Will Carnation's new skatepark rank among the best?

By Mike McQuaide
Special to The Seattle Times

	STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Jason Lucas, 22, of Issaquah does a tail grind on what_s turned out to be 5,000 square feet of heaven for the area_s _concrete junkies._
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On a late-March, blue-sky afternoon when temps are toying with 70, dozens of concrete junkies have descended on Memorial Park in sleepy Carnation.

The draw: 5,000 square feet of brand-spanking-new, smooth-as-glass concrete, arranged and arrayed specifically for their skateboarding pleasure. That is, with steep, deep drops, swirling curves that go 'round and 'round and, in one section, a high upward-sweeping wall that arches into a rounded overhang.

It looks like a swimming pool that Alice might happen upon in Wonderland. Parts of it are intimidating to just look at, let alone maneuver via — and trust your life to — four small wheels and a plank of wood. But that's exactly what these skateboarders are doing — like marbles rolling around a bathtub.

One of those marbles, Dan Hughes of Renton, drops in off the edge and makes for the oververt — that's the rounded wall that arches up beyond vertical (thus, oververt for over vertical). Hughes swoops up along until his body is not just perpendicular to the wall (i.e., sideways, as if he were lying on his side in mid-air), but beyond perpendicular. (Overperp?) Reaching the top, he scrapes his wheels along the edge — coping, as it's called — in a move that's referred to as a carve grind, much to the appreciation of his peers.

	STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Carnation's new skatepark resembles an empty swimming pool. The 5,000 square feet of concrete has been described as "like eight inches of fresh powder to a snowboarder."

"Ooh, spice!"

"Sick!"

"Save some for us, dude!"

On this day, the skatepark is still a few weeks from its April 24 grand opening. The concrete bowl is surrounded by dirt, piles of rocks and orange pylons attempting to keep people away from grass that's trying to grow. As if any of that matters to these riders.

	STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Wade Sache of Renton goes for a frontside grind on the oververt lip at Carnation's new skatepark. He didn't make this move and ended up crashing.

"This is a world-class park," says a slightly out-of-breath Hughes, 40, eyeing the bowl just after his carve grind and fairly licking his chops.

Hughes has skated more than 100 different parks in his 30-plus years on urethane wheels. He runs the Web site www.northwestskater.com.

"It's so smooth, and that's really, really important," he says. "This is like eight inches of fresh powder to a snowboarder."

This park, along with a 10,000-square-foot Milltown Commons skatepark set to open May 8 in Milton, was designed and built by West Seattle's Grindline Skateparks Inc., a 20-person operation that's been in the business since 1992. They've built more than 50 skateparks in all, including ones on Bainbridge and Orcas islands (the Orcas park is considered by many skaters to be the best in the state) during what's been a mushrooming of Northwest skateparks.

	STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Skateboarders line up and wait their turns.

Over the past 30 years, skateboarding's popularity has seen numerous ups and downs. In the early 1970s, the advent of the polyurethane wheel — longer lasting and offering a better surface grip than its predecessor, clay — brought the sport to the masses.

The first skateparks followed, but by the early 1980s, liability issues shut down most of them and ridership declined as many boarders turned to other extreme-type sports.

But skateboarding never went away and, in the early 1990s, the sport was included under the state's Recreational Immunity Act. If a town or city builds a skatepark on public property, it has the same liability concerns as it would for a swing set or jungle gym. As long as the equipment or (skatepark) is maintained properly, the user is responsible.

	STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES A skateboarder appears to be headed for a landing on a picnic table as he pulls off a high-flying maneuver.

Fast forward to 2004 and skateboarding has never been more popular. The Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association reports that since 1998, participation in skateboarding is up 81 percent. In 2002, almost 13 million Americans older than 6 went skateboarding at least once.

Leo Salazar, 27, of Seattle started skateboarding when he was 8, but like many in his generation quit for a few years in the early '90s, when skaters had few places they legally could ride. Now he's back at it, riding three or four times each week.

