Virginia is a great state to be in if you enjoy skateboarding. Throughout the state you will find skate parks that offer the usual fair of ramps, bowls and boxes. However, if you are looking for a unique skating experience on a Sunday night, make your way to Fairfax, Virginia for two hours of skateboarding fun.

Skate Night - Fairfax, Virginia
Skate Night is a unique skate park found at 4601 West Ox Road in Fairfax, Virginia. It is only open two hours a week, on Sundays from 7:30 p.m. until 9:30 a.m. This skate park offers a quaint collection of obstacles and skateboarding features such as a quarter pipe, a grind box, a manual box, a launch ramp, a handrail and various other types of obstacles. This skate park also offers a grind box, which has a rising height that goes from knee height down to about curb height. While not the best skate park in the country, it does offer you a place to skate in Fairfax.

Skateboard Safety at Skate Night
Like most skateboarding parks in the United States, Skate Night is a skate-at-your-own-risk park. This means that your safety is in your own hands. To make sure you stay safe, you need to wear a helmet with a chin strap, elbow pads and knee pads. You will also want to wear a decent pair of skateboarding shoes so that you have proper grip on your board.

While skating at Skate Night, you should make sure that you stay in control of your board. Lots of people use this park at the same time, and you never know what or who is going to cross your path. Finally, wear clothes that will keep you dry and warm or dry and cool, depending on the time of the year. Dressing in layers is a good idea, as you can strip off layers as your body temperature rises, or you can add layers as your body temperature drops. If you will be trying rail tricks at this park, you may also want to wear a cup for protection in case you end up straddling the rail or your board.

Australian skateboarding sensation Jackson Pilz has assembled quite a life story already, even though he just turned 17 in October.

Here's how Jackson Pilz describes the first five years of his life: "I was born in Sydney at the Royal North Shore Hospital ... I moved to Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast when I was around 5 months old ... Not really sure what happened in between 5 months and 5 years. Then I found skateboarding."

Okay, young man, you're forgiven for forgetting all those preschool events. It can be kind of tough to remember your second or third birthday party. But to get on a skateboard at the age of 5, that's an earlier start than most skateboarders enjoy.

By the time Jackson Pilz turned 7, he was already entering competitions. He had the benefit of a family that would take him all across Australia.

"This was really a fun time for a young kid," Jackson understates.

At age 11, Jackson Pilz was already competing alongside the men. He finished eighth in the Australian nationals, making his debut in Melbourne in front of thousands of fans in Rod Laver Arena, named for one of the top tennis stars of all time.

"It was hard to imagine that things would get better than that, but then at the age of 13, I made my first overseas trip," says Jackson Pilz, describing a visit to England and then to the United States, where he practiced his craft at Woodward West Skate Camp in southern California. His skateboarding skills have also taken him to Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Sweden and Denmark.

Jackson Pilz, unlike many skateboarders, does not express a preference for street or vert.

"I find that doing a bit of everything keeps you really well-rounded and opens so many more doors when it comes to finding people to skate with. I've skated with some of my biggest idols including Bucky Lasek, Colin McKay, Bob Burnquist, Rune Glifberg and heaps more," Jackson says.

Jackson Pilz keeps up with his schooling, but he explains, "If I can't skate, I go stir crazy." The local skate park at Coolum Beach is on the ocean, and Jackson says, "Life's pretty good in Coolum." Jackson Pilz just may wish that he could remain a teenager forever.

Sources:
www.billabong.com/au/html_gl/text_rider.php?pid=2&rid=44
411vm.com/skaters/Jackson_Pilz/1136/
www.fkdbearings.com/australia/fkd_australia_team_pilz.html

There are several skate parks in the state of Alabama, however, one of the coolest is the Veterans Skate Park found in Alabaster, Alabama. This skate park is well maintained and safe. The best part about it is that it is just for skateboarders, so you don't have to navigate your way through bikes, scooters and in-line skaters, who have different skating patterns and priorities than skateboarders do.

Veterans Skate Park - The Basics
Veterans Skate Park is found at 7305 Highway 119 in Alabaster, Alabama. In order to use this park, you will first need to complete and file a liability waiver with the park's department. If you are 19 years of age or older, you can sign the waiver yourself. If you are under 19, you will need a parent or guardian to sign it for you. Another requirement to skate at this park is the use of a helmet while skating. The helmet must fit your head properly, be worn at all times and also have a chinstrap.

Veterans Skate Park - Features
Veterans Skate Park has both bowl features and street course features. The bowls are set up without lead in and look a lot like swimming pool bowls. The street course features are grouped together and include a set of concrete stairs, rails and ramps.

