I sent this letter to Mayor Jones, the newspapers and the three major news stations in Charleston to let them know we need to stop the Strong Man Contest at Coonskin to preserve the concrete at our skate park:
"Dear Editor:
We returned from a week’s vacation to find out that the Coonskin Skate Park will be closed for 10 days to accommodate the “World’s Strongest Man” contest. We wonder where Mayor Jones and the other officials who made this decision expect us to skate during those ten days when the streets of Charleston are off limits to skateboarders. We also wonder if they had any thought to the damage that this contest could do to the skate park.
We can’t help but feel that there is a double standard here. Closing and potentially damaging a very vital, busy part of Charleston’s skate scene for a few days of publicity is unfair. The City does not allow skateboarding in many areas because they are afraid that the skaters will damage City property. They’ve built us a great place to skate and now they want to come to our park and do the very thing that they are so afraid the skaters will do to the city.
Since governments and officials are always imposing rules on skaters, we, the skaters, have a few rules for the officials:
- Leave our park in the condition you found it.
- If you move something, put it back where it was.
- If you damage something, repair it or replace it.
- If the concrete gets cracked, chipped, or otherwise damaged, replace it.
Simply repairing and resealing the broken concrete is not enough. Cracks and holes in concrete, even resealed ones, are dangerous and create a greater potential for injury to the skater.
On any given day, the Coonskin Skate Park is filled with skaters of all ages - little kids who’ve been skating for 30 minutes to adults who have been skating for 30 years. The park draws skaters from all over the state who come to enjoy the smoothest concrete around. The skate park is always busy and gives the kids (and adults) a great place to go skate and meet with friends. While driving through Coonskin Park, it appears that the Skate Park is one of the most popular areas there.
As members of the skating community, we are highly concerned that holding strong man events at our skate park will cause major damage to the concrete and ruin the park that has such a wide appeal. We are proud of our skate park and we want to preserve the smooth concrete for many more years of skating fun for all ages."I need every skater to contact the county (as soon as Mayor Jones lets me know who, I'll post it here) to stop the Strong Man competition from destroying our skate park.
