To gain support for an expansion to the Oxford Skate Park, the Oxford Skateboarding Association (OSA) hosted its third annual game of S.K.A.T.E on Sunday, April 4. The OSA hosts events to raise awareness and funds for the planned skate park construction.
The competition involved 20 skaters pairing off, much like the H.O.R.S.E. game in basketball, to match each other’s tricks. If you make five mistakes to spell “skate,” you are out, and your opponent moves up the bracket.
Skyler King, a senior general business major and president of the OSA, said the existing skate park needs an expansion because it is out of date and does not cater to the needs of the community.
“It’s 20 years old, and it’s falling apart,” King said. “Right now, the skate park has beginner ramps and advanced ramps but there’s no intermediate. So, we’re trying to find a good middle ground.”
While the event was primarily to bring the community together, the OSA did raise some money.
“The estimate we have (for the expansion) is $600,000,” King said. “Most of that money will come from grants and private donors, but in order to be eligible for certain grants we have to have a certain amount raised. Through sponsors, ticket entry and raffles, we raised about $1,000 (at the event). Next steps are to have more meetings with the city to apply for grants.”
The idea for the non-profit came to King while on a cross-country road trip with Mike Rains, one of the original organizers of the 2006 skate park construction. Their intention has always been to foster community.
“My brother got me into skateboarding, but the friends I met along the way have kept me going,” King said. “We host events like this to keep the scene alive.”
Carlos Gonzalez, a sophomore marketing major from Hernando, Miss., enjoyed the opportunity for community-building at the event.
“I’m glad this area has a pretty solid skateboarding community, with people coming from Memphis and Tupelo, (Miss.,) to attend events or skate at the Oxford skate park,” Gonzalez said.
Dillon Brown, one of the skaters in the competition, started skating as a form of expression. He appreciates the supportive environment that the skate park provides.
“It’s a community of misfits, so anybody is accepted,” Brown said. “We have a good moral concept of right and wrong and loyalty, brotherhood and sisterhood.”
The crowd was a mixture of beginner and advanced skaters who shared new tricks and advice.
“It’s just a group of good people,” Hunter Sullivan, an Oxford skater, said. “They will help you learn anything you need.”
Another competitor, Teya Huey from Horn Lake, Miss., learned skating from her dad and is proud to continue the tradition.
“The community is a really special thing because it brings people together,” Huey said. “It’s nice to see people doing something that I enjoy. It’s really fun to share that.”
The winner of the competition, Joseph “Joey” Mitchell, is a Nashville native who has been skating since second grade.
“My dad always had boards around the house when I was a kid, and he would take me to the skate park,” Mitchell said. “I really enjoyed my first time in Oxford. Everyone I met was very welcoming, and the Oxford skate scene seems to be thriving.”
The skate park is the only designated spot for skateboarding in Oxford, so expanding the park would allow the community room to grow.
“More park means more space to support the ever-growing skateboard community,” King said. “People come and go in this town, but I know more people would come — and stay — if Oxford had a bigger, better skatepark.”
While there is no definite timeline, the OSA hopes to start building the expansion in the next three years.
“That’s my vision: to make Oxford skateable,” King said.
