HSA's Ten Steps Forward or
What Can I Do To Get A Skatepark?
April 14, 2001


We have collected a few steps that may help you with your mission to get skateparks in your neighborhood or town. These are not steps that you need to take, but more advice for you to take. These are just pointers that we have learned from our experience in the skatepark lobbying process.

1. Get Organized: We cannot emphasize this too much. The more organized you are the more people will listen. Take a look at unions and the mafia. The following nine steps are all part of the equation to get organized. Even if you aren't as organized as you like, never give the appearance that you are not.
   
   
2. Get All The Facts/Do Research: You can never be too informed. You should spend a considerable amount of time researching information. Look on the internet and make a few phone calls. Find out how much skateparks costs. Breakdown that cost as much as you can. How much is a wooden park cost to build and maintain compared to a concrete park? Create liberal wood and material lists. What are the fees (if any) associated to use the park? Find out the current statistics on injuries for all related sports and compare them to all "normal" sports like basketball, soccer and football. You will be surprised to find out how little 'reported' injuries there are for skateboarding compared to, say, basketball. Be armed with facts, so that you can (and will) dissipate any non-factual statements made by not only government officials, but also others who may NOT want such a
   park built.
   
   
3. Create A Contact List: Dig deep into resources you already have. Use Step #4 to find out occupations of volunteers and parents, you'll be surprised. Collect as many contact names, emails, addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers as possible. These contacts should be categorized by position. List contacts for your local City, the Department of Parks and Rec. your counselman, the Mayor's office, legal counsel, carpenters, architects, neighbors of the skatepark site and volunteers. This contact list will be invaluable to you as you get set into motion and begin collecting your information.
   
   
4. Communicate: You will need to have a healthy discussion with your peer skateboarders, in-liners (yes, think numbers) and parents. You can setup community meetings to get a sense of what the community wants and
   needs. Sometimes talking to your friends at the skate shop or school isn't enough. Have several of these meetings and have people "join" your cause or organization. HSA collected over 2,000 names of people who wanted to, not join HSA so much as to, get skateparks built. These names and numbers come in very handy when you have to meet with officials. This is also an imperative step to discover what kind of skatepark needs to get built. Also these conversations will give you the ammo you need for Step #5.
   
   
5. Always Have An Answer: Think of yourself on the opposite end as a government official. Think of every question that you would have for a group of skateboarders. Think of every reason to NOT have a skatepark: crime, graffitti, gangs, injuries, drugs and every other stigma that goes with "Extreme Sports". Then what you need to do is organize a minature think-tank to answer all of these questions BEFORE you are asked them. Have a plan already set for each solution. For example, the graffiti thing was a big deal for Kapahulu. When we were asked how we planned to deal with that, we simply told them that we had a relationship with one of these "Graffiti Busters" organizaitons, or we would deal with it ourselves. Don't try to solve everything, we were asked how we were going to solve any 'gang' activity in our area. We told them, "If the police can't solve it, how can we?" Sometimes they may want you to be this group of saviours, don't be. Just do what you know. But never say, "Oh, uh....I don't know." This gives them the edge they need to think that you are not doing your homework which leads them to think that you are not qualified to deal with them. Make sure that anything asked is not left unanswered.
   
   
6. Look Presentable: This may seem like a trivial step, but it's NOT...trust me. If you go into a meeting with these government people and you wear your baggy jeans that make your tattered shoes dissapear and you have that baseball cap covering your bleached hair, these people WILL NOT take you seriously, simply because that is exactly what they are expecting. Since you emulate what they expect every other expectation that they have of you will be automatically confirmed. They expect you to be unorganized, mis-informed, immature, probably on drugs, hard-headed and foul-mouthed. If you break this expectation from the first impression then they will take you seriously and actually listen to you, rather than just going through the motions to humor you. Appearance is very important, it illustrates who you are and how seriously you take that meeting. On a related note, it is not only important how you present yourself, but how others that you are with are presented. Anyone in a speaking or authority position should think about how to present themselves, after all if three voices for an organizaiton are dressed well and speak well, the whole organization dresses well and speaks well.
   
   
7. Speak Clearly: It's one thing to dress the part, but you really need to speak it as well. Do not be shy to speak up and loud. Be clear about what you are saying and drop the pidgin (broken english) from your speech---I know you can turn it off and on. Explain terms clearly and remember that these people probably do not know what a "half-pipe" or "mini-ramp" is. When you say "bowl" or "rail" these people most likely will not understand what you are referring to. Pictures and technical drawings will come in handy to help you define some skateboarding design terms.
   
   
8. Be Prepared: There is nothing more impressive than being totally prepared for a meeting, even if it is just to meet other skateboarders to talk about a park. Being prepared also means NEVER BE LATE, if you are completely prepared then you should give yourself plenty of time to get to your meetings on time. If you are late to meet government officials then they may assume that you are either not that interested in them or that you are most likely doing last minute preparations. Don't give them any reason to think either of these. Just be prepared for everything at all times. This includes being able to answer any questions about your project at any time from anyone. Also this means once you get the go ahead for a project, if it requres volunteers, make sure that they in turn are prepared to go. Again, there is nothing more impressive than being totally prepared.
   
   
9. Be Aware of Frauds: What more can I say? There will be others out there that may be trying to do what you want. But you know that you are in it for all the right reasons. Be aware of people who may bring bad elements into the skatepark equation. Be cautious of skateshop owners who are very eager to help out as sometimes they may be only interested in business (and $$$), if they skate as well and you are 100% sure that they are legit, then have them contribute. Skate shops should always be part of the equation, but sometimes not more than just a signature on a petition or a voice at a meeting. Never make a promise to them that you may not be able to keep.
   
   
10. Never Assume: Finally, never assume anything. This is true for any of the above steps. This may seem cold, but in the end you will be a stronger person for it. You can give the illusion otherwise, but never assume that people know what you are talking about. Never assume you will get what you want. Never assume that people will give you everything you want or need. Never assume that people want nothing from you. Never assume that all your information is 100% full-proof or correct. Never assume anything and your work and life will be much less stressed.
    
    
    
    
    Good luck with your journey and let us know if any of this helps you at all.