Veterans Skate Park - Hours and Fees
The Veterans Skate Park is a city-run park that charges a minimal fee of $1 per day for weekdays and $2 per day for weekends. The park is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from four until eight in the evening, Saturday from noon until eight and Sunday from one until eight. The park is closed on Wednesdays and on city holidays.

Dressing for Skating at the Veterans Skate Park
To get the most from your experience at the Veterans Skate Park, there are steps that you can take. First you need to dress for skating in an outdoor, concrete skate park. This means wearing good skating shoes that have a grippy sole, elbow and knee pads and a shirt to protect your skin from the sun and from road rash if you fall. You can wear shorts or long pants, depending on the weather and your preferences. Finally, you are required to protect your head and its contents with a helmet that has a chin strap.

One of the best parts about living in the South is that you have relatively good skateboarding weather all year long. As a result, there are numerous skate parks that you can use in the South. A great family skate park found in Louisiana is the Bayou Wheels Skate Park. Here you will find a skating atmosphere that is kid-friendly and family friendly.

Bayou Wheels Skate Park - The Basics
The Bayou Wheels Skate Park can be found at 300 Parkview Drive in New Iberia, Louisiana. It is open during the summer months, seven days a week from noon until seven at night, as long as the weather permits. From mid-August to October 1, the park is only open on the weekends from noon until six at night. Then, from October 2 until April the park is only open on weekends from noon until five at night. However, during the school year, the park does open up for school holidays, so you will have other opportunities to use the park.

The admission fee to use the Bayou Wheels Skate Park is about $1. Skateboarders, in-line skaters and scooters are all allowed to use the park. While this park is fairly liberal when it comes to who can use the park, you will be required to wear a helmet and padding if you are fifteen years old or younger, and you will be required to wear at least a helmet if you are sixteen years old or older.

Bayou Wheels Skate Park - The Features
For a small skate park, the Bayou Wheels Skate Park has a great selection of features to work with. It has the basics like rails, a pyramid, pipes and flat ramps. However, they also have a great eight-foot half pipe and multiple quarter pipes to trick out on.

If you are looking for something fun to do in Louisiana with your kids or with your friends, pull on a rash guard, grab your board and head to the Bayou Wheels Skate Park. The park is set up for spectators also, so if you don't skate or if you need a break, you can watch others skate from picnic tables and bleachers set up in an observation area.

One of the greatest thrills a skateboarder can have is racking up new skateboarding experiences. If you have a goal to skate at as many skate parks as possible, consider trying out some of the smaller city skate parks. If you happen to be in the state of Washington, you will have dozens of these smaller skate parks to work your way through. One skate park that you will not want to miss out on is the ever-expanding Edge Skate Park found in Redmond, Washington.

Edge Skate Park - The Basics
The Edge Skate Park is located at 8420 161st Avenue NW in downtown Redmond. It offers about 7,700 square feet of concrete skating terrain. It is primarily a street-course skate park with features like stairs, rails, platforms and edges. However, there are also a couple of quirky quarter pipes that you can practice tricks on.

Edge Skate Park - The Rules
Since this is a public skate park, you are responsible for your own actions and your own safety. To protect yourself you will want to wear a helmet, padding, proper skateboarding shoes and clothing. You will also want to make sure you don't bring glass, food or beverages into the skateboarding area.

Other Amenities Offered by Edge Skate Park
The Edge Skate Park is a part of a larger city park that serves Redmond's downtown area. This park sits on nearly an acre and a half of land and has plenty of space to skateboard and set up an impromptu soccer game. This park also offers you an information kiosk and an art wall. If you use this park, remember to pack out everything you pack in or at least use the garbage cans if you have items that need to be thrown away.

Setting Boarding Goals
Setting goals can help you focus the development of your skateboarding career. If your goal is to skate at as many skate parks as possible, start a list of parks that are available and a list of skate parks that you have used. As you skate at different skate parks, move the parks from the available list to the skated-at list. You can also add a third column for remarks and comments about the park. To keep your fans up to date about your skating adventures, post your lists and comments on your social networking page.

British-born Geoff Rowleyis one of pro skateboarding's more daring and acrobatic athletes. Somehow he's still going strong at age 32, after all the thrills and more than his share of bone-rattling spills. If you watch Geoff Rowley's various high-octane videos, which include both his hits and some occasional misses, you will wonder how he's not in a full-body cast.

Furthermore, Geoff Rowley continues to up his street-skating ante. If he sees a handrail that looks similar to one that he has previously conquered, he's not much interested.

"Show me an S-shaped one that goes around corners and over buildings, and I might be interested," Rowley says.

British towns such as Rowley's Liverpool have far tighter confines than most American cities, which explains why Rowley finds himself attracted to places such as parking ramps and steep front stair steps.

Geoff Rowley was 12-years-old when he first skated, borrowing his friends' boards.