To get there: To get to Carnation's Memorial Park, head east on I-90 east of Issaquah to Exit 22. Go north on Preston-Fall City Road for about four miles to Fall City. Continue through town, as the road becomes Highway 203. Carnation is about six miles north. Once in town, just past Tolt Middle School, go right on Blanche Street and in two blocks right onto Stossel Avenue, which leads into Memorial Park. The skatepark is at the southwest end of the park, near the middle-school parking lot. The skatepark is open for use now, and a grand opening is planned for April 24 and will feature demonstrations and other events. Information: 425-333-4192 Also opening soon: Milton's Milltown Commons, a 10,000-square-foot skatepark, will have its grand opening May 8. The park is in the center of the Pierce County town at the corner of 23rd Avenue and Milton Way. The event will feature skateboarding exhibitions, giveaways and more. The time of the event has yet to be determined. Information: 253-517-2735 Top 10 Here's a list of the top 10 skateparks in Western Washington, according to Renton's Dan Hughes, skateboarding aficionado and editor of the Web site www.northwestskater.com. 1. Scott Stamnes Memorial Skatepark, Orcas Island 2. Milltown Commons, Milton 3. Carnation Skatepark, Carnation 4. Rotary Skatepark, Bainbridge Island Skatepark 5. Ballard Skatepark, Ballard 6. Sumner SK8, Sumner 7. Seaskate Skatepark, Seattle Center 8. Burien Community Center Skatepark, Burien 9. Mill Creek Skatepark, Mill Creek 10. Liberty Park Skatepark, Renton

And for towns like Milton and Sumner and Carnation, it's a chance to give local skateboarders a place to legally pursue their passion.

"Everyone should have the right to enjoy their sport of choice," says Jim Dorsey, director of Carnation's Public Works Department. "Skateboarding is not a fad; it's here to stay."

The Carnation skatepark cost about $150,000, of which the city had to come up with only about one-third. The rest came from a $50,000 King County grant and local donations.

Like a swimming pool, the Carnation bowl slopes gradually from a shallow end (4 feet deep) to a deep end (10 feet). And like a pool, the shallow end is for newbies and those less advanced. The shallow end is where 9-year-old Adam McVey, a local from Carnation, is working hard to perfect his dropping-in skills. That's the art of getting into the bowl by riding down the curved sidewall that swoops out to the level part at the bottom. Maybe "perfect" is too strong a word; it suggests he's fine-tuning a skill he already possesses, which, unfortunately, is not the case.

"I try it and try it all the time, but I've never actually done it," McVey says. "I always fall."

Like a kid at the end of a high-dive eyeing the water below, a helmeted, knee- and elbow-padded McVey concentrates in the hopes that this will be his maiden successful plunge.

"Put your weight on your front foot," instructs a tattooed twentysomething boarder across the bowl waiting his own turn. "Now, put your arms out!"

McVey drops and — skid-slide-splat — his board shoots out from under him and rolls out into the middle of the bowl.

"Oh well, almost," calls the encouraging boarder as he drops in with as much ease as if he were stepping off a curb.

Also skating here today is Rob Skala, 47, of Renton, who's been carving and grinding since 1961. He's ridden all over but perhaps more impressive are some of the places he's been kicked out of for riding. In the 1970s, he and friends used to sneak onto Boeing's Paine Field and ride the blast shields used for testing jets.

"It was like a 12-foot-high concrete quarter-pipe," Skala remembers. "We'd be riding and there'd be 747s right behind us."

Like the other fortysomething riders here, Skala wears a helmet and pads for his elbows, knees, wrists and hips. But unlike anyone else, his shorts are accessorized by what looks to be about a roll-and-a-half of duct tape.

Skateboarding has come far in Skala's time. Eyeing the 50 or so riders taking turns dropping in and out of a $150,000 public skatepark, he exudes a certain contentment.

"This is nice," he says. "Yeah, really nice."

Mike McQuaide is a Bellingham freelance writer and author of "Day Hikes! North Cascades" (Sasquatch Books).

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company