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| Wasatch County Grand Opening |
| MRZ |
Joe Ciaglia and his company California Skateparks are busy. Very busy. The boys are building skateparks all over the country and Joe has graciously invited me to cover a few skatepark openings. When I got the call from Brian Pino to join him and check out the new park in Utah, I was packed before I hung up the phone. This was a fast track trip. The next morning I flew to Phoenix and met up with Pino. From Phoenix we continued on to Salt Lake City. Once in Salt Lake we rented the pimp whip and drove the hour plus towards Park City. The drive up the mountains was very cool. After dodging a few roadkill deer ,we arrived at the park and the session was already going off. Saying it was crowded was a understatement. But hey, this was the grand opening and skaters had come from all over the state to check out the new park. I noticed a guy across the park taking pictures. He looked very familiar. Turned out to be Wally Hollyday. I hadn't seen Wally since the old Lakewood Skatepark days. We talked about the old days a bit and about this new park. It was interesting to hear the reasoning behind the design choices and to hear the challenges they faced.
Movers and Shakers
I have to say, after spending some time with the CA crew and hearing first hand about the process and all the pit falls these guys face when building a new park I'm amazed that anything gets built at all. It usually comes down to budgets and the lack of funds the city is willing to allocate to the project. Anyway,I give all the Skatepark Builders / Designers big props for their efforts. It isnt easy and it's impossible to please everyone. Ill step off the soap box now.
Here are some overviews of the park
The official ceremony started and the park was cleared out. I sat thru the usual ceremonious acknowledgements and I was impressed by the amount of donations this park received by the local business. The community really got behind this project once the it got going. That being said, I think some props are in order for Bill Munck. Bill, a pro skater in the 70/80's was very active in this project. Bill did his homework and requested that California Skateparks Brian Pino personally take on this project. Pino is one of Joes right hands and over sees a lot of projects at once. He's a very busy guy but he took this one on with special interest. He made sure it was going to be good.
I think the ribbon cutting ceremony should be replaced by a deck burning and beer slamming ceremony.
The ribbon was cut and there was a mad dash to enter the park. These kids were hungry. The park was a Wally Holiday/ CA Skatepark design. Some of the bowls had the familiar features, twinkies and pump humps. There were also many newer designed features like the horse shoe. This one is very similar to the one they built at Pala only a little quicker in the tranny. The park is full of bowls of different depths , but the main attraction (for me) is the right hand kidney.
She is 9ft in the deep end and 5ft in the shallows. Shes built for speed.
Golden State coping.
Pino coping test.
Everyone seemed to agreed that the pool is really good. In fact , I did not hear a single complaint. The over all consenses was that this was a really good skatepark.
A hot session erupted in the new pool and I think its safe to say the scene in Utah is alive and well.
Jed Fuller was ripping
Rolf Hanson handplant in the big bowl.
Bill Munck. The wait is over.
The street course was full of young talent and was going off as well.
Logan Summers was a stand out amongst the street rippers.
I got into a conversation with one of the city councilmen. He asked if I thought they should allow bikes into the park. Well, I'm no fan of mixing bikes with skaters so of course I told him it was a bad idea. This park wasn't designed for bikes and if he allowed them they would damage the park in very little time. I also mentioned the danger factor. When a biker collides with a skater it usually results in serious injury to the skater. He seemed to agree with my view. I really hope they keep the bikes out. Sorry Bikers. You should organize and approach the city to build a bike only park.
We stayed on late and took advantage of the fact that the lights are on until 11:00 p.m.
Pino night flight.
Andrew Mitchell another ripper stoked on this new park
After the photo opps. and the session slowed I took some runs. I wish we had a park like this one in my home town. Long Beach needs a new park with some pool coping. If you get the chance you should check out this park. You won't be disappointed. There is something for every level of skater. The locals are cool and the scenic view is stellar. Don't forget to stop in at the Dairy KEEN in town. Tell em Pino sent you and order the burger. Don't worry the coma will only last a day or two. Once again I want to thank the CA Skatepark crew for the adventure.
Enjoy.
MRZ
Check out the gallery for more photos :
WORDS / PHOTOS MRZ |
Monday 11th 2008f August 2008 10:42
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