Ready for skating
Skateboarders have had a home in Butler for seven years.
Only now that home is welcoming them more often, and for longer stays with a lot more freedom.
Father Marinaro Skate Park will operate unsupervised for the first time when it reopens this spring.
The park's previous hours were from 4 to 8 p.m. on school days and then would not open until mid-May. Once school was out, the skate park was open from 1 to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
"We always had supervision over there through the AmeriCorps program," said Kathy Kline, the city council member who oversees the city parks. "We had to wait until May for college students to begin their internships because they served as supervisors.
"The skate park has become very popular. We'd get 40 to 50 users a day over there. We wanted to find a way to give them more access to the facility."
That way is through no supervision.
Ben Calairi, a former skateboarder who now heads a six-person volunteer committee to oversee the skate park, said there are fewer liability issues at an unsupervised park.
"According to our research, if something were to happen while a supervisor was in charge, that supervisor would be held responsible," Calairi said. "A free public park is more self-policing.
"The injury rate is very low ... More children get hurt playing midget football than on a skateboard in a park such as this."
The skate park in Cranberry Township operates unsupervised "and they've had no problems," Calairi said.
The six volunteers will rotate regularly in opening the gate to the park at 10 a.m. and closing it at 9 p.m. every day this season.
"The longer the park is open, the less children will be skateboarding on sidewalks, in parking garages ... places they're not supposed to be," Kline said.
Helmets were required at the skate park last year, and a rules board posted at the park states that rules will be imposed again. But Calairi admitted it will be hard to enforce without supervision.About 300 skate park participants registered to use the facility last year. There will be no formal registration this year.Calairi said the general age range of skateboarders at Father Marinaro was 10 to 30 "with the bulk of them between ages 15 and 21."Former skateboarder Kevin Ice, 25, who grew up in North Washington, moved to California to pursue snowboarding, then returned last year to the Butler area. He ran a skateboard contest last August known as the Butler Progression Session at Father Marinaro Skate Park.That event will return this summer."We had about 70 registered for it last year, it rained, and we had 45 or so take part," Ice said. "People came from North Carolina, Maine, West Virginia, Ohio. A kid from Boston got second place."The event was organized in six weeks. This year, we'll be much better prepared. I like being involved in this because it's a way of giving back to the community."Skateboarders and bikers can be stereotyped as punks. Getting people together like this can get rid of that vibe," Ice said.Calairi described skateboarding as an accomplished lifestyle in a growing sport.Kline agreed."Our park gives them a place to use their ability, hone their skills and have fun," she said. "It's the perfect venue for them to participate in the sport they've chosen."Some people thought the skateboard would be a fad that would fade away like the hula hoop. Instead, it's a growing sport and our skate park will continue to feed that growth."
