Rutland, Ohio is one of the best cities to visit if you are a diehard fan of skateboarding. Not only does Rutland have one of the best private skate parks in the world, but it is also the home of the Museum of Skateboard History. If you are ready for a great vacation, then plan to visit Rutland.

Rutland, Ohio – Star Attractions
For skateboarders, the two star attractions in Rutland, Ohio are Skatopia and the Museum of Skateboard History. Fortunately, they are both located at 34961 Hutton Road, Rutland, Ohio so you can experience both attractions at once. The Museum of Skateboard History has a fabulous collection of vintage skateboards, and if you count them, you will find about 12,000 examples of historic boards. After browsing through the museum, you will want to put on your safety gear and hit the skate park section of the complex. Here you will find both indoor and outdoor segment, so you can basically skate here regardless of the weather. Make sure you check out what is going on at the park during your vacation, as this is the site of numerous skateboarding events, like the Backwoods Blowout.

Athens County Attractions
If you are interested in doing a little site seeing while visiting Rutland, Ohio you will need to expand your search to Athens County. Athens County, Ohio has a lot of great historical and cultural attractions. First, however, grab a slice of pizza at Pizza Dan’s, located at 244 Main Street, Rutland, Ohio. Once you have a great meal in your stomach, pull on your hoodie and hit the road.

To get the history of the area, visit Athens Country Historical Museum found at 65 North Court Street. If you are interested in military history, you will want to visit the Athens County Military Museum, which can be found at 145 West Columbus Street in Nelson, Ohio. Finally, as you travel through Athens County, keep your eyes open for historical sites like the Adena Indian Mounds and historical, covered bridges. There are a lot of great attractions scattered throughout this county so stop by the local chambers of commerce and visitors’ centers of the cities you drive through for information on what to see and do in that city.

One of the coolest skate parks in the world is the Black Pearl Skate and Surf Park found in the Grand Cayman Islands. This skate park is considered to be the largest concrete skate park in the world. It also offers one of the largest, standing artificial waves in the world. So, if you are into surfing, skateboarding or both, this is a great park to visit.

The Black Pearl Skate Park
The Black Pearl Skate Park offers skaters about 52,000 square feet of skating terrain to work over. There are three different courses that you can ride on: a beginners’ course, an intermediate level course and an advanced skaters’ course. Each of these courses offers a selection of bowls, transition zones, flow terrain and street terrain. This park also offers quarter pipes and half pipes. If you want to skate in this park, you are required to wear a helmet and the appropriate padding. If you are on vacation or if you don’t have the appropriate equipment or padding, you can rent it at the onsite skate shop.

This park is open Monday through Saturday from nine in the morning until dusk and on Sunday from ten in the morning until dusk. The entry fee is CI $16 for the day, CI $50 for the week or CI $100 for the month. In U.S. dollars, this is about $24 for the day, $75 for the week or $150 for the month.

The Black Pearl Surf Park
The Black Pearl Surf Park is a record breaker in its own right. It has a machine that is capable of producing a standing wave of up to eleven feet tall. It also has the ability to move 150,000 gallons of water in a minute, and it produces a surfing zone that covers about 1,280 square feet. This park provides both surfing instructions and equipment, so you don’t have to pack a surfboard with you on the plane or in your car. This is a great place to go to learn the basics of surfing or to just have a bit of fun on a hot day. Parents will love this park too, because there is a restaurant onsite where they can enjoy a nice meal and relax while their kids play at the surf park or skate park.

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...

One of the best tropical vacation destinations for skaters to visit is Grand Cayman. This Caribbean island is easy to get to by plane or cruise ship. However, the biggest attraction for skaters is going to be the Black Pearl Skate and Surf Park. While this park offers some of the best surfing and skating options in the Caribbean, don’t spend all your time at the park, because Grand Cayman offers amazing natural and cultural attractions. If you are ready for the vacation of a lifetime, pack your skateboarding shoes and head for Grand Cayman.

The Black Pearl Skate and Surf Park
The Black Pearl Skate and Surf Park is both the largest concrete skate park in the world as well as the home of one of the largest, artificially produced, standing waves in the world. If you are a skater then you will enjoy the 52,000 square feet of skating terrain offered by this park, as well as its great collection of beginner, intermediate and advanced skating features. The surfing section of this park offers a Wavelock Surf Machine, which is capable of producing standing waves up to eleven feet tall in a surfing area of over 1,200 square feet. Both sections of the park are serviced by a pro shop that offers equipment rentals and instruction in surfing and skateboarding.

