NO SKATEBOARDING

No skateboarding. You’ve probably seen this sign before. I know what it means, but to many people it might as well be foreign language. People do not just put up this sign to make you mad. They have reasons. Yes, often times they are not the right reasons. They are not being fair, I know. The world is not fair.

Perhaps you’ve been kicked out of spots before or even received tickets for skateboarding. Often times it’s all due to poor communication. I want to resolve some of these issues. It’s too bad though, most people have misconceptions about skateboarding.

I volunteer my time at a library in my hometown. This library has always been a great local hang out for skateboarders. It has a stair set, a nice sized gap, and there is a nice manual pad that is right next to a loading dock! The library never minded us being there.

Well, one day bikers came and tore up a large part of the grass to make a ramp in an area that wouldn’t even be fun for biking. Guess who was blamed for this. That’s right! Skateboarders. Now, why skateboarders would tear up ground to make a dirt ramp is beyond me.

None the less, we were blamed for it since we were always there. I talked to the people who work their. They said they didn’t understand that it was the bikers who did it. They do not understand skateboarding is all. They still have the sign up, but if I ask to have a session there, they will let me. So, what should you do if you see a no skateboarding sign? Be polite and do not skate there. I know you see pros skate spots with no skateboarding signs. It may be the cool thing I don’t know. I don’t really think it’s cool to disrespect people that way. That isn’t my point though. Is it worth it?

Is it worth a fine? Probably not. These fines can be really big too. Cops won’t give you a break around here either. Shows like Jackass and Viva La Bam (which I enjoy watching) have unfortunately given skateboarders a bad image. Most people think if you skate you are out of control. They believe we all cause damage and are rude. These are the reasons for no skateboarding signs.

What should we do about this? Change our image. Be polite. Do not skate where there are signs. Do not be vengeful and do damage to their property. It really is not smart. Instead, try talking to them. You think it wont work, but it might. You wont know until you try. And what’s the worst thing that could happen? They say you can’t skate there. That’s how it was before.

Perhaps they are reasonable business people though. Maybe they will take down the sign in place of a new one. No skateboarding during business hours. As long as you don’t cause damage, perhaps you can skate behind their building. It’s a big problem if your truck is trying to drop off materials and kids are on your loading dock. Normally, they wouldn’t care, but now they might get mad and say no skateboarding at all.

So use your head with what you’re doing. If they ask you to leave don’t be mad. Just say ok. Say sorry and that you will leave. Ask why they want you to leave! Maybe they don’t want you there because of customers. Maybe they just don’t want you to be hurt while they are there and have to deal with cops and ambulance and all that good stuff.

Being polite can get you a long way with people. Be respectful to people and they may show respect back. Sometimes they wont, but you wont know until you try. We can make skateboarding better for everyone everywhere if we all want it to be.

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