hard work.”

The park will be open for skateboarders and inline skaters only. No bicycles or scooters will be allowed.

“We’re really not sure where the Rollerblading factor is yet,” Estes said. “With skateboarding we have the fastest growing sport in America with more than a million new riders every year. That’s what the park was built for and designed for. The Rollerbladers can function in there, but it’s a different transition for bikes and scooters, and that’s why we’re not allowing them in there.

“One of the things that we were able to do because we don’t have the bikes in there is to do some concrete coping around one of the bowls. That’s a feature the skateboarders really appreciate.”

Helmets are required and every skater must have a signed waiver.

To make sure no one tries to slip a forged parental signature past the YMCA staff, those waiver forms must be signed by a parent in the presence of a staffer or be notarized.