Grand Cayman’s Attractions
While you are in paradise, don’t forget to try out some of the other tourist attractions. First of all, stop by the city of Hell and send a letter or postcard to your friends. The postmark will show that the letter was sent from Hell. The novelty postmark is about all that is offered by this little outpost, so you will need other plans to fill your day.

Stingray City is a must see attraction. You will need to charter a boat or guided tour to get to this attraction. However, the effort is well worth it, as the diving here is considered to be world class. Here, you will be able to interact with stingrays and other marine life. Plan this adventure on Monday, Wednesday or Friday to avoid cruise ship traffic and crowds.

Other attractions you won’t want to miss include the Mastic Trail, the blowholes, the six beaches and Rum Point.

There are dozens of cool skate parks in the United States. One of the coolest is the Rotary Club Skate Park in Lunda Community Park, found at 1400 Tyler St., Black River Falls, Wisconsin, 54615. This hybrid skate park was completed in July 2006 and offers about 9,500 square feet of skating terrain.

Rotary Club Skate Park – Basic Features
The Rotary Club Skate Park is a very unique skate park. It utilizes a hybrid technique which pairs ramp equipment, normally used above ground, with concrete block retaining walls. This combination has several advantages including no seams, no gaps and no guard rails. This is great if you are just learning how to ride a ramp or trick off a ramp, because you don’t have to worry about tripping over gaps and other design imperfections.

In addition to a hybrid ramp design, the Rotary Club Skate Park offers several great skateboarding features. Some of the features that you can find here include a half bowl, ramps and a multi-tiered plaza. The advantage of skating here is that you can find skating features to fit your skill level if you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced skater. The only real drawback of this skate park is that it doesn’t offer skate-box formations. This is a real drag that many skateboarders hope will eventually be fixed.

Rotary Club Skate Park – Having Fun at the Skate Park
In order to have a great time at the Rotary Club Skate Park, you need to come prepared to have a good time. To start with, you need the proper skater clothing to (1) look cook and (2) protect your skin from road rash. Next, you need to bring the proper safety gear. This means bringing a properly fitted helmet, elbow and knee pads and a pair of shoes that have enough grip on the soles to keep you from skidding off your board. The final accessory you need to bring to the skate park is a good attitude. If you come to the park in a funky mood, you are not only going to prevent yourself from having a great time, but you are going to increase your chances of bringing other skaters down with you.

Calgary, Alberta is a Canadian city that skateboarders will enjoy visiting. This city has one of the largest outdoor skate parks in the country, as well as an amazing collection of tourist attractions. This combination of attractions will allow you to plan one of the best vacations of your life.

The Plaza at the Forks – Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Located in downtown Calgary, the Plaza at the Forks is an amazing skate park that covers over 44,000 square feet. Within this park, you will find over 8,000 square feet of bowl features to ride as well as over 30,000 square feet of street course and plaza skating terrains. In this park, you will find stair sets, rails, bowls, obstacles and super cool wave ramps. This park is very open and very organic in the urban jungle of Calgary. You won’t want to miss visiting and skating in this park.

Visiting Calgary, Alberta – Local Attractions
While the Plaza at the Forks is reason enough to visit Calgary, Alberta, it is not the only site you will want to visit. If you are interested in animals, living or prehistoric, you will want to visit the Calgary Zoo and Prehistoric Park located at 1300 Zoo Road, N.E. This park has three sections: the zoo, a botanical garden and a prehistoric theme park. This is an outdoor attraction so bring your hoodie or jacket.

Another great outdoor attraction is the Bow Habitat Station. The Bow Habitat Station is unique, because it was the first eco-park established in Canada. Here you will find a wetland park, as well as the Alberta fishery, which is responsible for producing over three million trout a year for local rivers, streams and lakes.

If you are more interested in urban attractions, you will want to make your way to the city center. Here you will find Calgary City Hall, the Calgary Tower, the Olympic Plaza, the TELUS World of Science, the Calgary Devonian Garden, the Eau Claire Festival Market and the Palliser Square. Have fun exploring these attractions!

