Skateboarding.

Today, skaters around the world are treated with little respect from the public or authority. There are "No Skateboarding" signs everywhere you turn. Back when skateboarding was first born, in the days of old school Santa Cruz skateboards and Kona, skaters were known as druggies, bums and criminals. Today we are looked at the same way even though we have changed very much. I firmly believe skateboard laws should be abolished. First because even though so many other kinds of skates damage property, skateboarding is singled out as the bad one. Also, because skate parks are usually crowded, unfit, or to far to get to. And last because of how popular skateboarding has become in all genders and ages.

Skateboarding is primarily looked upon badly because of the property damage it can cause. Not only is it that the most damage skateboarding can cause to property is chipping a curb, but how many other things can cause even more damage. Consider biking and rollerblading, and not to mention automobiles tearing up the streets on a daily basis. Even though these things can cause just as much damage, but you don't see half as many signs saying "Trick bikes are prohibited", or "No rollerblading". Yet there are "No skateboarding" signs all over the place. For some reason bikes and blades are much more accepted by the community, but my metal trucks, wheels, and some loosely assembled bolts thrown on to eight layers of ply-wood are looked upon as the scrounge of society. Even when you do find a great place you and your friends can skate at where there aren't signs saying you cant, someone still calls the cops on you with out any warning (usually by the people who don't even own the property) and you get yelled at and possibly get you board confiscated. And I know these things happen a lot from my own experience. (Mikros, Dan)

Anti-skaters could argue that you could go skate where you are supposed to, at a skate park. But most of the time skate parks are very crowded, not with only skateboarders, which there are over ten million of nation wide, but roller balers, and trick bikers, and on the rare occasion scooters. Surveys report that an estimated 50-100 people are at any park on any day and there are only about 500-700 skate parks nationwide. Only half of which are public, and some people don't have the money to go pay to skate everyday. Compare those numbers with the number of baseball parks you see everyday. Baseball parks can only accommodate sixteen players at a time, and most of the time they are completely vacant. While the few skate parks there are, go packed day in and day out. Skate parks also can get very tiresome very fast, probably because they are designed by people who know nothing about skating. They think putting a rail and some slopes of concrete are sufficient for skaters. Most skate parks probably couldn't even keep a novice skaters attention since skaters of all types are always striving for higher, bigger, and more. Since skate parks are not so common right now, most of them are quite the distance. Most skaters don't want to rely on having there parents take them back and fourth from skate parks constantly. The closest skate park near my house is about twenty five miles away, which my parents can't and won't be taking me to all the time. Also street and park/vert style skating are quite different, and as for me I prefer street much more. (Mikros, Dan)

Skateboarding is one of the most popular and fast growing sports in America. In a 1993 a skate park survey conducted by the city of Phoenix, AZ it was estimated that there were 7,576,000 male and 2,495,000 female skateboarders in the United States and around 11,000,000 today. This puts skateboarding as the sixth largest participant sport in the US and the third largest for participants ages six through eighteen. And with the amazing popularity of skateboarding, places we actually can skate are becoming more crowded everyday. Where are we supposed to go to skate? Most skaters will go to places that are they're not supposed to go for a change and challenge, but always get harassed for it. Why do skate parks and skating in public places close down or are taken away? No one really knows except the authorities and judges, but we need places to go. One example of this type of action happening is in Greencastle, IN where skateboarding, roller blading and trick-biking are banned completely. No one can