"Happiness came forth," he describes the experience simply. In his early 20s, he decided to go for the big time and moved to Southern California. He remains single and makes his home in Huntington Beach.

It's common to say that someone with Rowley's modest and quiet nature "would let his skating do the talking." One fan says in Rowley's case "talking" should be replaced by "screaming," because he always is ready to attack a challenge.

In Orange County, sometimes he tackles these challenges without the permission of the property owner.

"Everyone gets booted out of everywhere," Geoff Rowley says. "You're in, you're out. But there's a lot of concrete ditches ... I'm having fun skating locally because I've found all this different stuff that (other) people aren't really looking at. That's fun for me, to skate stuff that everyone's not interested in."

Despite his street sense, Rowley also is a champion in regular competition, and he protests against being typecast.

"I've always tried to learn new things and constantly do different things," Geoff Rowley says. "I'm not a handrail skater. I'm not a rail pro. It's a non-issue. Skate whatever you want."

Geoff Rowley has not forgotten about back home. He is pushing for the Liverpool City Council to build a top-notch skate park.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoff_Rowley
http://skateboard.about.com/od/proskaterbios/p/ProfileRowley.htm
http://www.late34.com/skate/geoff_rowley
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_mOJSE/is_292/ai_n12416784/pg_6?tag=artBody;col1

Vancouver, British Columbia is home to numerous skate parks. In fact, there are skate parks located in nearly every borough in the district. If you are in this city and have a need to grind rails or catch some air, try out the China Creek Skate Park. This skate park can be found inside the China Creek South Park in East Vancouver. This is an outdoor park that has a lot to offer beginner, intermediate and advanced skaters.

China Creek Skate Park - The Basics

China Creek Skate Park is a very basic, outdoor skate park. It is primarily made up of asphalt and concrete, with concrete lining the bowls and asphalt covering the street course segments of the park.

While not the premiere skate park in Vancouver, China Creek Skate Park has a reasonably good variety of skateboarding features to play around with. On the street course segment of the park, you will find benches, flat-bar rails, round-bar rails and various obstacles. In the interior of the skate park, you will find a variety of bowls, ramps and launches. Many of the ramps and launches are homemade, so be careful. Check the ramps and launches, especially those that have been brought in by skaters, to make sure that they are sturdy enough to handle you, your board and the momentum needed to trick off the ramp or launch.

China Creek Skate Park - Competitions

China Creek Skate Park is the location of numerous skateboarding competitions throughout the year. Two of the most popular skateboarding competitions held at this park are the Jaks Team China Creek Competition and the Memorial Skate Competition.

If you want to practice for these competitions, bring your board, your skateboarding shoes and your tricks to the China Creek Skate Park. To do well at these competitions, you will want to practice your tricks and skills both inside the bowls and on the street course. If you live in Vancouver, you can practice year round. However, if you are traveling to the city for the competition, arrive a week early so you can become familiar with the shape, depth and temperament of the skate park before the day of the competition. This will improve your performance and your chances of walking away a winner.

Whether you are in Minneapolis for business or pleasure, this is a great city to go to if you are a skateboarder. The city government has recognizes that skateboarding is a growing sport, and boarders of all ages need a safe place to skate. In response they have create six city-sponsored skate parks throughout the city. This means that no matter where you are in the city, you won't have far to go to find a great skate park. Pack your rash guard and skateboarding shorts and get ready to have fun in the Twin Cities.

Skate Parks in Minneapolis, Minnesota

There are six city skate parks inside the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Each of the following parks is an outdoor park found inside a larger recreation center or city park. They each have several skating features including pyramids, ramps and hand rails.

▪ Armatage, 2500 57th Street West, Minneapolis, Minnesota

▪ Bottineau, 2000 2nd Street North East, Minneapolis, Minnesota

▪ Brackett, 2728 39th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota

▪ Creekview, 5001 Humbolt Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota

▪ Elliot, 1000 14th Street East, Minneapolis, Minnesota

▪ Morris, 5531 39th Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Skateboard Shops in Minneapolis, Minnesota

If you are looking for new boards or new skateboarding clothing, Minneapolis is a great shopping destination to visit. This city is chalked full of skateboard and sporting goods shops. Here are a few of the shops found in and around the city of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota:

▪ Erik's Bike Shop, 501 Country Road 42, Burnsville, Minnesota

▪ 3rd Lair Skate Park and Skate Shop, 850 Florida Ave. S., Golden Valley, Minnesota

▪ Adrelanine Skateboards and Snowboards, 893 Robert St. S., Saint Paul, Minnesota

▪ Alternative Bike & Board Shop, 3013 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minnesota

▪ Familia Skate Board Shop, 647 Snelling Ave. S., Saint Paul, Minnesota

Outdoor Activities in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Outdoor activities are big in Minneapolis. Throughout the year, you will be able to find special events that celebrate the skateboarding lifestyle. When you are planning your vacation to Minneapolis, talk to your travel agent or read local newspapers to see if a skateboarding demonstration, competition or event is scheduled and how you can attend or participate in it. Minneapolis is waiting for you, so grab your board and hit the road!