Finally, do a little shopping in Calgary. One of the best skate shops in the city is the Calgary Skate Shoppe. This shop is located at #2-2610 Centre Street, N.E. It has a great selection of skater clothing, shoes and gear.

Shanghai, China is one of the best vacation spots for skaters. This city is amazingly rich in culture and is also the home to the largest skate park in the world. If you are looking for an exotic vacation destination, consider exploring the skating culture found in Shanghai.

The SMP International Skate Park
In the United States it is easy to find skate parks that are between 7,500 square feet and 15,000 square feet. However, these parks pale in comparison to the SMP International Skate Park with its 13,700 plus square meter park layout. For those of you unfamiliar with the metric system that is about 147,000 square feet of skate park terrain. Like I said, this is a big park.

The SMP International Skate Park can be found at 2100 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China. You can get to this park by taking the line three bus to Jiangwan Tsum Station and then taking a taxi to the park. Once inside the park, you will find a bowl area, a park zone, a plaza-recreation area and a competition area. The bowl area utilizes granite pool coping, something you most likely won’t find in many U.S. skate parks, and it is over 4,500 square meters. The park zone offers an additional 1,750 square meters of skating space, the plaza/recreation/viewing area offers over 4,100 square meters of entertainment and the competition area takes up about 2,000 square meters of space.

One of the best things about this skate park, besides its huge size, is that it is the home to several competitions and to the SMP skate team from Shanghai. If you are lucky enough to be in Shanghai during a competition then you will want to take advantage of the opportunity to watch the team practice and compete against local and international skating professionals. What a way to cap off a vacation to Shanghai!

Other Attractions in Shanghai
While the skateboarding is great in Shanghai, you won’t want to miss the other great attractions that this city offers. If you enjoy shopping, then you will find an amazing collection of authentic China clothing , as well as a great selection of skater wear while in Shanghai. If you prefer to enhance your vacation with cultural attractions, you will want to make plans to visit the Yuyuan Gardens, the Shanghai Museum, the Jade Buddha Temple, the Longhu Pagoda and Longhu Temple and the Shanghai Animal Zoo. Finally, don’t forget to sample some of the local cuisine.

Some of us may go through a day facing no tougher question than “Paper or plastic?” at the supermarket. But try asking one of the most famous X-athletes, Shaun White: Skateboarding or snowboarding?

Skateboarding, says Shaun, is more difficult, “I think it’s so much harder to go big and do the tricks. They’re so much faster and so much less under control. I’m used to doing airs and stuff in snowboarding, but I almost think you go bigger on a vert ramp.”

Shaun White says this, even though he learned skateboarding years before snowboarding.

It seems difficult to believe, with all that he has accomplished, but Shaun White of Carlsbad, Calif., just turned 22 in September. He’s been a pro in both sports since he was in his early teenage years. He learned skating first, of course, at just 7 years old, but he has had more competitive success on the snow.

Shaun White’s entry into the X-sports came quite simply. He grew up near the Encinitas YMCA, one of the few “Y” facilities you will find with a vertical ramp. With his older brother, Jessie, he started skating. Then he discovered snowboarding when he was 13, and with his skating experience, he was such a quick study that he turned pro in the snow at 14.

The powder took priority for a while for Shaun White, but by the time he was 16, he went back to skating long enough to join Tony Hawk on tour. He was a veteran two-sport athlete at 16! Since then he’s pretty much been a snowboarder who also excels on skateboards. In this sense, he is similar to Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders from the 1990s, who were football players who also excelled at baseball.

Shaun White is all the more amazing because he had two open-heart surgeries before he reached age 5 to cure a congenital defect. He also surfs. Pro surfers beware! His hobbies include playing the guitar.

Shaun White recently won the 2008 Laureus World Sports Award for the best Action Sportsperson of the Year. Get this, he has not one, but two, Wikipedia sites on the web. The one with just his name focuses mainly on his skateboarding, and the one that includes snowboarding, well, you can figure that out!

Despite good reason to have a big head, Shaun White remains modest and always expresses thanks for his family’s support. If you happen to run into him and his veritable “shock of red hair,” just think twice before saying, “Yo, Flying Tomato.” He used to like the nickname, but now he’s sick of it.

Sources:

shaunwhite.com

skateboard.about.com/od/proskaterbios/p/ProShaunWhite.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_White

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_White_snowboarding