Kailua – Sunday, April 6, could turn into a skateboarding milestone, the day the sport came off the street and got respect.

More than 100 skaters, their fans and parents gathered yesterday at Kailua District Park for the first of six contests sponsered by the Association of Skateboarders in Hawaii. The circut, said president Chuck Mitsui, will create ratings and champions in six divisions and give Oahu's skaters incentives to improve.

"The idea is to let people know skateboarding is a legitimate sport," Mitsui said, "and there's a need for skateboard parks that a lot of people are going to turn out and want to skate"

David Fregeau, 15, said he hoped the contest and the association would generate support for a skate park in Kailua. He said he's tired of adults cursing him just because he has a skateboard.

"Like, yesterday, I was standing in a gap between two cars and a guy drove by and swore at me," Fregeau said. "But there is no place to skate. We don't try to annoy people. We're just trying to have fun."

Mara Estomago, 17, added "people think we're just vandals, going around destroying property, but we aren't. We're not punks out to harass people. Young people do skateboarding so they don't have any place to go but in the streets."

Victoria Webb, 18, said people don't appreciate skateboarding. People don't look at it for what it is. They just think, 'Hey, that kid's got something that's going to fly into my car!' They don't see the skill."

The best used the equipment to redirect their boards into quick, acrobatic moves that took them up in the air or skittering across barriers.

Like surfing, it took strength to get the board into a move, then balance and finesse to keep everything together and off the asphalt.

For many, Mitsui said, it was a rare chance to use equipment made for skating. They usually have to use speed bumps, benches, curbs or bannisters in public places–and risk harassment, if not arrest.

Recreation director Susan Friedl said the city parks department is considering ways to acquire and place more skate equipment. The park already has a ramp open on most afternoons, she said, but more equipment would help keep skaters interested and off the streets.

The city is considering plans to build a North Shore skatepark with money raised by the Hawaii skateboarding association. Hearing this, Eric and Royce Sonnenberg said they'd like a skatepark in Kailua, too.

If their 16-year old son, Travis, had a place to skate, he wouldn't be bothered by adults, Royce Sonnenberg said. "People don't like them because skateboards damage cement. If they wern't hurting property, it would help their image."

The Sonnenberg's also would like to see a competition circuit. "They're basically just teenagers," Eric Sonnenberg said, "They just want to belong to an activity. We'd like to see something more organized."