Some states already have skateboarding programs in schools. John Ricciardi, an Ocean County man and father of three boys wants to start a competitive skateboarding league in New Jersey. From the Star Ledger...
Ricciardi, who has worked in landscaping and grounds maintenance, but is currently unemployed, learned there were competitive skateboard leagues in California and wondered why skateboarding and other action sports couldn't enjoy the same structure, popularity and acceptance as Little League baseball and Pop Warner football in New Jersey.
Seeking to promote the building of new facilities, Ricciardi teamed up with the Rutgers business school and has embarked on a bid to organize the sport and become the latest entrepreneur to carve out a niche in a $5 billion industry.Ricciardi said his efforts to attract funding for skateboarding programs have been a tough slog.
"When I was talking to people, they were hearing 'skateboarding' and they were not even listening to me because skateboarders were perceived as troublesome," he said.
There's also a question whether skateboarders, with their reputation as rebellious daredevils, would embrace any effort to organize their pastime.
"To tell you the truth, a lot of the older guys are not going to be into that," said John Cruz of Bloomfield, a 17-year-old who works at a skateboarding shop in Montclair. "It just doesn't work like that. You get into skateboarding because it's different."
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Comments (4)
I hope it can be done..it sounds like a great idea...
AND
It'll keep them off the streets & sidewalks...which means it won't sound like a train going by my window whenever they do it in the road.
In Montclair, the police are arresting boarders for standing on private property with their boards.
There is effectively np skateboarding allowed in Montclair!
Wayne, maybe you'd like to interview those who have been harrassed by the Montclair police for skateboarding.
LOL, just the other day my 17 yo son commented that if skateboarding was taught in gym class or if there was a "little league" it would ruin the sport. I guess I agree based on the idea of those adult egos getting in the way of kids' fun, but I disagree because it's a way to mainstream acceptance and to "decriminalize" the sport.
Anyone ever wonder what happend to the Bloomfield Ramp Park? Yea, me too.
mainstream acceptance=kiss of death