One of the coolest skate parks in California is located in Santa Barbara: Skater's Point. This skate park is unique because it is located adjacent to the beach and close to the Chase Palm Park. While not the largest skate park in the state, this park offers 14,600 square feet of street terrain and special concrete features that are fun to bank, grind and ride.

Skater's Point - The Basics

Skater's Point can be found at the corner of East Cabrillo Boulevard and Garden Street. Its perimeter is lined with fabulous palm trees and it is seconds from the beach. Enjoy a great ocean view as you explore the park's concrete features like the taco bowl, ledges, hips, banks, pyramid, rails, a five foot bowl and quarterpipes. In addition to a lot of interesting skating features in this park, it also is a free park with free parking and it is open to the general public.

Getting to Skater's Point

To get to Skater's Point in Santa Barbara, California you will want to take Highway 101 to the Garden Street exit. Depending on which direction you are coming from you will want to turn either left or right, which ever way will take you towards the ocean. Follow Garden Street until you run out of road. At this point you will see the parking lot of Skater's Point. Park in the parking lot, it's free, and take your gear to the park. It will be located near the wharf. Just follow the crowds.

When to Skate at Skater's Point

Skater's Point is open seven days a week from eight in the morning until thirty minutes after the sun goes down. This is a popular skate park because of its location and because it is illegal to skateboard on the streets and in parking lots in many parts of Santa Barbara. Because of these reasons this park fills up fast. Intermediate and advanced skateboarders, roller skaters and in-line skaters tend to use the park in the afternoons. If you are a novice skater or a younger skater, you'll find that the best times for you to use the park will be before 12 p.m. on the weekends.

Who Can Use the Park

The park is open to the general public and anyone who wants to skate here can. However, only skateboarders, roller skaters and in-line skaters are allowed. This is not a BMX park. If you want to skate at Skater's Point you will need to wear safety equipment, including a helmet.
Happy Skating!

Skate shoes are a great fashion statement, but these shoes are constructed to be more than just fashionable. Skate shoes are constructed to make skateboarding comfortable and tricks easier to do, not to mention that they're also constructed so that they hold up to extreme skateboarding. But, what's the big deal about how they're constructed? What is it that makes these fashionable shoes worthy of skateboarding gods?

Different brands of skate shoes are constructed in different ways. But, there are basic features that many companies use. Many companies choose to use double or triple stitching that works to prevent ripping. Another popular feature of skate shoes is that they have a wide, flat sole that allows more of the sole to meet the board.

Many brands are also vulcanized. Vulcanized is a term to describe the way the sole is attached to the upper part of the skate shoe. Another feature of the sole is the tread, which is constructed to make it easier to hold on to the board. Skate shoes are also made with leather or suede so that they are as durable as possible. Last but not least, thick tongues and sides are used to make skate shoes more comfortable. In other words, skate shoes are constructed to last a long time, prevent injury and provide for maximum skateboarding abilities. Of course, each brand has a special way of constructing skate shoes.

Vans is one of the most popular brands of skate shoes. They have several different styles available, which feature different types of construction. For example, their J-Lay version features reinforced uppers, a slim profile, drop-in PU midsole and the classic vulcanized waffle sole. This construction allows for durability, breathability, flexibility, grip, comfort and increased board control. Another popular brand is Etnies. Etnies's Angle features tongue ventilation, tongue-centering straps, padded tongue and collar, cushioning footbed with heel support, lightweight rubber outsole with PU midsole and an integrated airbag. This construction allows for ultimate comfort on the most uncomfortable board.

A few other features you may want to keep in mind are lace protectors, air pockets in the heels, STI foam, lace loops that hide shoelaces, Action Leather, Thermoplastic Toe Box Reinforcement, Fusion Grip Rubber Outsole and asymmetric stabilizers. All of these features are made with comfort, durability or grip in mind. Take time to look at several brands to find the perfect type that suits your skateboarding style.

Finding the perfect skate shoes will take time and a bit money. With so many different styles to choose from, you need to take time to choose a style that is constructed to fit your skateboarding needs. Whether you love doing insane tricks or choose to play it safe, there's a brand that will suit your style. Of course, if you just look at the fashion aspect of skate shoes, there are several fun styles to choose from. Skate shoes may have been made with skateboarding in mind, but they're a great fashion statement as well.

Sources:

skate.vans.com/SHOES/jlay.html

etniesskate.com/footwear/mens/angle/white-white-black/